Beauty and the Beast

Presented by - Nonentities (A)

Location - Main House

Standard Ticket Prices

Curtain Up 7.30pm

‘A Festive, Family Fantasy’

As a traditional Christmas treat, the ‘Nonentities’ at the Rose Theatre, Kidderminster, have put together a spectacular production to suit the whole family.

The stage is set with magnificent scenery, the cast clad in fabulous costumes and the light and sound will complete a seasonal, magical event.

First staged at the RSC this is a magical retelling of a timeless tale. In Beauty and the Beast we encounter two worlds: the domestic world of Beauty's family in mid-eighteenth-century France, safe and familiar. And another world, first stumbled upon by her merchant father: a place of great riches and disturbing nightmares, dominated by the fearsome and tragic Beast. An enchanting introduction to the festive period and a feast for the imagination.

Director’s Notes

A magical retelling of a timeless tale. In Beauty and the Beast we encounter two worlds: the domestic world of Beauty's family in mid-eighteenth-century France, safe and familiar; and another world, first stumbled upon by her merchant father: a place of great riches and disturbing nightmares, dominated by the fearsome and tragic Beast.

First performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, this play has proved to be a huge challenge for The Rose Theatre, which of course has a very small fraction of the facilities and budgets of the UK’s leading theatre. Without the ability to undertake substantial changes in scenery during the course of a performance, The Rose has to resort to the ingenuity and design flair of its members to produce what is often referred to as a composite set to depict many different locations required by such productions as this play. We hope you appreciate and enjoy the results of our endeavours to illustrate and support this outstanding play from Lawrence Boswell.

We believe this should be an enchanting introduction to the festive period and a feast for your imagination. We hope you enjoy this production and please accept our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

David Wakeman

History of the story

The tale of Beauty and the Beast is one of the best known stories in the world, and has a long and varied history. Variants of the tale appear in numerous cultures.

The first version appeared in 1740 by Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve. She wrote a novella length version of the story which appeared in La jeune ameriquaine, et les contes marins. Her audience was not children, but her court and salon friends who enjoyed sharing stories for entertainment. Scholars suppose that Villeneuve derived her story from traditional oral tales and Le Mouton, a story by another court lady named Madame D'Aulnoy whose home was the site of one of the best known literary salons in that time.

The next version of the tale appeared 16 years later in 1756 by Madame Le Prince de Beaumont. Beaumont considerably shortened Villeneuve's novel into a short story which ends after the Prince is transformed.

Beauty and the Beast has grown in popularity and over the years appeared in a variety of media. The versions seem endless and they come in only behind Cinderella for popularity and widespread influence.

The last century has let storytellers show their vision of the story through film as well. Most notable of these are Jean Cocteau's 1946 version, and the more recent Disney movie.

Whatever the varying versions, the basic values that the stories convey are similar. The story and its questions regarding human values run deeper than the simple facts and details of the tale and remain timeless. We all have the potential to be beautiful or beastly; how do we overcome our ‘monsters’?

Beauty and the Beast is one of the few fairy tales where the main characters actually get to know each other before falling in love. Unlike Cinderella, who falls in love in an evening, or Sleeping Beauty, who falls in love with a kiss, Beauty spends weeks, possibly months with the Beast before falling in love with him. In addition, the message given by the story, besides that main staple that true love will prevail, is that of true beauty is within. Admirable, and rare, it seems these days.