Eeting Beauty

The pitch In the self-referential world of the Pantosphere, baby Bess is the daughter and niece of a celebrated Ugly Sisters double act, while her mother has been asleep for 100 years. Set to suffer the same fate on her own 18th birthday, she is cursed with a worse torment: the prospect of 100 years of non-stop eating. It’s down to the handsome prince to save her with his knowledge of healthy diets: if only he hadn’t fallen in love with her pet pig.

The verdict Another highly enjoyable romp from Gordon Dougall and Fletcher Mathers, twisting a traditional tale in new and unexpected ways without neglecting the old-fashioned sing-alongs, sweet throwing and soppy happy ending. Tremendous performances from an ungrammatical Barrie Hunter as the baddie, a down-to-earth Myra McFadyen as the fairy, a self-centred Katrina Bryan as Bess, an operatic Mark Prendergast as the prince and an ebullient Leah MacRae as the pig. (Mark Fisher)
Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sun 6 Jan