Beauty and the Beast @ QPC

Dating back to the middle ages and influenced by traditions of the 16th century Italian street theatre ‘Commedia dell’arte’, pantomimes are one of Britain’s oldest and most beloved forms of theatre. For the last three Christmases, SDSD students have added to this little piece of history, performing in pantomimes at the Limelight Theatre at Queen’s Park Arts Centre - becoming toys, roses, sailors, and even mushrooms!

Christmas 2015 saw 17 girls from SDSD step into the panto spotlight in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Based on the traditional fairytale, it followed Rosalind, a young girl from a town named Folly, as she fell in love with a ‘fearsome beast’ who had been cursed by a manipulative and evil witch. All of the sets, props, and backdrops were made by various artists at the centre, and the show itself was the first to be produced by ‘Unbound’, the storytelling group at Queen’s Park.

Despite several very speedy costume changes, there was a huge sense of excitement - with living statues, moving roses, and even a stained glass window made of people, you couldn’t help but feel the magic! The passion, creativity and talent of the entire cast and crew certainly formed a buzzing atmosphere backstage, and presumably, this energy was transferred to the audiences too, as tickets were sold out at nearly every performance - making this year’s pantomime record breaking! On behalf of all of the SDSD girls who took part, we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved - you helped us have heaps of fun, and taught us a lot about theatre!

By Emily and Megan Jenkins

Did you see the show? Why not leave us a comment below and let us know how much you enjoyed it!