Iain Lauchlan will play Dame Dorothy Do-It in the Belgrade Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast, a pantomime he has also written and is directing, with Abiola Falokun making her professional stage debut as Belle. The Coventry panto runs from 18 November 2026 to 2 January 2027.
Iain Lauchlan heads the company of Beauty and the Beast, this year’s Christmas pantomime at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, taking on the dame as well as writing and directing the show. The Belgrade presents it in association with Imagine Theatre, with performances from Wednesday 18 November 2026 to Saturday 2 January 2027 and a press performance on Friday 20 November.
Lauchlan is a familiar face in Coventry pantomime, and his recent appearances include Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington and Cinderella. Alongside the dame, Craig Hollingsworth plays Willy-Do-It in what is his 15th pantomime at the theatre, after earlier turns in Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington, Aladdin and a previous Beauty and the Beast.
Sion Lloyd is back as The Beast, a part Lloyd has already played at the Belgrade twice, in 2009 and again in 2021. Opposite the Beast, Abiola Falokun takes the role of Belle in her first professional stage production.
Morna Macpherson, whose credits include Jack and the Beanstalk, is The Enchantress, and Dylan Andrews plays Gaston on his first appearance at the Belgrade. David Gillbrook (Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots) is Belle’s father Harold, while Aonghas Ewen (Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington, Cinderella) doubles as the Prince and a member of the ensemble. Alice Ellwood and Ayo Akande complete the ensemble, both new to the Belgrade stage.
The story keeps to its familiar shape. Belle is snatched by a fearsome Beast and shut away in his castle, unaware that her captor is a prince under an enchantress’s curse, who can only be freed if he learns to think of others and finds true love.
Behind the scenes, Lauchlan works with choreographer Jenny Phillips, set designer Ian Westbrook, costume designer James Maciver, lighting designer Jason Taylor and sound designer Chris Mock. David Haller is musical director, Jamie Noar musical arranger and Lisa Connell fight director, with Vicki Stevenson as assistant director and choreographer.
The company was announced by the Belgrade’s artistic director, Corey Campbell, and interim chief executive, Emma Flatley. The theatre’s festive programme also includes Father Christmas, the stage version of Raymond Briggs’s book, from Thursday 3 December to Sunday 27 December 2026. Looking further ahead, the Belgrade has already set out its spring 2027 season.
