In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, the oceans are cornflower-blue and clear as purest glass. But retelling The Little Mermaid today calls for a consideration of environmental damage and Disney’s 2023 blockbuster had Ariel’s father, King Triton, rebuking humans for disrespectfully “spoiling our waters” with the wreckage of their adventuring.
Directed by Miranda Cromwell, Sonali Bhattacharyya’s eco-fable is a timely call to arms for young audiences (it’s aimed at over-sevens). Her mermaid, Sereia (Liana Cottrill), is primarily driven to leave her home not for a crush on a prince but in order to save the dying Coral (personified by Nandi Bhebhe). And what better tragic villain than oil itself, in the demonic character of Coral’s sibling Inky Slick (Alison Fitzjohn), exploited by the world above the water and polluting the depths? If only Sereia’s beloved, the nature-loving Kai (John Leader), wasn’t the son of shameless oil profiteers (Michael Elcock and Corrina Buchan).
It’s a robust concept for a production driven by a dynamic range of musical styles, with Alex Heane and Harry Miller the tight twosome playing Femi Temowo’s compositions, including soul for Coral and monstrous heavy metal licks for Inky Slick who sings the standout number. If the storytelling gets a bit choppy and the final stretch is sorely lacking in tension, the movement is always fluid: Cottrill makes a striking entrance from on high, diving down to the stage with expressive arms. Her Sereia has a fittingly supple quality throughout and she brings comedy when finding her feet on land. Lit by Zeynep Kepekli, the rippling fabric of the mermaid’s supersized tail complements the billowing sheets for waves and is so gracefully realised that its cutting off is rendered notably traumatic.
There are a few stirring sections in the script about the lost harmony between humans and the worlds of nature and fantasy but they are awkwardly balanced with flat humour and traditional festive-show trimmings including too many Christmas cracker-style gags. Still, Ruby Pugh’s designs are imaginative and fun, with colourful furry amoebas, a hammerhead shark in shades and umbrellas for coral larvae. Bhattacharyya empowers the audience to confront pollution, making the point that simply caring about the environment means nothing without taking action. Sereia first encounters Kai on his experiments to play music underwater to encourage coral regeneration and more of a link could be made to equivalent real-life research suggesting its impact (albeit using reef sounds rather than Funkadelic).
The real love here is between Sereia and the seas but Cottrill and Leader share a sweet, goofy rapport as the star-crossed pair, both shown to be fish out of water. There is no sea king or singing crab yet fans of the Disney films will discover familiar elements such as the mermaid’s friendships with comical creatures (this time including a pregnant seahorse). And if there’s no Ariel as such, the production’s masterstrokes are nevertheless aerial as circus director Holly Downey often performs mid-air to create whirlpools and other spellbinding effects.
• At Bristol Old Vic until 11 January
