Umami Mermaids

Umami Mermaids is an imaginatively artistic combination of puppetry and live action. It’s set in a dystopian future where man has greedily consumed natural resources. We’ve failed to act when the environment demanded respect and have caused our own extinction. Mutated mermaids are crawling from the apocalyptic ruins to take their vengeance against the worst kinds of humans. 

The style of storytelling is akin to gothic fairy tales, complete with morals to each story. The show’s environmentalist allegory supports commanding feminist messaging. Each tale is told by performer Anna Straker, supported by a mute, masked, onstage assistant (Daniel Gough). Daniel displays excellent physicality throughout the show, often times to the amusement of the crowd. Both are excellent at manipulating the puppets that are used to ‘act out’ several short stories of mermaids taking their revenge.

The script is cleverly written in rhyming couplets. This presents a linguistic challenge for Anna. While she occasionally has a little verbal stumble over the lines, you can’t fault her focus or commitment to character. Her emotional work is raw and real. Her hilariously satirical German accent never waivers, nor does her command of physicality and body language.

There appears to be a mind-bogglingly huge amount of time and effort put into the artworks, puppets and costuming. The visual result is a mix of steampunk, Labyrinth era Henson, spooky circus, Mad Max and some of the goth styling of Tim Burton. Lighting, set and costuming is in a predominantly warm palette. The puppets are very cleverly made and they deliver a lot of fun surprises and playful moments. The converted rickshaw used as a ‘stage’ for the puppets is an act of genius. Everything is so beautifully made with such astounding attention to detail. It’s nothing short of magical.

Umami Mermaids will transport you to an alternative reality. It’s well worth catching the show if you enjoy superb puppetry and storytelling that delivers timely political messaging.

Kiesten McCauley 

Photographer: Caitlin Armstrong.