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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...

Lonely Town: The Lonely Londoners @JSTheatre


Sam Selvon’s novel about the Windrush generation comes to vivid life in this flashy adaptation by Roy Williams—the hustle and the struggle contrast with the exuberant joy and acclamation of life in the city. Lights flash, feet dance, and pigeons get strangled...  for food. It’s an hour and forty-five minutes that doesn’t let up, and it is currently playing at the Jermyn Street Theatre. 

Set in 1956 London, we meet Henry “Sir Galahad” Oliver (Romario Simpson). He is in a hurry to start a new life in London and seeks out Moses Aloetta (Gamba Cole) to help him get started. Only to find that Moses and his friends have become disillusioned with city life and don’t share his enthusiasm. The fights, the petty discrimination, and the lack of job offers make it an endless struggle. And it’s fascinating to see the transformation of Simpson as he gets worn down by the endless setbacks. 


It’s a simple yet stylish production, with the cast remaining onstage with a black wall. Elliot Griggs’ lighting serves to give the vibrancy of the city, underscore the drama and spell out the various postcodes as they move about London.

The simple staging allows the focus to be on the finely drawn characters. The ensemble brings them to life and makes them storytellers, witnesses to injustice, and celebrators of the rich life of living in London.

Events move at a clip, and while violence and discrimination are always nearby, there is also humour and warmth that comes through as the men bond and create their sense of family and place. By the time the piece ends, the discussion about leaving London is brief. After all, despite the odds, they have made a life here and created something out of nothing. 

Directed by Ebenezer Bamgboye, The Lonely Londoners is at the Jermyn Street Theatre until 5 March.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Photos by Alex Brenner

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