How do you make a banger of a Christmas show for children aged three to six years? This Hull Truck production of The Little Mermaid seems to have found the magic ingredients – a heartwarming story, two talented stars, and an absolutely enchanting set design.
Written and directed by Hull Truck Theatre’s Tom Saunders, the tale about conquering fears is digestible for younger audiences. There are heaps of fun songs and plenty of chances for the kids to get involved, such as by throwing inflatable balls towards the stage and, of course, a chorus of ‘Over there! Behind you!’
Elizabeth Green is Coral, the Little Mermaid in the title. With a fittingly beautiful singing voice for a mermaid and able to reveal both vulnerability and courage, she was a perfect lead.
Alex Fairweather plays villain The Sea Witch, who deploys an amusing take on the evil cackle, ‘Hah… hah… aaaaah.’ He struck a fine balance between being menacing enough for the story to have stakes, while not being too scary for the littlest ones.
The actor doubles-up to play Charlie, a boy obsessed with Christmas songs who finds himself in peril. Both Fairweather and Green also operate the frankly magical puppets designed by John Barber, which captivated children from the get-go.
These puppets were used to cleverly depict a lot of the underwater action scenes. Perhaps most beloved was the shark puppet – rarely have I heard so much excitement in a theatre!
Another highlight was the songs composed by Joe Roper. While many were heartfelt and joyful, it was the catchy villain song performed by Fairweather that proved to be the biggest hit with the young critics.
And in what was a rather adorable moment, many children got up on their feet and tried to mime along and copy the hand choreography.
Helpfully for parents of very young children, the entire running time is just 50-60 minutes without an interval. There is also a relaxed attitude to coming and going for toilet breaks.
The Little Mermaid is showing at The Godber Studio in Hull Truck until Sunday, January 4. A BSL Interpreted performance will be shown on Saturday, December 20 at 1.15pm.
Tickets are priced at £13.50 for standard and £11.50 for concessions. Buy tickets or find out more here.