The Little Mermaid

Canterbury Theatre Guild presented Disney’s The Little Mermaid, based on the much-loved animated movie, to a packed and very vocal audience. Performing the musical at the Monkey Baa Theatre at Darling Harbour brought a more professional feel to this amateur production.

The small stage seemed to restrict what could be done in the space with such a large cast, although the cast and crew didn’t let this hamper the show at all. The clever staging/blocking from Director/Choreographer Cameron Lewis and his team, and the amazing detailed costumes by Jessica Lewis really brought this family tale to life artistically.

The wonderful score by Alan Menkin was played by a very full sounding orchestra lead by Musical Director Andrew Howie. Recognisable numbers from the movie including “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl” (both sung by Sebastian the Crab and ensemble), were fun to watch and the audience seemed to hum along. The newer additions for the musical including Prince Eric’s number “Her Voice“ and “She’s in Love” by the Mersisters and Flounder, were surprisingly entertaining, the latter, as choreographed and performed, was a major highlight of the show.

The principal cast included some brilliant performances. Standing out was the raw chemistry between the two lead characters of Arial (Isabella McIntosh) and her Prince (Jack Dawson). Both young actors showed just the right amount of chemistry needed for the Disney magic to work. McIntosh lit up the stage with every entrance and had the necessary sweetness for us to feel for her character’s problems of being different to all the other sea folk.

Dawson played the Disney Prince to perfection, oozing charm through every line. His vocals were strong and performed his solo of “Her Voice” to great applause by the audience.

Other stand outs were (Ben Dodd) as the all knowing Seagull “Scuttle”, showing off his comical abilities and tap dancing in the number “Positoovity”, while Paul Adderley as Prince Eric’s servant friend “Grimsby” had a nice touch in playing the older wiser gentleman.

Stefan Jamel as the energetic crab Sebastian held his Jamaican accent brilliantly throughout the show. His physicality on stage was very entertaining and he has a powerful voice, hitting the high notes with seeming ease in “Under the Sea”.

Lighting and Sound in this production were visibly and audibly on cue.

Canterbury Theatre Guild have done terrifically well in bringing this Disney classic to the stage, with immense energy from all involved. A shame it couldn’t have been performed a second weekend.

James Russell