The Little Mermaid
Debut Youth Theatre
Rose Theatre, Barton Peveril College, Eastleigh
The Disney adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's story has a great deal of colour, humour and, of course, some captivating tunes.
The production very much sought to capture the energy and charm of the musical with impressive and dazzling costumes and make-up and some nicely choreographed and produced numbers. There were some equally colourful performances: in particular Abbie Miller as the wicked witch Ursula. Thomas Woodcock (Sebastian) and Bethany Hampton (Flounder) were good fun and gave nicely defined performances. Rebecca Reed was charming as the titular Little Mermaid Ariel and had good rapport with her prince, Rhys Coombs (Eric).
The use of lighting and effects was clever, particularly the storm at sea. However, the sound scape occasionally overwhelmed the singing and speech. The constant changes of scenery between scenes hampered the flow in the first act and could be distracting.
Overall, a charming, joyous little show.
Karen Robson
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