Beauty and the Beast, Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University

Disney's Beauty and the Beast is a show calculated to touch the heart of anyone who has ever felt different or isolated, and rarely has that message been conveyed more effectively than in this stunning production from Cockett Amateur Operatic Society.

The term "amateur" is something of a misnomer here, as there are times when the show could be mistaken for a professional production. Richard Burman is in fine form as the Beast, and we watch as he is transformed by love from a hot-tempered ogre into a gentler soul. His beloved Belle is played by Zoe George, who breathes life into a role that could well have been written for her.

Stefan Pejic — fresh from filming an episode of the new Sherlock Holmes TV series for the BBC — was a wonderfully swaggering Gaston, while the ever-reliable Peter L Howard pulled out all the dramatic stops in his role as Belle's father Maurice. Daniel Moses also acquits himself brilliantly as Le Fou, Gaston's comic foil.

The roles of the enchanted household objects are brought vividly to life by Nia Trussler-Jones (Mrs Potts), Ken Thomas (Cogsworth), Mark Warren (Lumiere), Liz Stockton (Babette), Rhiannon Williams (Madame de la Grande Bouche) and young Oliver Trussler-Jones as Chip (the role is shared during the week by Alexander Stevens).

Gaston's camp followers, collectively known as the Silly Girls, are played with great verve and the choreography is some of the finest finished work to have graced the amateur stage for some time.

A special word of praise for the costumes — to see an amateur show that features such stunning creations is rare, and demonstrates the high standards to which this society aspires.

Beauty and the Beast runs at Taliesin until Saturday. It is a production of which everyone involved can feel justly proud.

Graham Williams