Upping the festive antics this winter, He’s Behind You! unveils the cast set to bring their ridiculous and exuberantly gay, adults-only fairytale to Charing Cross Theatre. Featuring outrageous humour, naughty original songs and a lot of sexual awakenings,Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Storyis a queer and irreverent spin on a much-loved classic.
Set in the frostbitten Scottish village of Lickmanochers, this laugh-out-loud twisted romance features Matt Kennedy (Mamma Mia;We Will Rock You, West End;River City, BBC) as the innocent and inexperienced Bertie, whose dreams of a new life away – and hopefully some action – come unstuck when he embarks on a mission to rescue his mammy from a beast-ridden and bizarrely haunted castle.
Kennedy is joined by four popular talents from He’s Behind You!’s hit showJack and the Beanstalk: What A Whopper. Keanu Adolphus Johnson (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical;Backstage Billy, West End) brings the mysterious, moody and undeniably sexy-in-a-certain-light beast to life whilst Laura Anna Mead (Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, Barn Theatre) joins as Bertie’s equally frustrated lesbian sister. Dame extraordinaire Matthew Baldwin (“sublime”, Guardian; “wonderful”, TimeOut; “An exceptional dame”, The Stage) will play Bertie’s overbearing mother and Chris Lane (Ghosted: Another F***ing Christmas Carol, The Other Palace;Emmerdale) is set to sprinkle sordidly mischievous evil as villainous Cornelius.
Completing the cast are Dani Mirels (GIRLZ, Edinburgh Fringe) as an enchantress who can’t help breaking off her annual leave to usher in some romance; Ben Mabberley (Calamity Jane;Blood Brothers;Footloose;Dirty Dancing, UK Tours); Owen Arkrow (White Rose: The Musical, Marylebone Theatre) and recent graduate Olivia-Grace Weaver.
Steaming up the Scottish winter snow,Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Storyis an epically endearing, smartly stupid and audaciously adult panto romcom.
Director and Co-founder of He’s Behind You!, Andrew Beckett, shares,I’m so excited that we’re about to start making mayhem with this brilliant company. Matthew and Chris are two of the funniest, most distinctive performers around and have been making our loyal audiences belly laugh for years. Anyone who saw last year’s show will know how much heart and silliness Keanu and Laura bring to our brandof adult panto. And I’m beyond thrilled by the talented performers joining us for the first time. It’s going to be a dream. A chaotic, hysterical, magical dream.
Award-winning panto pioneers, He’s Behind You! (Special Recognition Award, 2025’s UK Pantomime Awards) are renowned for merging pantomime traditions with the sharper edges of adult comedy. With over a decade of panto experience from making the legendary adult pantomimes at the now closed LGBT+ venue Above The Stag Theatre, the team are now firmly established as He’s Behind You!, and follow the successes ofSleeping Beauty Takes A Prick!andJack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper!with this unmissable night of romance and showstopping spectacle for adults.
This post was last modified on October 21, 2025 8:51 am