Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast will run from

Friday 3 December 2021 until Sunday 9 January 2022.

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This age-old tale of true love, bravery and enchantment is perfect for a pantomime to be held in the oldest theatre in the land. Expect the traditional story and characters but - in the Richmond tradition - with plenty of quirky twists and turns. There will also be the usual laugh-out-loud comedy, amazing musical routines and dazzling special effects.

The Georgian Theatre Royal has been producing its own professional pantomimes since 2010 and in that time has built up a reputation for staging one of the best Christmas shows around. Sleeping Beauty was chosen by The Observer as one of its top festive shows of 2018, and in 2015, The Telegraph named us as the No.1 place to see a pantomime in the UK. For many families, pantomime at the Georgian is a key part of their festive celebrations and the show appeals to all generations.

What the critics said about our last pantomime - Aladdin:

"Hysterical and most definitely an enjoyable Christmas treat." The British Theatre Guide

"Here's a pantomime that is truly a part of the local community and once again this little theatre with an illustrious history has exceeded expectations with a colourful and individual Christmas show." The Northern Echo

"Right up there with the best." Richmondshire Today

"Richmond certainly know how to do panto differently and this is most definitely their best yet." The Teesdale Mercury

Knit for panto!

The Theatre has a long-standing tradition of incorporating knitted items into its pantomimes and the knitted element has become a much-loved community activity with hundreds of people taking part. Last year, thousands of 'lightbulbs' were made to throw at the baddie in Aladdin and previous productions have used apples, bananas, snowballs, doughnuts, leaves and patchwork squares in various ways.

For Beauty and the Beast, the Theatre is appealing for knitted hearts, which will be used during the 56 performances.

Everyone is invited to take part. It doesn't matter how many you knit. All creations will be loved and very gratefully received!

A sample knitting pattern will be available for download soon, but please feel free to use your own pattern. All colours and sizes welcome, although we are asking people not to decorate the hearts with any 'scratchy' embellishments. Otherwise, just let your imagination run wild!

KNITTING PATTERN FOR HEARTS

Past pantomime video archive

The transformation scene from Cinderella (2013)