Beauty and the Beast cast look forward to Christmas in Dublin as show makes its way to Ireland

Denise O’Donoghue travels to Bristol to meet the cast of Beauty and the Beast, as it begins its run in Dublin

Shaq Taylor as Beast and Courtney Stapleton as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast Picture: Johan Persson ©Disney

There’s a tale as old as time coming to Ireland this Christmas, and it is eerily timed given the death last month of stage and screen legend Angela Lansbury. Beauty and the Beast has its Irish premiere at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin this month and its leads say it is poignant to hear the voice of the late star, who voiced Mrs Potts in the Disney movie, narrating their show. One of east Cork’s best known residents, Lansbury passed away while the touring production was stationed in Bristol, where we caught up with the stars of the show ahead of their move across the Irish Sea.

Sam Bailey, who won the X-Factor in 2013, is stepping into the role of the maternal teapot for the musical’s UK and Ireland tour and she says it was difficult to perform so soon after learning of Lansbury’s death during one of the show’s intervals.