Community panto at its best returns to Harrow this Christmas, with Beauty and the Beast playing at the Harrow Arts Centre this week.

The classic fable tells the story of the beautiful Belle who goes to live at the castle of the Beast in order to save her father’s life. Will Belle overcome her fear? Will the Beast learn the value of kindness? Can true love break a terrible curse?

Haris Mos, a 23-year-old professional singer who plays the Beast, says: “There will be lots of songs and dancing, and there’ll be happy and sad moments.”

Children will particularly love the hilarious scenes with Dolly Doughnut, the pantomime dame, making cakes and throwing the ingredients around.

Haris spoke of the challenge of playing the tortured and lonely beast.

“The Beast is two different characters,“ he says, “a monster and a prince. When I wear the Beast’s mask I get to be really horrible, and then when I take it off I have to be someone completely different.“ This is Haris’ second time in panto. Born in Athens to a Greek father and English mother in 1988, he saw pantomimes as he was growing up and played the part of Aladdin in a production in Greece.

Now resident in Ashford, Middlesex, he is a full-time professional musician, singing in different venues every week with various bands. Haris is also studying vocal techniques at Tech Music School in West London. His first solo album, The Other Side, is being released in Greece in January 2012 and he has hopes to release it here in the UK, later in the year.

The rest of the cast includes Christina Maunders from Harrow Weald as Belle, Rachel Miller from Kenton as The Rose, and Sunil Hurani from Edgware as Dolly Doughnut.

Beauty and the Beast is at Harrow Arts Centre, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End until December 18 and December 21-23. Performances are at 2pm and 7pm on various days, check for more information. Details: 020 8416 8989, www.harrowarts.com

Rosy Moorhead