The Little Mermaid (Quarry Bank Musical Theatre Society Youth)

It isn't always easy to bring a Disney Classic to the stage, particularly as many of the audience will have their own memories of the movie that one has to make some attempt at replicating sympathetically. So the choice of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale 'The Little Mermaid' by Quarry Bank Musical Theatre Society Youth for their first 'post pandemic' production might have been seen as a challenging one. However it is obvious that Zoe Russell (Director/Choreographer), Nick Jeavons (Musical Director) and Niamh Hadley (Assistant Choreographer) are up for a challenge, one they have met face on and without doubt conquered.

As mentioned in the programme many of the stars of previous productions (Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd and Phantom of the Opera) have left for pastures new but, this has opened the door for some new talent to shine and shine like stars they definitely do.

Heather Hadley's picture perfect Ariel is at the head of an exceptional cast and matches the look with the voice, totally owning the character and the anthemic song 'Part of Your World'. Falling for a human isn't something a mermaid should do but, one can understand why she falls for Alex Brettell's royal performance as Prince Eric, brimming with character as it is.

Where there is good of course, there must also be evil which comes in the form of Ursula the Sea Witch, a stunningly powerful performance from Isabella Cook (frankly Stourbridge Town Hall is only just about capable of containing that voice, which must make its home in bigger venues in the future). Supported in a deliciously insidious way by Flotsam (Robyn Harding) and Jetsam (Thea Lowe) a pair of delightfully nasty Moray Eels.

Talking of powerful performances and hot-foot from playing Donkey in Shrek is Luey Pearce as Sebastian the Crab, an amazing piece of comedy performance with an equally amazing vocal, the transfer from equine to crustacean proving to be no problem. Providing equal comedy appeal and probably deserving higher bill-ing is Ellison Hart as Scuttle the Seagull working his way effortlessly around some complex dialogue.

Ariel of course needs a friend she can rely on and that comes in the form of the fish Flounder, played with some style on glittery wheeled boots (an inspired piece of costume and some incredible make-up from Paul Herrington and Amy Pearson) by Katie Tranter.

Of course a girl (or perhaps I should say mermaid in this case) always needs her father and whilst it may not always feel like he is there for her, of course he is in the form of an imposing portrayal of King Triton by Joe Neale.

Such an extensive supporting cast makes it impossible to mention everybody by name but, there are some performances that it is difficult not to mention:
  • Mersisters, Libby Currell (Allana), Chelsey Hart (Aqua), Amelia Humphries (Atina), Amelia Patrick (Adella), Freya Poulton (Andrina) and Rebekah Thompson (Arista) from both a vocal and dance perspective.
  • Finn Dyas-Harrold for a nice little piece of character acting as Grimsby, steward to Prince Eric.
  • AJ Savage as Chef Louis, bringing more than just a bit of the French into the Black Country.
Simply an amazing night of entertainment 'under the sea' that you don't want to miss, so why don't you get up on those, what do you call them, oh yes 'feet' and go grab a ticket while you can, performances running through to 24th September 2022 but, they are selling fast.

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