From Left to Right: Beauty and the Beast My Life - Billy Marchenski, Niall McNeil and Sophia Wolfe, Photo by Tim Matheson
Vancouver-based artist Niall McNeil is an actor, writer, lyricist, poet, filmmaker, and painter who also happens to have Down syndrome. As the co-creator of acclaimed productions including Peter Panties and Sir Arthur's Knight (both developed here at Banff Centre), Niall returns to Banff with a new creation that adds director to his list of artistic practices.
Inspired by the 1740 French fairy tale La Belle et la Bête, Jean Cocteau's surrealist film adaptation, and Disney's 1991 animated classic, Niall brings his own experiences and perspectives to the iconic story in Beauty and the Beast: My Life.
Featuring seriously catchy music by Veda Hille, stylized choreography by Billy Marchenski, and an accompanying exhibition of Niall's paintings exploring the show's themes, Beauty and the Beast: My Life is a funny, vulnerable, high-energy celebration of a singular artist's imagination. This highly original interdisciplinary performance offers audiences an experience unlike anything else on stage.
Beauty and the Beast: My Life has been created with accessibility for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences in mind, with live captioning provided at every performance.
Interested in Beauty and the Beast: My Life? You might also want to learn more about Teatro La Plaza: Hamlet at Banff Centre.
Beauty and the Beast: My Life is experimenting with paintings that I’ve designed with handles so people can dance with them. My original idea is to let the performers work in my different new way. It’s my first time being a director. My purpose is to make my own art. - Niall McNeil
Talk about innovation. Talk about risk. Talk about reward. Talk about writer and director Niall McNeil’s Beauty and the Beast: My Life. - Colin Thomas
"Beauty and the Beast: My Life balances raucous panto and poignant personal reflection" - The Stir
“Here is a trailblazing artist who has taken life as it was handed to him and forged a career in theatre, the visual arts, film and now as a director… to say this Beauty and the Beast is like no other you’ve ever seen is an understatement… I saw it. I embraced it. I found the poetry”. - Theatre Reviews on the Scene
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