Little Mermaid Junior

It was lovely to make my first visit to St Cyres School , Penarth , to represent Matt Bryant to watch Billboard Juniors perform Disney’s Little Mermaid Jnr.

Firstly I would like to thank the company for their warm and friendly welcome.

The musical based on the animated film included all of the musical numbers and characters made famous in the movie.

Even though much of the full show had been cut in this hour long adaptation all the characters were present even if some in a reduced capacity.

There is a very large cast in this musical so it would be impossible to mention every role in detail but I thought all the supporting cast played their roles really well.

I must mention the Mersisters played by Ava McKinney, Holly Shepherd, Maizie Bowles,Niyah Fettah, Kaitlyn Farmer and Elaira Clements who along with Maisie Cook who played Ariel not only had to sing and act but they also did it on roller skates , well done girls. Flotsam, Jetsan, Scuttle, Windward, Carlotta, Chef Louis and the maids all played their roles really well.

Flounder, the shy fish and Ariel's best friend was taken by Lottie Provis and she played the role really well, I liked her She’s in Love solo and Lottie also did the whole show on heelys well done.

King Triton was played by Zach Barnett and Grimsby by Abi Rodd both gave good performances and I must say Abi gave me a good Pantomime Principal Boy vibe with her costume, one of many impressive costumes in the production all made by the very talented Ceri.

Sebastian the Crab was played by Robyn Mullooly and I really liked her characterisation of the jittery sea creature. Robyn kept her accent well throughout and gave a really nice performance. I enjoyed all of her songs, especially the two main chorus numbers , Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl

Ruby Selley gave an accomplished and mature performance as Ursula the Sea Witch, again she totally looked the part and even when there were a couple of technical problems on the  evening I was there she handled them really well.

The role of Prince Eric was taken by Edward Phyfer who did really well in this part, not the easiest of roles in this show but well done.

Ariel, as I mentioned previously, was played by Maisie Cook and I really liked her performance. She controlled the roller skates really well and even had to undergo quick changes on stage. This was a very mature performance by this young actress who also had a lovely singing voice and performed her musical numbers really well.

The show was played to rear projections and I must congratulate Craig Goodwin on their quality, they worked really well along with some very sympathetic lighting design by Llwyd Herniman of Lightsource.

I would like to congratulate Ceri and her team on a very enjoyable piece of theatre and thank you once again for your lovely welcome, and best wishes for your future productions.

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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