Consequently, it has much more of a panto feel about it than, say, last year’s Mary Poppins.

It’s the story of the free-spirited Belle (Glasgow-born Ashley Oliver), who dreams of experiencing “more than this provincial life” but finds what initially seems to be a nightmare when she is taken prisoner by the bad-tempered Beast (Shaun Dalton). Of course, under all the hair, he is really a prince who lost his looks because of a curse on his castle which also transformed all his servants into not-so inanimate objects.

In last night’s performance, various supporting characters stole the show: the amourous Lumiere (Phil Barley), the candelabra who croons a la Chevalier and flirts for France; the boorish Gaston, hilariously portrayed by Ben Harlow as a camp, superhero version of John Travolta’s character in Grease, and the cup, Chip, played by a little local boy who had to spend the evening with his apparently disembodied head on a tea trolley.

Unfortunately, the show’s interpretation of the film’s stand-out song ‘n’ dance routine, Be Our Guest, was pretty underwhelming (it would be impossible to match the Busby Berkeley-style spectacle achieved by Disney animators – but surely they could have tried?), and some scenes suffered from the contribution of an over-enthusiastic smoke machine. However, the many delights in the second half -notably the lavish dance routine for Human Again and the magical moment when the spell is broken – compensated for any earlier disappointment.

Star rating: ****