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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...

Streaming Queens: The Crown Dual @KingsHeadthtr


Even if you haven’t watched The Crown on Netflix, there’s much to be amused about in The Crown Dual. A meta-spoof on the public’s endless fascination for dramatisations about the lives of the royal family. And all things royal for that matter. It’s currently playing at the Kings Head Theatre.

The premise is that Beth Buckingham (Rosie Holt) and her dubious agent and patio specialist Stanley (Brendan Murphy) are going to recreate Beth’s showreel audition for The Crown. And prove that she would have been far more talented than that Claire Foy in the role.


And so beings a rather silly and at times hilarious recreation of the best and most preposterous bits of the first series of The Crown. With Holt or Murphy playing a range of cast members, sending up both the characters and their fictional television characterisations. Both have great comic timing and make a  somewhat regal pair.

The lives of the Royal Family often seem like the subject matter for a farce. Here it’s an entertaining journey. And a lot more fun than the dreary play A Princess Undone, which covered some of the same material as if it was of grave national importance.


The other genius in the piece is also to make fun of the emerging conventions of a Netflix television series. From the skip intro feature, over-bloated production budgets and annoying premise to introduce new characters in the final episodes (so you continue watching next year when the new series lands). It's all here to remind us that the jokes on us for watching this garbage in the first place.

Written by Daniel Clarkson of Potted Potter etc fame, and directed by Owen Lewis, this is a frightfully witty diversion at the Kings Head Theatre until 6 April.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Geraint Lewis

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