Everyone knows the story of The Little Mermaid. But you absolutely have to see this production by Polly Teale of the Shared Experience Company – it is astonishing and utterly mesmerising.
The set and the lighting makes those underwater scenes really feel like the sun-dappled depths of the ocean. The choreographer/movement director should receive an award – the young women moved constantly to convey the elegant movements of a sea creature perfectly. I simply could not take my eyes off of their constant ebb and flow. The slow motion dance scenes were mind-blowing and I was nearly sea-sick as I watched the passengers sway on a storm stricken ship. And there was an innocent sensuousness as the mermaid rescued her Prince in that marine embrace.
The mermaids’ singing was exactly as you would imagine it to sound – so the musical director did good too. And the cast of teenage girls - who skilfully slipped from mermaids to paparazzi to royal family and back again – while providing that bewitching siren song - also deserve acknowledgement.
Whilst every member of the cast was excellent, Natalie Gavin as Blue and Sarah Twomey as the Little Mermaid had a profound impact and Polly Frame (as mother, Grandmer and the queen) owned the stage each time she appeared.
The story was bought bang up to date with selfie-obsessed teens, the heart ache of redundancy, the media fascination with the royals and the conflict in Afghanistan.
Viewing our world – with all its injustices and sadness - from the perspective of a mermaid was powerful. And as if that wasn’t enough, there were also some important messages, like conforming to the norm isn’t so smart - If you give up your voice (and your identity) to look like everyone else then you lose everything.
I enjoyed it immensely. And only wish that I had had the foresight to take along my teen daughter who would have loved it too.
http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/mermaid/richmond-theatre/
http://www.sharedexperience.org.uk/mermaid.html
