Let the magic begin...the verdict is in from audiences at the launch night of this year’s Harrogate Theatre panto – it’s the best one yet!

A triumph of ideas over cliche and brains over budget, Beauty and the Beast ticks all the boxes to get you in the mood for Christmas – without insulting anyone’s intelligence or stooping to anything approaching vulgarity.

Legendary panto funny man Tim Stedman is, as has now become expected after appearing, incredibly, in 23 previous Harrogate Theatre family-friendly pantos, hilariously brilliant as Phillipe Fillop.

But director Marcus Romer, who only took over from the late Phil Lowe two years ago, has worked hard to ensure the entire cast lives up to Harrogate panto’s long-standing, glowing reputation.

An outstanding panto at Harrogate Theatre - The leading cast members of the current production of Beauty and the Beast. (Picture contributed)

placeholder image — An outstanding panto at Harrogate Theatre - The leading cast members of the current production of Beauty and the Beast. (Picture contributed)

The six main cast members are uniformly impressive, including seasoned thespian Michael Lambourne in gloriously self-mocking form as Baron Bon Bon, to a powerhouse display by Joanne Sandi as a Wicked-style Mona Lisa The Sorceress, to the sensational Harry Wyatt nearly stealing the show in only his second year as Madame Bellie Fillop.

Simultaneously intelligent but silly, true to the drama of the story but terrific fun, director Marcus Romer and main writer David Bown have the good sense to bookend Beauty and the Beast with two joyous song melodies which bring a flavour of a musical to Harrogate.

Of course, it helps that the cast contains people who sing as if they’d just transferred from the West End, most notably the effortlessly sophisticated Colin Kiyani as Beast/Prince and charming Anna Campkin as Belle.

But the decision to put musical numbers front and centre in Beauty and the Beast is surely also founded partly on the precision talents of musical director Nick Lacey, choreographer David Kar-Hing Lee, set designer Morgan Brind and lighting designer Alexandra Stafford.

Amid all the clever touches, in-jokes, local references and a topical sub-plot about a theatre facing threats to its future, this outstanding production of Beauty and the Beast never forgets its primary mission is to entertain.

In an age of anxiety, there is something almost heroic about Harrogate’s panto.

Tickets and information: https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/events/beauty-and-the-beast/