Beauty and the Beast Liverpool Empire Theatre review

It's a tale As Old As Time, a song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast! In this new stage adaptation of the classic Disney movie, Emmanuel Kojo plays beast. A handsome man, who, in his youth, was put under a spell after he turned a girl away. He was spellbound to spend eternity as a monster and his staff as crockery and furniture. Only true love can save him and return his handsome looks. Courtney Stapleton plays Belle, a girl who loves to read and learn. Belle lives with her widower father who, when out in the forest, is captured and locked up in the Beasts dungeon. Belle, terrified, offers to swap places with her father. Belle soon realises this isn't just any old Castle, its enchanted. With Mrs Potts, the motherly talking teapot, her son, chip and a whole cast of household items, their plot to break the spell before the last petal on the red rose falls to the ground and they all become inanimate objects. Both Belle and beast are frustrated and stubborn - Belle wants to leave and see her father, beast wants her to do what he wants. He roars, she stomps and shouts, meanwhile, Mrs Potts and the others begin to worry. Can they overcome their differences? Belle's Father stumbles into the arrogant Gaston, who had previously demanded Belle marry him, finding her refusal bewildering. Maurice begs Gaston for help to rescue his daughter. Gaston and his crew scoff at the old man, declaring him mad. Belle has sneaked around the castle. How will the Beast react when he finds out his prisoners been snooping? Can Mrs Potts and co help him work out his conflicted feelings for Belle or will his temper scare her off? As the beast realises the way to Belle's heart is by being a gentleman, he changes his behaviour. And decides to show Belle his library. She is overcome. Belle's father continues to plead for help on his rescue mission, but they go unheard. Belle leaves the Enchanted Castle, carrying a crystal ball to help find her father. When she does, Belle learns Gaston has tied up Maurice! Outraged, Belle,, with the help of the crystal ball, proved her dad was right and the beast is real. Gaston riles up the crowd and they charged to the Castle, pitchforks and weapons in the mobs hands. Can Belle stop them? Will the last petal fall before Belle and beast declare their love? Will the villagers remember who they are? Beauty and the Beast is a timeless tale that's as relevant now, as ever. It tackles violence, mental abuse, control, loneliness, but also, confidence, trust and friendship. The theme of this sparkling musical is beauty is on the inside This has to be my personal favourite of the Disney classic films. Belle is relatable to girls who, like me, find solace in books, and feisty, independent, outspoken and don't fit in. The vocals were spectacular and breath-taking. Sadly, I can't tell you what the visual affects or the dancing was like, because none of the 4 headsets I tried worked! The seat I'd purchased was at the far right of the auditorium where the wheelchair spaces were. All I heard here was a hissing crackle. Staff moved us to the middle. My mum tried it standing behind me. The readers voice came through intermittently. When I put the headphones to my ears, I heard 3 words, a crackle, then silence as the signal cut out. I tried twisting in my wheelchair trying to catch the signal, but, no, nothing. What is audio description? AD Audio description provides blind/visually impaired people with a spoken (via headphones) visual commentary of the set, scenery and action. Before a play or musical starts, there is usually a brief introduction to the characters and storyline. Its great as blind/v.i people are able to imagine what is happening on stage Usually, theatres Productions have a touch tour where blind/v.i people can get an idea of the show and get a feel of what the reader is describing. Due to covid, these have been paused, which makes the importance of the ad headphones working even more vital. As it's one of my favourite Disney films, and the fantastic singing could help me keep track and guess where it was up to, I chose not to leave the performance early. No refund was offered. I am disappointed by this experience. I love going to the theatre, and the Liverpool Empire Theatre is local. I have had many happy times here. I will try and not let it alter my future enjoyment of the stage. I will just say this: please test your equipment before handing it out, and I don't just mean standing at the back of the theatre, listening for a few seconds and hearing a sentence and deciding it's fine. Instead, look at the seat number of those who have booked the headphones (oh, yes, vision impairment assistance has to be booked nowadays). If one or more of these tickets are for the wheelchair spaces, then it likely they use a wheelchair, so test them from a lower, seated angle. Another thing that would make all Theatre performances more accessible, after checking the headphones work, would be having the Reader record the show in advance so that blind\vi can have the choice to go whenever they want, not on the one and only a.d show in the whole run. I heard Beauty and the Beast at the only 'ad' performance. If you have the sight to see it, I recommend going. I am told the special effects are stunning and magical. I heard the dancers pounding the stage with their tap shoes. It sounded so energetic! my mum said the dancing was amazing! Although I only have the sound to go on, I still really enjoyed it. I have since contacted the Liverpool Empire Theatre on social media and they are going to be updating their Audio described equipment and I look forward to testing it out. Empire update: the manager is taking my ideas forward to the other theatres within the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and, for this, I am grateful. Hopefully now things will be done to include all audience members