The Little Mermaid musical at the Watermill Theatre – review

Welcome to Cornwall, home of fishermen on the sea – and beyond and below it, the mythical kingdom of the Seafolk.

Everything about this wondrous reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved tale (with no filter of Disney) dazzles and draws in audience members of all ages. From the moment mysterious lighting reveals a backdrop of a shining streamers and bunting through which lights glisten, a rollicking band of smiling, singing folk musicians take the stage. It’s a stage that is as full of the everyday as it is of magic, with scaffolding and boxes creating levels and entrances.

In that Seafolk Kingdom, there’s cause for celebration too: it is the birthday of mermaid Merryn, the Sea King’s daughter, the day she gets to see the world above the surface for the first time… to observe but not to enter, as her imperious father King Taran sternly reminds her.

But this special day is a dangerously stormy one, so when Merryn sees a young fisherman thrown overboard from his boat and about to drown, she cannot but intervene to save him.

Meanwhile, her own brother, Kitto (excellent Zach Burns, also an especially versatile musician) is missing, so her birthday is in danger of ending in uncertainty – even tragedy. In desperation to find him, she turns to dangerous and forbidding Sea Witch Granny Ocean (an imperious Sophie Kamal, who contrasts this marvellously with playing Merryn’s rather more homely Granny Bessy!)

She must trade her voice for this contact with the world above the sea and so Annabelle Aquino’s warm (yes, despite the chilly sea!) and empathetic Merryn must relinquish her voice as well as her tail in exchange for legs and feet. In fact, even when muted Aquino shines on land as much as she did with her glittering tail, for she is extraordinarily expressive, bouncy and lively in her take on the much-loved mermaid. Not exactly a spoiler alert, but her song of delight when she does regain her voice is just glorious too. She is equally delighted when she meets a fisherman and dons layers of warm coats, scarves and woolly hat – and wellies – for her excursion on the Cornish coast.

Everything about this musical is a delight, above and below the surface. Tom Babbage is a genuine and winning nice guy as Cadan, the fisherman with two sea legs, who cannot help but be attracted to Merryn, despite the doubts of Merryn’s more cautious sister Senara (Lucinda Freeburn, a perfect contrast to Aquino).

It’s impossible not to dive into the allure of Lara Barber’s writing, while Amie Parson’s music and lyrics are perfectly sung and played by Jamie Ross and the cast of actor/musicians; aided by the extraordinary set and costume design of April Dalton, lit so thrillingly by Emma Chapman. One must also mention the brilliant seagull puppet designed by Naomi Oppenheimer, which actually blows bubbles!

Judging by the daytime performance I saw, this magical Little Mermaid enchants children, parents and grandparents of all ages – and the climax of the glitz and glitter of the walk down (or should that be “glide down”!) costumes the cast don are a gorgeous, glorious image to take home.