A classic tale re-told at Warwick theatre

The youth company are promising to transport audiences at its Dream Factory in Warwick into a magical and strange world, where the boundaries between reality and the imagined are not so easy to define.

Directed by Emily Jane Quash, whose recent production of Lord of the Flies was a sell-out success at the theatre, the show is a fast-paced adaptation by Lawrence Boswell, who re-explores the classic tale originally penned by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

The company has described the spectacle as an “exquisite” re-telling of the well-known story of a beautiful daughter whose father promises her to a beast who dwells in a castle of illusions and shadows.

Assmebling a cast of 45, the play tells a tale of love, fear, spells, magic and longing.

Abbie Wyatt-Smith from Kenilworth is Beauty with Jeremy Franklin, Charlotte Merriam, Stephanie Young, Izzie James and Sian Maxwell in leading roles.

Meanwhile, the entire front of house at the Dream Factory has been transformed this month into Christmas Lane, with an installation design to house a seasonal programme of festive events during the run-up to Christmas.

Beauty and the Beast runs until Sunday January 1. Tickets cost £12.50 (concessions £8.50). Call 419555 ext 2.

To find out more about Playbox Theatre youth theatre company and its custom-designed Dream Factory in Shelley Avenue, go online.