A couple of weeks ago I bumped into a friend and her kids in Beech Road Park, Chorlton. Her daughter was clutching a soft knitted doll with caramel coloured skin and big brown doe eyes.
“I love your doll. She looks like me!” I said. The words danced out of my mouth as the little girl smiled back sweetly, her silky blonde hair meeting the doll’s dark coils as she pulled her in tighter.
“That’s Belle. She got her when we went to see the show at The Palace. It was soooo good.” replied her mum.
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Belle? Noticing the famous baby blue pinafore dress the penny dropped. Belle from Beauty and The Beast. And she’s mixed race.
For most, this fact might have gone largely unnoticed, after all a ‘triumph of a musical’ as described in our recent review, is why people have been booking tickets in their droves for the Palace Theatre show.
Several touring musical theatre productions have featured leading Black or mixed race cast members in recent times, including Sister Act and Dreamgirls. And sure, we’re all aware of the best known non-white Disney princesses, namely Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Moana and Tiana who, like Belle in this instance, had her ethnicity changed from the original story.
But Belle is big. Disney royalty, I’d add. My 6-year-old son in tow, this was one musical I knew we had to see together.
Unfortunately our matinee fell on a sick day for Courtney, and so Belle was played by an actress more representative of the original animated Belle in the 1991 film I remember from my own childhood. My heart sank, which might seem dramatic but it’s important to remember that for 60 years little Black girls simply didn’t get to see a reflection of themselves on screen as Disney princesses.
The very first Disney movie (Snow White) came out in 1938, but Tiana, Disney’s first and only Black princess, didn’t arrive until 2009. And let’s not forget the fact she spent most of the film as a frog.
More recently in 2019 it was announced Disney Princess and much-loved mermaid, Ariel, is to be played in the upcoming musical fantasy film by actress Halle Bailey complete with her signature long dreadlocks.
This news resulted in a casting backlash with people taking to social media to vent. Irate at the decision to choose a Black actress to play Ariel, the hashtag #NotMyAriel began to trend. Thankfully, there was also plenty of support.
One tweet about the Ariel controversy read: “As a white skinned redhead I have very strong feelings about the Little Mermaid. Ariel changed my ginger world. The mean jokes ended. I became envied for my hair. And you know what? I want little black girls to experience that with the new Ariel.”
Even now, as an adult, my sadness at missing the chance to see actress Courtney Stapleton as Belle this time, stemmed from never having seen a Black or mixed race actress, front and centre stage, in such a pivotal leading Disney role.
Arguably, it would have been better to cast a mixed race understudy if only for alignment with all the fabulous merchandise, but nevertheless the performance was still absolutely flawless.
It was also a delight to get to see the Beast whose voice was the stand out of the entire show. The role is played by actor Shaq Taylor who is also Black and whose character has dreadlocks both as the Beast and the prince.
Just like Halle Bailey as Ariel, it’s that kind of attention to detail, celebrating beautiful Black features and culture unapologetically, that is so refreshing and significant to see in the mainstream. While theatre is first and foremost entertainment, when it comes to our children the importance of representation runs a lot deeper than we might think.
A friend of mine’s daughter, at just 3-years-old, recognised that her favourite Disney Princesses didn’t have Afro hair or brown skin like hers and referred to her own hair as “messy” as a result. Having been that little girl myself, it was heartbreaking to hear and still very difficult to solve.
Children with Afro hair is a topic discussed on Mane Of Your Own - the UK’s first podcast all about Black hair in the modern day.
Speaking about the importance of diverse representation for children, co-host Claire Quansah said: “I didn’t have many Black dolls when I was growing up. Although I did have a Black Barbie and she was everything to me because she came from family in America - it was quite difficult to get a Black Barbie in Manchester back then!
“She was really just the same Barbie with black skin - her features were still white and she still had long straight hair but it was a start.
“Barbies have changed these days, from body shape, to features and hair. I used to think it’s just a doll, people don’t need to take it so seriously, but since becoming a mother I’m much more aware of the messages that children pick up. It’s important to realise kids are seeing these images consistently and being told this is the ideal of beauty.”
I lost count of the amount of mini Belles of all backgrounds in ball gowns at the interval, proudly clutching their dolls, imagining themselves up there on stage at The Palace.
All children need to be afforded the opportunity to see characters who look like themselves and their families on stage and to see a range of portrayals of different racial groups.
Above all, I’m proud this production went against the grain of what we perceive Beauty and the Beast to look like, focusing on casting the best talents to play these characters and give them voices. And very accomplished voices at that.
The success of this show is proof that even a tale as old as time can and should adapt to the modern day melting pot.
Beauty and the Beast is at Manchester's Palace Theatre until June 4.
