I was a little nervous taking my six-year-old daughter to the opening of the Little Mermaid Jr at the Theatre Royal on Sunday.
You see, she had never attended any kind of theatre production before – but the Nelson Youth Theatre Company couldn’t have given her a better first live theatre experience.
Directed by Jess Lively, the whole show was bursting with charm, colour and fun.
The production has a triple cast and on Sunday we saw the “Team Becky” rendition.
A simple but convincing under-the-sea set, complete with rippling blue waves, was perfect and the costumes brought every creature to life, especially Flounder, who was played by Tobias Young.
Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton was played by Becky Davies, whose voice matched the part, with Brooklyn Saunders playing her sidekick Sebastian. Matthew Edgar made a fine Prince Eric, while Liam Brennan impressed as King Triton and Chef Louis.
But the highlight for me was Stella Steven’s rendition of Ursula, who had the swagger and charisma of the evil sea witch down to a tee. The rest of the cast did a fantastic job and really brought the story to life.
All of the memorable songs are there, including ‘Under the Sea’, ‘Part of Your World’ and ‘Kiss the Girl’, and the one-hour length was perfect for children, who were able to dress up and meet the cast after the show.
The Little Mermaid Jr is on at the Theatre Royal until this Saturday, 7 October, and is the perfect outing for these school holidays.
I’d go and see it, even if I didn’t have children.
