The Little Mermaid

Chair of CADS, Nathan Snell, offered me a warm welcome for the Saturday matinee performance of The Little Mermaid. It was lovely to see so many people involved in selling programmes and organising the raffle and other stalls. A traditional community pantomime is exactly what I expected, and you certainly delivered — with a colourful, bright and very funny show.  The front-of-house team — Jo Abraham, Emily Owens, Matthew Owens, Kate Abraham, Nigel Cross, Lily Cross, Hayley McKernan, Carla Cole, Cathi Elphee, Annette Williams and Joanne Strickland — ensured everything ran smoothly and created a welcoming atmosphere.

Your pantomime follows the classic fairytale about a mermaid who wants to visit the world above the sea and her adventures with her friends, the deal she makes with the evil Octavia and everyone she meets along the way. Alex Jackson’s script was witty and family friendly.

Producer Lucy Merryweather had clearly worked hard to bring the story to life, with excellent song choices, clever staging and wonderful costumes. I know your company has had its ups and downs this year, but you certainly wouldn’t know it judging by the huge support and the high-quality production values on display.

Hair and Make-up, by Lucy Merryweather, Maddie Hill and Sue Day, was top notch, creating a cohesive look throughout. The standout effects for Octavia and Princess Persil particularly enhanced the characterisation.

Without your dedicated chaperones — Lucy Cousins, Maddie Hill, Gabby Napier and Christina Fisher — your younger performers would not have been able to take part, so I would like to say a special thank you for your dedication and time given to this year’s pantomime.

Dame dresser Sally Speechley had her work cut out, as the stunning costumes worn by Princess Persil were well thought out, intricate and entirely appropriate for the dame. All of the costumes were lovely. I particularly appreciated how many had been recycled — they were colourful and gave a cohesive, vibrant look to the production. Wardrobe was managed by Danielle Martin, Claire Thompson, Sue Wallis and Lucy Merryweather.

I was impressed by the number of young technical team members involved, including lighting, sound, backstage and set design/painting. Lighting technicians Sam Annible, Henry Cross, Luca Messina and Joanne Strickland, Sound technician Josh Main, and Set Design by Emma Shortland and James Pich all appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the production. It truly felt like a team effort bringing all the elements together.  Technical Director Steve Strickland and Stage Manager Nathan Snell managed everything extremely well, and together with backstage crew Sam Toulson and Nick Merryweather, ensured the show was well paced and technically accomplished.

I was particularly impressed by the programme design and your social media presence this year, managed by Lucy Cousins. The programme was professional and colourful, featuring numerous photographs of cast and crew, local advertising, information about your society and past productions — and I was delighted to see NODA mentioned too. I will definitely be entering your programme into the NODA competition, along with your vibrant poster. Photography was by Red Wellies Photography.

Your chorus members — Tara, Wuesenen, Jess, Elizabeth, Eliza F, Sophie, Evie, Bella, Grace, Rosie, Zach, Maisie, Llanan, Lily, Lydia, Jacob, Eliza O, Amy and Chivirnen — were all excellent. Their movement, characterisation and joy shone from the stage and brought every scene in which they appeared to life.

Mother of Pearl – Hannah Preston – a great performance, especially as many of her lines had to rhyme, always tricky, but managed with aplomb, I loved that Hannah interacted with the audience and her characterisation was excellent. Pearl was played by Lillie Smith, who gave a charming, confident performance.

One stand out performance was Thermidor played by Daisy Young. An accomplished characterful performance, confidently polished and with good interactions with the audience and other cast members.

Octavia played by Cheryl Doyle with her two sidekicks, Davey and Jones played by Wiktoria Gren and Keira McKernan were all excellent. Clever use of body language and good acting choices brought their characters to life and Cheryl was superb, and the audience boo-ed every time she appeared. I like the aside to the tech team joke and she demonstrated good comic timing throughout.

First-time Dame John Martin, playing Princess Persil, struck just the right balance, with enough femininity to enhance the comedy without overplaying it. His interactions with both cast and audience were a real highlight and, for me, made the show.

Aimee Waller as Queen Neptuna, Nancy Hill as Ariel, and Hollie Cousins as Prince Finn all gave solid performances. I would, however, have liked to see a few more smiles and perhaps slightly stronger direction to enhance the emotional connection in their acting. Matt Smith, playing Admiral C. Weed, brought energy to the role, although occasionally less movement and more stillness would have made certain moments stronger — sometimes standing still can be just as powerful as constant motion.

Congratulations to everyone involved for producing a truly entertaining and community-spirited pantomime. I look forward to seeing you all again next year.

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