The Little Mermaid

An opening night can be a daunting prospect but the LAMP Children’s Theatre’s cast took it full on. The entrancing story of the youngest sister Mermaid Ariel with the beautiful voice who yearned for a life above the waves and rebelled, took us to the best and worst of characters, loving father, vengeful aunt, loyal friends and subjects and conniving sidekicks. The minute Alice Redding sang the opening notes as Ariel, the audience settled comfortably for an enjoyable evening. Alice’s voice dipped and soared with musicality as she sang her solos like The World Above and If Only giving them emotional impact. She looked the part and filled her role with expression and clear diction. Also confident in projecting her role was Serena Panozzo as the scheming Ursula whose voice was equally strong and clear as was her acting, conveying her jealous spite in Daddy’s Little Angels and her venomous delight in Poor Unfortunate Souls. Her helpers, proving to be an insidious and seductive pair, were Zara Cox and Freya Jones as Flotsam and Jetsam with a well harmonised and seemingly innocent Sweet Child. Also matching the energy and articulation was Jasper Martin as Prince Eric as he fell in love with Ariel’s voice and was singular in his search for her. He dealt well with the difficult and beautiful number Her Voice and the harmonies later in the If Only quartet. He was ably assisted by Nico Young as the aristocratically superior Grimsby, by name and by nature with some humorous lines not always caught by tonight’s young audience. Understanding the role of music and protective of Ariel, Niamh McDonald gave us an impressive Sebastian leading Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl. In the difficult role of Ariel’s father, Jack Wallace gave us a solid Triton showing anger and frustration trying to keep his authority and protect his youngest at the same time. All were assured in their roles and supported by all the Mersisters each with a personality of their own and by Euan Emery as the loyal Flounder and Izzy Holmes as the sure-footed and optimistic Scuttle. The whole cast were well coached and disciplined in their roles especially in the statue moments of the sailors and all their movements in Under the Sea as well as comedic moments with the chef, Freya Duncan and with singing contestants showing their ‘talents’ There were some lovely and expressive moments and movements in interpreting the music. The costumes were colourful and apt - with some very quick changes from sailors to sea creatures. The set was minimalist with the skeleton of a ship mast as a backdrop and everything moved seamlessly in front of it with occasional and effective use of bubbles evoking time and place. Ariel’s cave was well done. The cast used the front sides well and sound was not lost. The young folk showed their singing abilities and acting talents working as a team to create an enjoyable show which they all enjoyed being in and one which would build and build to the end of the week earning them well deserved success and plaudits.

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