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Wee liberties: Beauty and The Beast: A Horny Love Story at Charing Cross Theatre

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It may not be a tale as old as time, but it’s still the same old story, almost, with Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story currently playing at the Charing Cross Theatre .  As the title suggests, this is not family holiday entertainment, but neither is it all gay gore. And a surprisingly large number of clever gags, a gorgeous-looking production, costumes, and an ensemble make for a classy night out with the occasional lashing of sluttiness.  It’s been a while since I have seen an adults-only panto. Like many things at the theatre—ticket prices, opening nights, age of social media influencers—things have changed. Happily, things have changed for the better here. The show focuses on assembling an excellent cast. Elaborate costumes by Robert Draper and David Shields’ set pieces help give this adult panto a touch of class. There are the usual lewd jokes and a quick flash of buttocks.   The setting of the story is in the northernmost village of Scotland, Lickmanochers. Not...

Singing out: Alexandra Da Silva @pizzapheasantry


Alexandra Da Silva returned last week with her show La Petite Divatante at the Pheasantry in Chelsea.

For a little lady she has a big voice and the show is an opportunity to show off her musicality. And make a little fun of her height. She sings Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid with new lyrics by Christina Bianco about being too short to enjoy the sun.

But it is her reflective ballads linger with you. Her vocal, which at times has a country feel, gives these pieces extra emotional pull.


Particularly poignant was her performance of the song about 9/11, I'll be here (from Ordinary Days). Her interpretation of the lyrics and tender delivery underscored the emotion of the piece.

There is added excitement when joining her she is joined onstage by Caroline Gregory and they sing the duet from Sideshow I Will Never Leave You.

These moments work well and contrast with the bigger, brassier and showstopping numbers that fill the rest of the list.

It is refreshing to have a song list in cabaret that draws from so many recent Broadway shows. She deftly handles the comic possibilities arising from singing Killer Instinct (from the musical Bring It On) and Screw Loose (Cry Baby).

Reprising her comic turn from the Kander and Ebb revue The World Goes Round she also performs Ring Them Bells and Cabaret. They are so enjoyable it is hard to resist them becoming a singalong...

Her bubbly personality and infectious enthusiasm makes the evening a delight. If there is anything missing it would be a dialogue with the audience explaining why these songs mean so much to her. But with music director Joe Louis Robinson and Phil Donnelly on guitar, things are kept at a brisk pace. So there isn't much time to dwell on this.

Alexandra Da Silva does not yet have a long list of credits to her name, but her comic and dramatic potential makes her someone to watch. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to see her on the stage again soon.

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