Sisters Nikita, Sophie and Phoebe Coulon have demonstrated their love and knowledge of all things Disney and produced a show-stopping version of the musical based on the Hans Christian Anderson tale of a mermaid, overcoming her evil aunt Ursula, and finding love with the human Prince Eric.
The staging of the show was bright and colourful enhanced by a well-used raised area at the back of the stage and lighting designed by Ben Rogers. The whole stage was brought to life by the riot of colour created by the superb costumes from ReginaC. A lot of thought and detail had been given to each role and every student, whether a leading performer or a member of the ensemble had been given a specific character costume.
The clever positioning of the ‘mertails’ was very effective especially when sitting on the rocks and the use of heelies by the swimming main parts was genius. It was an absolute treat to see a live band in the pit for this show. Under the expert direction of MD Ashley Goodinson and backed up by Stuart Shawcross on sound, Alan Menken’s Lyrical score was given the treatment it deserved.
Vocal performances could all be heard and all the harmonies, which must have been worked so hard on, came through clearly. Special mention to Jill Jackson on violin as real strings are so rarely heard in the theatre now. The Coulon’s have also made sure that the essence of the well-know Disney characters was kept in this production.
Evie Abberley as Sebastian had the difficult job of creating the accent but maintained it really well throughout her dialogue and singing. Ariel’s trio of friends was completed by Jorgie Lamb as a cute Flounder and Beatrice smith as a fabulous, physical Scuttle. Lucy Fowler and Annie Goodson were a terrific Flotsam and Jetsam, using their costumes to create constant under sea movement and working well together especially in their harmony singing.
Ariel’s sisters: Emma Binns, Gracie Hornby, Amelie Cocker, Darcy Lees, Ella Flanagan and Olivia Smith were a great team and each created their own individual characters and again showed good vocal harmonies. Thomas McLaughlin played a regal King Triton and Lewis Garside as Prince Eric had a beautiful tone in his singing.
Sam Gilmore (Grimsby), Kyle Cooper (a lovely comedic Chef Louis) and Ava Green (Windward) provided the supporting roles.
As to be expected the stars of this show were the two main leading roles. Jessica Grimshaw as Ursula completely inhabited the part as if it was made for her. Her acting and singing as one of Disney’s most recognisable villains was superb and the rendition of ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ was outstanding with vocal maturity beyond her years.
Demi Garnet as Ariel was the perfect Disney Princess portrayal. She showed the determination to love her Prince, the feistiness to stand up to Ursula and the love she has for her family flawlessly. Demi acted and sang the part beautifully and her poignant rendition of ‘Part of Your World’ was the highlight of the show for me.
The whole cast numbers, particularly Under The Sea really showed what this company is all about with every student being given something to do and everyone performing with huge smiles on their faces enjoying every moment.
