Enchanting. Take a mix of Hans Christian Anderson, Cornish legend, sea myth, a tale of love and meld together with a large dollop of ‘Watermill glue’…. And produce a performance to relish and remember. An old favourite, re-imagined into a world steeped with legend, fantasy and mystique – set into a musical framework of Cornish folk….. And here is The Little Mermaid.
The Watermill Theatre’s Christmas show, an enticing spectacle set in the delightful surroundings of Newbury’s Watermill Theatre – need one say more? Of course, plenty.
A production aimed at the younger audience, sure, but also for the family. The staging was simple but no less and no more than required to create the space for a musical, where every performer was the accompanist and lead character, switching seamlessly between very different instruments throughout.
The sea was – and still is – at the core of the lives of many in Cornish coastal villages. In years gone by it was fishing, the unknown and ever-present dangers of the water, smuggling, and of course, all bound together in folklore. Throw in an element of environmental concern – that of the emerging industrialised fishing industry, trawlers scraping the sea bed and taking whatever catch they could – to unite the sea-dwelling Merfolk of King Tyron and the Landfolk of Penwith. They both shared that common threat.
The cast – they each and all played a lead role. From Christopher Staines as Captain Trelawney and Taron the Sea King, to Sophie Kamal as Granny Ocean / Granny Bessy they each were at the front of the stage. But Tom Babbage as Kadon, who even embraced and delivered a bit is improv when dealing with a slight prop malfunction and when interacting with a few (younger) members of the audience, delivered a performance for that part. And Annabelle Aquino as Merryn The Little Mermaid. We haven’t seen much of her elsewhere in different roles yet, but from now on we will. Superb, but that doesn’t in any way diminish the multi-talented performance from the entire cast, musical, character, or even scene shifting.
This is The Watermill. The rustic – and maybe to some, the ‘limiting’ space – is a blank canvas for the creatives, enabling (and encouraging) every production to become a ‘Watermill production’. And for The Little Mermaid the Director Elgiva Field, Laura Barber (writer) and Arnie Parsons, who directed and created the music and lyrics, they created a success that is there for us all to enjoy.
An evening, morning or afternoon of magic for all the family. To embrace over the days and weeks before Christmas, or to act as an experience to shake off those Boxing Day and after blues, or as an antidote to post-New Year hangovers. This magic from The Little Mermaid, at The Watermill Theatre in Newbury will deliver.
Click here to find out more about the production and to book tickets
Christmas lights in the High Street – now on…..
