Over the past few years, a partnership between Birmingham Ormiston Academy and the Old Rep Theatre has delivered some of the city’s finest festive stage shows. This year, it’s ‘people’s choice’ Beauty And The Beast which is casting its spell on Christmas audiences. What’s On recently caught up with the show’s director, Alex Fellows-Bennett, to find out more...

Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) and the Old Rep Theatre can justifiably claim that this year’s Christmas show is the choice of the public - after asking audiences to vote on a shortlist.
The team, who are this year producing their seventh Christmas show together, gave their 2019 audiences a choice of five different titles, asking them to state which one should be staged next - and the overwhelming favourite was Beauty And The Beast.

The new musical adaptation of the classic fairytale was delayed because of Covid-19 and lockdowns, but it has now finally hit the stage - and director Alec Fellows-Bennett says there was never any doubt that the show would happen.
“Beauty And The Beast was an incredibly popular choice. I don’t think any of the other options came anywhere close. I think Beauty is so popular because it’s a story that’s become a fairytale that’s become a parable that’s become a metaphor, and so everyone knows it. It’s a very simple story, or a simple metaphor, which has been told in a lot of different styles, but it’s fundamentally the same story.

“I also think the story is inextricably linked with Christmas. That’s partly because of the Disney version, but it’s also a very popular panto. So, for whatever reason, it’s become one of those Christmas stories.”

Created by a team of professionals comprising Alec as director, writer Toby Hulse and composer Steve Allan Jones, the show features nearly 100 BOA students on stage in four separate casts across the month-long run, with many others working behind the scenes. Beauty And The Beast follows successful previous BOA and Old Rep team-ups, including Alice In Wonderland, Treasure Island, Pinocchio and The Wind In The Willows.

“This year, it’s a bigger spectacle than it has been in the past,” says Alec. “Every single week we have a complete new cast, so with 23 students in each group, that’s 92 in total. It’s a massive undertaking, and they have worked extremely hard. It’s been made so that every show is exactly the same as the previous one, although individuals bring their own flair to certain roles. 
“The students are all in their graduating year, so they’ve had most of their training now and are looking to go on to professional jobs. Some of them have already done some professional roles or have jobs already lined up to go into.”

Launched in the city centre in 2011, BOA specialises in teaching creative, digital and performing arts. An independent state-funded academy sponsored by the Ormiston Trust and Birmingham City University, the group comprises BOA Birmingham Ormiston Academy, BOA Stage & Screen Academy and BOA Digital Academy. The Christmas shows give students from a range of disciplines a chance to gain in-theatre experience.

“The number of young people involved is much larger because BOA has now opened its Stage & Screen Academy, which, with a small cohort of actors, is covering filming, recording, radio, lighting, sound, prop-making, set design - all of the elements, including many things most people don’t think about.

“So the Stage & Screen Academy has taken responsibility for all the design side, costumes, sets and props. And it’s all student-led. Apart from me, Steve and Toby, who’ve got to deliver something they can all work on, the suggestions and the drives have come from the students.”
The team has made a few tweaks to the story and created a host of new songs.
“As always there’s a huge musical element, and Steve has come up with some great music. In terms of the characters, they have got very specific musical language, whether it’s ballads or pop or rock. 

“Steve’s aim has been to write songs that people think they know - so the minute a song kicks in, it sounds like something really familiar and recognisable as a specific language. So, for example, he’s the pop-star ’90s dream boy or they’re the Spice Girls, that’s the romantic balladeer etc. That makes it extremely recognisable, so if you’re an adult, you have an instant flashback to maybe the 1980s or ’90s.

“It’s been interesting picking the different styles and the artists to be influenced by for each character. There’s one character, Avenant, who was turned into Gaston for Disney. When we started, we wanted him to be a hip-hop streetwise guy, but he’s very much become a terrible Jason Donovan instead!
“It’s been an interesting U-turn but a good one. The characters have developed along with their music. It’s been interesting to watch characters and the storyline change because of what we’ve discovered in the music. 
“What we hope will happen with the audience - and this has happened with the cast - is that they’ll learn a song immediately, so suddenly you’re singing along. You’ve only heard it once, but there’s a little bit of your brain telling you it’s something you already know.”

And it’s this tailor-made approach which Alec believes makes the BOA and Old Rep Christmas productions so special.
“It’s not bought in; we’ve not designed this show to have a life anywhere else. It’s been designed, made, composed and directed all for our audience and the audiences we’ve had over the last seven years. We’ve honed our skills to hopefully give them what they want. 
“The show is made for the people of Birmingham and the wider area; people who love theatre. I’d say that if you’ve not seen our productions before, come and discover Beauty And The Beast and the Old Rep Theatre. It’s the most magical little space, with a really magical show.”

Beauty And The Beast shows at the Old Rep Theatre until Friday 16 December.

By Diane Parkes