Reviews

'A spellbinding production full of imagination... what a production Beasts and Beauties proves, by turns absorbing, inventive, disgusting, spellbinding and deeply moving. Beasts and Beauties should be near the top of everyone's wish-list when it comes to festive entertainment this season and is as fine an introduction to the power and imaginative wonder of theatre as any child could hope for.'
Telegraph *****
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'In an exceptional season for family shows, this one ranks comparison with the best... enormous wit... a good deal of slapstick inventiveness... romantic simplicity... genuinely frightening... the evening works so well because it speaks directly to the imagination.'
Guardian ****
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'The stories are well-known ones, such as Bluebeard and Beauty and the Beast. But these versions are stylish and spry, imbuing the familiar with a disarming originality... Highlights include an amorous pig, a goat that showers gold from its behind, and a hideous Beauty-baiting Beast with remarkable talons... The approach to storytelling is simple yet subtle, and the result is a clever, witty and reassuringly warm family show, suitable for children aged eight and over - and likely to satisfy the sort of bigger kids who have pension plans and mortgages.'
Evening Standard ****
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'Eight fairytales and stories re-told by the poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy form the basis of this remarkable children's show, a feast of theatrical imagination and moral and romantic justice... with eight wonderfully skilled and versatile actors... Each episode is given its own distinctive interpretation, with wonderful use of properties and scenic devices. But ultimately this is a show about the roots of theatre itself, the timeless art of telling stories and doing so as simply and as beautifully as possible.'
What's On Stage *****
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'dazzlingly inventive... there is so much to love in this show, not least some brilliant ensemble acting... Dave Price's music is also fantastically evocative - haunting, melodic and as uplifting as the production as a whole.'
The Stage
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REVIEWS FROM BRISTOL OLD VIC PRODUCTION, 2004:

'This is one of those rare nights in the theatre when some strange alchemy takes place in the dark and as a shiver runs down your spine and a bubble of laughter rises in your throat, you remember why theatre really matters and can be such a transforming experience.'
The Guardian *****

'Both children and hardened theatre-goers were caught up in a gleeful kind of wonder'
Financial Times ****

'The first night audience did not exit from the theatre, they hover-crafted out of it on a balloon of bliss.'
Independent ****