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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...

In jokes: Jest End @Waterlooeast



It's only on until Sunday 5 December, but Jest End at the Waterloo East theatre is a bit of a guilty pleasure of fine singing and silly musical send ups.

Billed as London's answer to Forbidden Broadway, the show takes barbs at various successful (or not quite successful shows), social media obsessed actors and low pay. You don't need to be a musical theatre aficionado to enjoy the silliness of it all. But it probably helps... Particularly as many of the in-jokes are ripped from local news headlines, gossip and sending up themselves...


Still with Lizzy Connolly, Scott Garnham, Jodie Jacobs and Simon Bailey there is fine singing and some awfully complicated hand gestures (I dare not call it choreography as that was the point of a number in the show).

The show encourages you to live tweet and take pictures, so you get the feeling of what it is like when you are stuck in a West End show and someone next to you is trying to take a picture. This was @johnnyfoxlondon's effort.


Jest End is at Waterloo East until Sunday. See it if you can.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

First impressions with @johnnyfoxlondon follow...

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