The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is a sumptuous production, beautifully directed and amazingly costumed that deserves its sell-out houses.

It is a little unusual to mention the costumes first in a review, but the costumes and wigs in The Little Mermaid are among the best I have ever seen in a community theatre show. Designed by Brad Tudor and brought to life by a team of thirteen, they were simply breathtaking; Cleverly designed, beautifully constructed and expertly coordinated.

Shanice Palfrey is delightful in the title role, an Ariel of whom Disney would be proud. She looks perfect, sounds lovely and gives depth to this rebellious teenage princess.

Triton is expertly played by Paul Treasure, rocking a glittery blue beard and portraying the problems of parenthood to perfection.

Daniel Burton's Sebastian is a high spirited dynamo, while ten-tear-old Finley Malet (who has a great moniker for WA theatre), makes a spectacular debut as an absolutely gorgeous Flounder. Joshua Munroe is an audience favourite as an over-the-top, over-enthusiastic and loveable Scuttle.

Jesse Angus charms as Prince Eric, Peter Shaw is an efficiently efficient Grimsby and Craig Griffen fires up a delicious cameo as Chef Louis.

Ursula, in the hands of Tracy Noble is both evil and funny and is well supported by Jayden Lyon and Liam Gobbert as Flotsam and Jetsam.

The sextet of marvelous mersisters is made up of Annika Kononen, Chantel Bell, Sarah Hubber, Chloe Kirk, Maddy Page and Emma Shaw - working wonderfully as a team as they (like Ariel and Sebastian) whip expertly across the stage on wheeled shoes. Kudos to choreographer Anita Telkamp  and assistant Sam Wilson for their fluid choreography.

A bright and enthusiastic ensemble completes the cast. Special mention must be made of 'swans on the lake' Eibhlis Newman and Harry Stacey whose appearances are gorgeous.

The dark spot in this production, literally, is the lighting. While co-designers Bradley Tudor and Alex Coutts-Smith cleverly created wonderful atmosphere and a myriad of locales effectively, they forgot the first lesson in Lighting 101, which is to light the actors. Often faces were in darkness, making it difficult to determine who was speaking and to accurately read emotion and this marred my enjoyment of the show. Sound balance on the night I attended took a while to become smooth and mikes were frequently late.

While the band was sometimes over-amplified, this nine-piece outfit, under the leadership of Jo Bennett, assisted by Josh Haines, could not be faulted and singing was excellent throughout.

The Little Mermaidwas a lovely feel-good night of theatre, with appeal for all ages and a wonderful way to begin the community theatre year.

Kimberley Shaw

Images: Deprimo Photography