Liv Newcomb will take on the role of Belle alongside Ollie Llewelyn-Williams as Prince Sebastian and Neisha-Yen Jones as the Enchantress.
With audiences already familiar with Beauty and the Beast in its many forms, Newcomb admitted there is some expectation attached to playing such a recognisable character.
However, rather than feeling pressure, she described stepping into Belle’s shoes as an honour.
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(Image: The Northern Echo)
She said: “Everyone knows the traditional story and the Disney version of the fairy tale, so there’s pressure in terms of being the character that everyone loves.
“But it’s more like an honour to be able to have the tradition that’s associated with it.
“It’s stepping into something that you know everyone loves.”
While the traditional story remains at the production’s heart, the format gives its stars the opportunity to put their own stamp on the familiar characters.
For some of the cast, it will also mean adapting to the distinctive world of pantomime for the first time.
Llewelyn-Williams has come from more traditional theatre and said the freedom for performers and audiences to interact makes panto a very different prospect.
He said: “You get to interact with the audience, break fourth wall.
“They can have a sing-song, they can boo at me, they can cheer at me.
“It’s exciting and it is a new technique.”
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(Image: Sarah Caldecott)
That unpredictability is something Neisha-Yen Jones is also looking forward to embracing, particularly after working in productions where performances are typically more fixed.
She said watching experienced comedians respond to audiences and change their performances on the fly offers an opportunity to learn a different theatrical skill.
The cast came together ahead of the production’s December opening, giving its members an early opportunity to see their costumes and discover the different skills among the company.
Llewelyn-Williams said: “It’s the first time that we’re seeing all the costumes together and seeing the energy all together, and we’re all bonding.
“It’s making it feel more real now.”
Despite working with one of theatre’s best-known fairy tales, audiences should not expect everything they see at the Hippodrome to follow the version they already know.
New characters will appear alongside familiar faces, while comedy and the conventions of pantomime will put a different spin on the story.
Newcomb said audiences can expect “the traditional story that everyone loves, but with twists and turns that we’re not expecting, and new characters and jokes”.
The cast is also looking forward to discovering the show’s musical side, with big dance numbers and songs forming part of the production.
Asked which pop songs they would choose themselves, Newcomb opted for Beyoncé’s Love on Top, while Llewelyn-Williams suggested music from Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars and Jones pointing towards a Tina Turner classic.
But for now, the finer details of what awaits Darlington audiences remain under wraps.
What the trio can promise is a production which combines the heart of the original story with the freedom, humour and audience interaction of a Christmas panto.
Beauty and the Beast runs at Darlington Hippodrome from December 11 to January 3.
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