The Little Mermaid: An Underwater Musical Adventure at The Lighthouse, Poole Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Helen O
My 5 year old son and I were delighted to be offered the opportunity to watch and review The Little Mermaid: An Underwater Musical Adventure at The Lighthouse Theatre, Poole, as we love the Disney film and he is just starting to enjoy trips to the theatre to watch the magic of live performances.
We were sat in row K, which was pretty much right in the middle of the auditorium, giving us a fabulous view of the stage and all of the action. There was plenty of leg room, to allow a comfortable viewing of the performance, so we just had to sit back and enjoy the show. As it was a performance aimed at children, there was a plentiful supply of booster seats, to allow the younger members of the audience an opportunity to get a better view of the stage, if needs be.
This latest take on the much-loved classic Little Mermaid tale was presented by Scott Ritchie Productions, as part of a national tour, promising plenty of fun, singing and dancing and we weren’t disappointed!
Although it was loosely based on the original tale, there were some major differences. Principally the names of some of the main characters have been changed, most notably Sebastian the Crab, replaced as Crispin the Crab for this performance. However, Ariel and Ursula the Sea Witch stayed true to the original. Also, there were far fewer characters involved with this portrayal, than with the original. The cast was made up of only 6 actors, with some portraying more than one character.
There were also some changes to the storyline, with emphasis on delivering a strong message in respect of polluting our oceans and the impact on sea-life, which I hadn’t expected, but I think worked really well and fitted in with the theme of the show. It’s such an important message for our youngsters to take away.
We had been expecting to hear some classic songs from the film, such as Under the Sea, but instead we were treated to some renditions of modern pop songs such as Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars) and Get the Party Started (P!nk), with the lyrics changed to represent the plot line. I think this really worked for this production, providing some uplifting moments. The dances had been choreographed really well too.
The stand-out performance for us was Crispin the Crab, who engaged really well with the audience and brought some great humour to the proceedings. It was almost pantomime-esque, which is something I really love. Plus his crab costume was fabulous too! Ariel and Ursula also had fantastic singing voices, really delivering their songs with gusto.
The show ran for approximately 1 hour 40 in total, including a 20 minute interval in the middle. Due to the average age of the audience, the interval was very welcome, to allow them to stretch their legs and refocus for the second half (and of course get some ice cream!) The performance is aimed at children age 5+, which I think is pitched just right, anyone younger would not have the attention span to sit through a show of that length.
There was an opportunity to meet and greet with the characters from the show afterwards, which was a really nice touch and made more of an experience of it for the youngsters.
Rating: 4/5
RRP Tickets cost from £15 to £19.50, which I think is good value for the length of show.
Buy tickets here: https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/the-little-mermaid-an-underwater-musical-adventure/ The performance was a one-off at Poole Lighthouse for 28th October 2023, as part of a national tour.
Address of Venue – The Lighthouse Theatre, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, BH15 1U