Hunter's staging is often inventive; a hand pops through a wall to offer Belle's father a rose and then grabs him by the throat. But some of the devices go nowhere. Nothing much is made, for instance, of the climbing frame the Beast hangs out on. Still, there's sterling work from Nick Haverson as Belle's bellowing, stroppy sister, Brioche, and from Javier Marzan as Kronenbourg, the heroine's loyal, lolloping dog. Hayley Carmichael is delightful playing a duck whose feathers quiver with unspoken passion around Kronenbourg. And there's chemistry between the leads; the audience wolf-whistles when they kiss.
