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Beauty and the Beast 
 
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The Dinner Table - Performance
 
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Playing the Beast
 
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Essence of Beastliness
 
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Eating noisily
 
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Sound of the Beast
 
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Washing scene
 
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Audience reactions
 
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Beauty and the Beast Script
 

 
 

Beauty and The Beast

When we leave the theatre, we often can't remember what actors said, even in performances that we loved, but we can and do recall powerful images from the staging, moments when we were riveted to the action and it burned itself onto our retina. Such a moment is in 'Beauty and the Beast' when the two main protagonists meet at the dinner table. In the script, this scene is dealt with very briefly, and you must imagine for yourself: what Beast (and Beauty) actually look like, and what kind of a place Beast's house is.

In Director Melly Still's staging, its main feature is a huge table. It needed to be large in order to support the weight of the Beast, played by actor Jack Tarlton, who literally leaps onto it from his chair, but it also has a symbolic function. It is a piece of furniture designed for fine-dining, for entertaining company, but instead there is only very basic food and two people to consume it, for only Beauty can endure Beast's company. The sheer size of the table emphasizes the isolation of Beast from society.

The staging also shows the moment when Beast removes and slams down hard the shiny covers revealing plates of spaghetti. This moment highlights the sub-human host's frustrated desire for the trappings of civilised behaviour. Jack Tarlton explains how he spent time at the zoo learning how animals move to play the Beast and Melly Still describes what she wanted the audience to witness as the essence of beastliness. Despite his best efforts, the Beast cannot conform to the rules of etiquette demanded by society (and by Beauty) and in his frustration hurls away his fork and knife before burying his face in his plate to eat noisily with his mouth. All this presents in a visceral way what it means to be a beast.

Terje Isungset demonstrates how he created the haunting sound of the Beast on an instrument he carved from a wild ram's horn. Narrator Elaine Claxton talks about the magic moment in the washing scene when the Beast is transformed into a human, and how the audience reaction to the Beast betrays discomfort at his hideous appearance.

 

Bristol old vic
Beasts and Beauties
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People
Kelly_Williams Kelly Williams
Actor
Terje_Isungset Terje Isungset
Percussionist
Jack_Tarlton Jack Tarlton
Actor
Melly_Still Melly Still
Director
Issues
Once Upon A Time
Connections: Props | Design | Wardrobe
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