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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...

Quick snatches: The Future of Sex @wardrobensemble


The sexual revolution wasn't quite as it seemed in this style over substance account of sex in the seventies (or should that be present day)?

The Wardrobe Ensemble had a hit in Edinburgh last year with this show that goes beneath the hype of the sexual revolution, only to find that things were just as awkward then as they are now.

Narration, inner monologues and jump cuts to the present day pepper this story of a group of young people discovering sex in the 70s.


The theatrical tricks are quirky at first. But after an hour they feel repetitive and get in the way of real characterisations and story development. In the end there are few surprises.

Still there is a throbbing soundtrack, bad hairstyles and an awful lot of polyester. There are some nice touches that hint at the hypocrisy of the time. And when the sex does finally come, it's a spectacular swimming extravaganza.

But maybe you either had to have been there in the 1970s, or be a twenty-something now to get it. For me it was a shallow experience.

The Wardrobe Ensemble are a Bristol-based group of artists that work to create new works. This one pulses and throbs until April 23 at Shoreditch Town Hall. There is a tour that follows.

⭐︎⭐︎


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