Straight from Grace’s Satchel: Beauty, Beasts, and the Big Return of the Citz!
Well, my loves — it’s official. Glasgow’s grand dame of storytelling is back with a roar, a shimmer, and a spot of festive mischief! The Citizens Theatre is reopening its glorious doors this Christmas with a sparkling new Beauty and the Beast that’s less “tale as old as time” and more “celebration of being boldly, gloriously yourself.” It’s on 2nd to 31st December 2025
And if you ask me, there’s no better way to mark the Citz’s first Christmas in its freshly redeveloped home than with a show that’s bursting with heart, humour, and a good dash of hometown pride.
This isn’t your sugar-dusted, swoony kind of fairy tale — oh no. Expect live music, laughter that rattles the rafters, and a visual feast of costumes and sets that’ll have even the Beast himself purring with approval.
Taking centre stage is newcomer Israela Efomi as Beauty, a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate whose fresh energy is already turning heads. Alongside her is Nicholas Marshall as Beast — one of the Citz’s own Graduate Actors for 2025/26. Around them, a merry band of seasoned performers and rising stars fill the stage with colour and chaos, including Tyler Collins, Elicia Daly, Holly Howden Gilchrist, Michael Guest, and Martin Donaghy.
Artistic Director Dominic Hill calls it “a joyful, ambitious production we’re proud to share” — and you can tell it’s personal. This is the theatre’s first festive outing in its new home, and the creative team reads like a greatest hits of past Citizens magic. Writer Lewis Hetherington (who wowed us with Red Riding Hood) pens the tale, while Dominic shares the director’s chair with Joanna Bowman, whose Escaped Alone cleaned up at the 2024 CATS Awards.
Design comes courtesy of Rachael Canning — whose name you’ll spot on many a beloved Citz Christmas — and there’s original music by Nikola Kodjabashia, lighting from Lizzie Powell, and choreography from Benedicte Seierup and Lucien Lindsay-MacDougall. Basically, a dream team ready to sprinkle stardust all over the Gorbals.
What I love most, though, is how Beauty and the Beast keeps the Citz’s tradition alive: family shows that don’t talk down to anyone. They’re thoughtful, funny, and always full of heart — the kind of theatre that makes you believe in magic again, even if just for a couple of hours.
So whether you’re six or sixty, a full-blown diva or a bit of a beast before your morning coffee, grab your tickets, pull on your sparkliest jumper, and let the Citz remind you that beauty’s not about perfect hair or princely charm — it’s about showing up as gloriously yourself (antlers and all).
Beauty and the Beast runs at the Citizens Theatre this Christmas. For full details and tickets, visit citizenstheatre.co.uk.
— Grace Hatchell
Delivering gossip, glitter, and good theatre straight from my satchel.
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