Presented by Allegro

Directed by Neil Lavin

Review by Hunter King

“The human world it’s a mess, life under the sea is better than anything they’ve got up there!” says our now Francified version of Sebastian the undersea crab in Allegro’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid which swam its way into the Church Hill Theatre this week.

If you have been living under the sea for the last nearly 40 years and have somehow managed to not see The Little Mermaid, it is a classic Disney princess tale of a young mermaid, Ariel (Emma Clarkson) infatuated with a seaman Prince, Eric (Matthew Colquhoun). Accompanied by her best friends Flounder (Isabella Yow) and Scuttle (Immie Wright), Ariel defies her father King Triton (Russell Cold), and makes a deal with her aunt, Ursula the sea witch (Lyndsey McGhee) to give her the chance to meet her crush and potential true love in person. Accompanied by a legendary score by Alan Menken, The Little Mermaid has been a household staple for a few generations now.

Allegro’s production is a reminder that a high budget and flashy costumes are an important embellishment for theatrical pieces but cannot replace genuine grit and performativity from the actors. The production itself is perfectly suitable for the audiences they are trying to attract (families, and primarily children), but for the theatregoing regulars of Edinburgh, there was some level of clunkiness that is not typical of this company.

The production as a whole was a mixed bag of highs and lows, which made the moments of excellence feel evermore exciting, but the moments that lacked excellence stood out like a sore thumb. At the center of the piece, Clarkson handled Ariel with ease and the vocals that genuinely felt magical, only ever wavering due to the abrupt halt of a heely gone rogue. Her characterization was authentically whimsical, and even at the moments where Ariel had given up her voice, her physical performance was high energy and truly royal.

Standing out as the absolute MVPs of the production were Emma Dawson and Zoe Murray as Flotsam and Jetsam, respectively. Their manipulation of the neon eel puppets moved with an eeriness that made them suitably wicked, whilst also having the capacity for some of the funnier moments of the show. When matched up with their mistress Ursula, played with the impeccable charm of a washed up cabaret performer by Lyndsey McGhee, the villainous moments of the show became the clear highlight.

Also highlighting the show were Yow’s boyish charm as Flounder, and Paul Kelly-Copland’s masterful vocals as Sebastian. While Yow had the acting for Flounder down, her performance of “She’s In Love” was a standout of the night, with head-bopability beyond belief. Kelly-Copland on the other hand, never quite had the manic high energy of Sebastian down, but made up for it in his vocals, including an opt up at the end of “Kiss The Girl” which could’ve blown the roof clean off of the Church Hill.

From a staging perspective, the show was inconsistent. Kate Dixon and Neil Lavin’s costume design was almost picture perfectly authentic to the 1989 film, but sometimes prioritized flair over efficiency, especially in the case of the heelys, which notoriously caused issues in almost every major production of this show. The back wall video design at times was suitable, but sometimes felt a little less Disney and a little more Cocomelon, with some animations that looked unfinished. The lighting stood out as strong, especially in the moments when a light haze covered the stage, making it seem like the sunlight peering in through the water.

The choreography of the show left something to be desired, which may be chalked up to the less maneuverable costumes, but big showstopping moments like “Under the Sea” fell flat with a lot of standing and singing with some minimal arm movements, a forbidden practice in a Disney musical. This and a quite stagnant “Les Poissons” made moments that are usually full of energy feel unimportant. With this said, the best dance of the night was easily “Positoovity” where the cast showed off tapping skills, proving they have skill and potential that was unfortunately unmatched for most of the rest of the show.

Bearing all of this in mind, the true star of the show was by far the orchestra, under the wand of Louisa Everett. It is no easy task bringing a score that is so well known to the stage and fitting the expectations of the audience, but this “hot crustacean band” was absolutely faultless, filling the air with Disney magic that made the entire experience twice as fun.

Overall, Allegro’s The Little Mermaid may not be their most polished show by any means, but it is certainly a fun night out at the theatre, and will provide your ears with a musical ambrosia especially in those key musical moments that many of us remember from our childhood.

---