AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: The Little Mermaid - The Lyceum Theatre, Crewe.

This evening I found myself once again in the wonderful splendour of Crewe's glorious Lyceum Theatre to watch local amateur theatre company, Curtain Call Productions, perform the Alan Menken / Howard Ashman Disney classic, 'The Little Mermaid'. 

Of course the auditorium was full of families bringing excited young girls with them, and they were absolutely not disappointed. This is now the third production I have seen from this company, and many of the cast are professional standard, and their production values are always very high. Not only that but they always use their youth membership most effectively making their shows vibrant and alive with youthful energy and talent.

We all know the story of 'The Little Mermaid' surely?? So no need to precis that here, suffice to say that the storyline was told with ease and was signposted well throughout.

The set consisted of 6 narrow flats [3 each side], of a plain whiteish colour, covered in fishing nets and a few assorted sea creatures. The rest of each wing used black curtains. Sadly though the black curtains were very insufficient in blocking cast and activity behind them, and this was quite distracting at times.. especially when costumes with lights were seen waiting to enter the stage etc... The rear wall was a large video screen upon which the majority of the scenery / setting was portrayed with the magic of CGI. In the main this worked very well, although, once or twice the changes did not coincide precisely enough with the cast changes on stage. Other larger set items were brought in and out as necessary by cast - sometimes on trolleys - and these again mostly worked well. The only ones to cause me any concern were the rocks brought in and out DSL, as these were handled by stage crew dressed in black wearing headphones, and again, this detracted and distracted. 

Lighting was excellent this evening. A good design, using - but not overusing - specials, and creating some lovely pictures. I also enjoyed the bubbles too! Sound levels were, for me at least, set a little too loud all evening. There is a tendency these days to 'pump up the volume' for stage shows, with the maxim 'louder is better'; and this is fast becoming my biggest pet hate of modern theatre. This evening the levels were not ear-piercingly loud, but would certainly have benefited from turning down a good 50 - 60 decibels. 

As far as other things technical were concerned, then this truly was a mixed bag. The flying was superb and worked wonderfully; however, the breaking of a shell (which looked absolutely nothing like a shell - it didn't even look like a necklace!), and the subsequent 'killing' of Ursula was extremely weak and didn't "read" at all. 

Costuming was generally very good, and loved the idea of using roller-shoes (or whatever they are called) for the sea creatures! The chorus / ensemble work was delightful throughout, filling the stage where necessary with colour and adding to the story with some nicely executed choreography and lovely-sounding and competent singing. 

Heading the principal cast was, of course, the titular character, Ariel; performed here by Libby Robinson. Looking (and even sounding) like the character we all know and love from the cartoon, and I enjoyed her interpretation of this mermaid-destined-to-be-human greatly. Robinson pitched her character just right, neither annoyingly twee or petulant, whilst being 'cute' enough for us all to buy into her disobedience and root for her to win the man she loves. Playing opposite her was a very personable Prince Eric (Jake Bloem), and their duet in act 2 (One Step Closer) was excellent with a beautifully executed lift as well.

All the principals were enjoyable, deserving of much praise, but word-count doesn't allow me to write much more... but two who impressed me above and beyond this evening were a young teenage girl performing the role of  'Flounder' with a skill way beyond her years (Ava Gordon-Butler), and one of the best interpretations of Sebastian I have thus far seen from Nesah Gonzales.; giving this role a lot more life, credibility and even likeability than previous performers have been able to find in it. And both had great stage presence and lovely voices too! What more could one ask for?!

In fact, the whole show was professionally staged, and once again, this company have produced a work of art of which all involved should be incredibly proud.  

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 17.5.23