The Little Mermaid Jnr

Pelican Productions continue their high standard of theatre entertainment with their first musical for 2019, The Little Mermaid Jnr. Adapted for a younger cast, it is based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

Jen Firth and Kylie Green founded Pelican Productions in 2004 and have done wonders in nurturing young talent. With such a large number of students they still manage to find a role for everyone.

There is nothing amateurish about this company. Costume design by Firth is stunning, vibrant and downright adorable; from sequins to chiffon, she has it all covered.

A cyclorama is used to project beautiful animations and is topped off with set pieces of coral, waves and a giant ship.

Musical Director Green is at the helm of a talented bunch of musicians. I was pleased to see the cast wore microphones, as the orchestra was quite loud. There were only a couple of instances where I missed lyrics to songs due to the volume of the instruments.

With so many students, Firth and Green have divided the production into two casts. I was lucky enough to be entertained by the Flounder cast for this performance.

Though all were wonderful and energetic in their respective roles, marvellous characterisations were displayed with Flounder (Eliza Brill Reed), Sebastian (Ariel Higgs) and Ursula (Emma Pool). A standout performance of Scuttle was offered up by Neve Sargeant, who showed fantastic comic timing and stage presence.

In the leading role was Zara Blight as Ariel, the mermaid who falls for a human (Alex Hasler) and sacrifices her sweet voice for legs.

With boundless enthusiasm and flair, this production is a fun night out for all ages.

Kerry Cooper