Disney The Little Mermaid

Thank you for your kind welcome to view Karnon Kidz production of the Little Mermaid. Being greeted by members of the front of house dressed as lobsters gave us a taste of what was to come. It was good to see your group making the show available to additional members of the community by using a sign language interpreter to assist those with hearing problems, but it may have helped those with sight issues also if she had been lit. Your programme was colourful, clear and had some interesting additions.

When I was asked to review Karnon Kidz performance of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’, I accepted without hesitation I happen to be a fan of Disney shows. There was excitement in the hall; there were many family groups attending; as the lights dimmed and the ‘orchestra’ tuned up. The orchestra was represented by a backing tracks, played at the correct volume, but the cast had no difficulty singing the songs under the careful direction of the Musical Director. He had obviously spent a long time drilling the children, the singing throughout was tuneful with clear diction. It was great seeing everyone knew their words and the volume they produced without amplification was brilliant and put some adult shows to shame.

We were greeted with an open ‘T’ shaped thrust stage decorated around the outside with 3D images of waves. The stage was set up as a ship’s deck with a ship’s wheel, a large rock on stage right and with twinkle nylon stripes which were used throughout to represent the sea. The set design was well thought out with underwater images and Ariel’s cave presented on flats. King Triton’s palace which included throne looked regal. I liked the boat which moved around well. All the scene changes were smoothly achieved even though the sea did get twisted sometimes. It was also great to see you using some of the cast to change scenes, a skill which will be useful when they perform adult shows. The props were appropriate and well used, the frogs handled their lily pads with aplomb. The lighting plot was appropriately designed and well executed.

The costumes were impressive, colourful, numerous and well fitting.  All those ‘on land’ were traditional and as expected, but I loved your costume team’s interpretation of the characters under the sea. The use of different coloured types of materials joined together with the addition of stuffed tentacles and appliqued shapes all added to the look. Ursula’s team appeared suitably evil in black’s and purples.  Ariel and her mersisters costumes were all different and age appropriate, but I think the triumph in the costume department were Scuttle and the gulls. I have produced many costumes over the years and would like to have instruction on how to produce such wonderful costumes. The make up was all carefully applied and appropriate for the characters and the wigs were multi-coloured and suitable for the individuals.

There are some great parts in ‘The Little Mermaid’ but what I enjoyed in your production was that all the children who appeared on the stage had a speaking/singing part. It just gives them so much confidence to perform no matter how small their part, well done on making use of every member of your cast.

As in Disney Princess stories the prince often only exists to move the Princess’ story along that said Grace Gurr gave a believable performance, although she tended to deliver lines too quickly, she was vocally strong. She was ably assisted by Megan Johns as Grimsby who spoke with good expression, be careful where you position yourself on the stage so you don’t upstage others. Molly played Carlotta well, she had a calm sincere manner. Chef Louis, Reuben, had a strong accent which he maintained. 

Joe Lessiter gave a powerful performance as King Triton, he spoke clearly, commanded the stage and coped well with his triton.  Ariel, The Little Mermaid herself was very well played by Bethan Robinson, her diction was excellent as was her singing. She interacted well with the other members of the cast and she performed skilfully in the second half of the show when she had to communicate through mime.

Logan Martin as Sebastian was brilliant.  He kept his accent throughout and had a great feel for comedy, his delivery was a little quick at times so you lost words, remember not to turn until you have finished your speeches. But considering this was your first role I can see your stage skills developing. Talitha Jarrett-Kerr as Flounder was a suitable foil to Sebastian, she sang, moved and played her part convincingly.

Asha Robinson was great as Scuttle, she put the comedy of the part across perfectly and sang tunefully. She was skilfully backed up by her fellow seagulls, who sang, or screeched, and danced well.

Grace Benney was perfectly cast as Ursula; she commanded the stage every time she appeared. She moved and sang with confidence belying her age, an outstanding performance.  I can see this young lady going onto bigger and better things. Flotsam, Ruby and Jetsam, Keziah played their parts with a lot of evil menace and used the puppets appropriately.

I cannot name every single member of the cast but I would like to just mention collectively the girls who doubled up as the Mersisters and Princesses they were well cast. They all had their own individual characters which came across in both incarnations. They danced and sang with gusto and looked as if they were all having fun.  The ensemble who played numerous other parts are also deserving of praise they took on their various parts with energy and moved and sang well.

As a retired teacher who produced shows I can see that Director and Choreographer Samantha Rogers must have spent many hours creating a production of such a high standard. All the children on the stage acquitted themselves very well, with good singing, movement and obvious enjoyment.  I can honestly say all your hard work paid off with a most pleasurable and engaging show. Well done to all the team involved in Karnon Kidz.

This production put a smile on my face all the way through - it really was a delightful show. 

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