Northern Ballet have an excellent track record of adapting stories and this one was no different. The operative word being adapted. You will not see a raging Gaston or uppity Cogsworth in this production. This is ballet. This is class. I understood this before buying tickets so it wasn't a shock, otherwise I might have been a teensy bit disappointed...

The story felt familiar but with a contemporary twist. The arrogant Prince had a beastly spell cast upon him. Belle's father was literally stripped of house and home thanks to her sisters shopping habits. Near the family's new Forest shack, their Father suffered an attack from the Beast, so Belle sacrificed herself to save him. And voila, the Beauty met the Beast and slow romance ensued. 

This is what is fantastic about Northern Ballet. They nail the acting within a scene. You know exactly what is going on. Who needs words when expression and choreography can do it with much more beauty and drama. Pictures tell a thousand words remember. 

And it did warm my heart to see little nods to the original story. For example, Belle was always reading a book, the Beast had no table manners and they kept the endearing moment the Beast sipped tea from a saucer. 


As a huge Disney fan, I was surprised to find I really enjoyed this refreshing take on Beauty and the Beast. Northern Ballet always deliver such beautiful productions that are full of life and character and open up the world of Ballet to a new maybe unfamiliar audience. It successfully swept me away to a far away place where my inner child lives. Where happy endings come true and true love isn't so unbelievable after all.

It's definitely got me splashing for joy in anticipation of their next Disney production, The Little Mermaid!

Keep track of Northern Ballets work here https://northernballet.com/

Check out my vlog to see what unexpected thing happened in the interval! https://goo.gl/8SxrX0