Phelim McDermott Directs BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Improbable's Phelim McDermott directs the internationally acclaimed duo Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz in Beauty and the Beast, an adult fairy tale like no other.

What do you get when a born freak, a former beauty queen and an award-winning maverick Director tell the true story of Beauty and the Beast?

Beauty and the Beast is a daring retelling of a famous fairytale, inspired by the real-life love story between Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz who met one magical night in Coney Island appearing in a burlesque show and were married six years and one day later.

Directed by Improbable's Phelim McDermott, this Beauty and the Beast explodes any notions of Disney schmaltz, questioning who loves who, why they do, and reveals the deepest hopes and fears at the heart of all of our love stories. The shadow play, puppetry, song and dance in this multi-layered story will re-kindle your lust for life.

Mat Fraser is one of the UK's best-known disabled performers, having been a regular face on screens and stages over the last 15 years, both in mainstream and Disability Arts. He hosted the Paralympic opening ceremony and played drums with Coldplay at the closing ceremony, seen by seven million people worldwide. Mat has phocomelia of his arms caused by the drug Thalidomide, well known to be damaging to unborn foetuses, which inspired his infamous show, Thalidomide!! A Musical, typical of Mat's un-PC take on disability. He recently played the lead in the film Unarmed But Dangerous, and played Will in Jack Thorne's Channel 4 drama Cast Offs.

Julie Atlas Muz won Miss Exotic World and Miss Coney Island and was hailed Biggest Trendsetter in New York Burlesque. Her choreography includes a piece in the long-running Las Vegas show Absinthe, and can be seen on the small screen in HBO's Bored to Death and on the silver screen in Meet Monica Velour (solo for Kim Catrall). In 2010 she co-starred in the award-winning film, Tournée, which scooped Best Director in Cannes. Julie is a legendary nightlife performer who tours the world with her famed feminist risk-taking shows that have secured her a place in the underground and mainstream arts.

The cast will also include Jonny Dixon who has recently finished touring the world in Kevin Spacey's Richard III, and Jess Mabel Jones who has recently appeared with Blind Summit and Little Angel Theatre.

Phelim McDermott is Artistic Director and founding member of Improbable and an internationally renowned independent theatre-maker. Past productions with Improbable include 70 Hill Lane, Lifegame, Animo, Coma, Spirit, Sticky, Cinderella, The Hanging Man, Theatre of Blood and Panic. He directed the Company's acclaimed Philip Glass operas Satyagraha (in collaboration with ENO and the Metropolitan Opera) and The Perfect American (in collaboration with Teatro Real and ENO). Other shows he has directed include The Government Inspector (West Yorkshire Playhouse), A Midsummer Night's Dream for the English Shakespeare Company and Shockheaded Peter with Julian Crouch, a collaboration with The Tiger Lillies for Cultural Industry.

Warning: This show contains both beautiful and beastly nudity.

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