Theatre reviews: Beauty And The Beast | Rab Hood And The Sheriff Of Shettleston | The Commitments
Beauty And The Beast, King’s Theatre, Glasgow ****
Rab Hood And The Sheriff Of Shettleston, Oran Mor, Glasgow ****
The Commitments, Playhouse, Edinburgh 4 stars ****
As the vital 2022 Scottish panto season roars up to full speed, there are two Glasgow Christmas shows that seem certain to play to packed and joyful houses, from now until Hogmanay. Beauty And The Beast, at the Glasgow King’s, and Morag Fullarton’s new Play, Pie And Pint panto Rab Hood And The Sheriff Of Shettleston, at Oran Mor, both offer barrels of Glasgow laughs, and a bare minimum of fairytale romance; but perhaps that’s exactly the formula audiences want and need, this December.
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Hide AdSo in Beauty And The Beast, we see a constellation of comedy stars – led by the mighty Elaine C Smith as the dame Mrs Potty, with Johnny Mac as her “daft laddie” son Jack, and Darren Brownlie as the lovely Belle’s geeky brother Shuggie – effectively telling the tale, while the fairytale characters make occasional appearances to push the plot along a little, often accompanied by a gorgeous eight-strong ensemble of dancers.
The result is an infinitely jolly show, with very little real threat or danger, good-looking sets, a touch of spectacle, and barrow-loads of excellent jokes. Smith is in stunning form, delivering much-loved panto traditions from the tongue-twister to the daft version of 12 Days Of Christmas with a tremendous swagger, plenty of comic asides, and an unfailing connection to the audience. And from time to time, of course, she also belts out a song with tremendous power; whether it’s a doomed version of You Sexy Thing scuppered by her son’s invincible daftness, or the lush romantic version of Loch Lomond she sings for Belle and the Beast, in the one brief scene where we are allowed, for a moment, to watch the flowering of the romance that lies at the centre of the plot.
In Morag Fullarton’s Rab Hood And The Sheriff Of Shettleston, at Oran Mor, the absence of slushy romance is both complete and necessary, as the show pursues its annual mission to celebrate that strand of pantomime that mocks the mighty, and to give bourgeois sentimentality the bum’s rush. In a brisk opening number, John Kielty’s Rab informs us that his mission is to “level up the country, cos the politicians won’t”; and from there on in, the fun and satire are relentless, as Rab’s lovely Mum Dame Beanie, brilliantly played by George Drennan, fights eviction at the hands of Clare Waugh’s nasty but self-adoring Sheriff, and Rab falls head over heels for Hannah Howie’s lovely Marian.
The only problem is that the lyrics of Morag Fullarton’s satirical songs – including a hilarious Rab Hood rap – are so funny and pointed it’s difficult to absorb them all at a first hearing; but the chances of getting a second look at this superb panto celebration of Glasgow’s rebel spirit are slim, since all performances are already almost sold out.
And meanwhile, at the Playhouse, the touring stage version of Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments offers another powerful vision of working-class culture, in Doyle’s great 1980s story of a group of Dubliners who manage to shake off the depression of ingrained economic disadvantage, and form themselves into a briefly magnificent ten-piece soul band, drawing inspiration from mighty American classics like Proud Mary and Papa Was A Rolling Stone.
Director Andrew Linnie’s brilliant 20-strong cast belt out the show with tremendous passion and energy; and to judge by the response of the Playhouse audience, the story’s message about redemption through soul, and the empowerment of working-class people through the strength of their own music, is exactly what audiences want to hear, in what is, for so many, an especially bleak midwinter.
Beauty And the Beast and Rab Hood both run until 31 December. The Commitments is at the Playhouse, Edinburgh until 3 December, and at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, from 5-10 December.