A mixture of installation, story-telling and pure inspiration, this performance for under-sevens, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Mermaid, is a hands-on experience when most theatre for children is totally hands-off.
Some previous knowledge of the story (sorry, the Disney video won't do at all) will enhance the adventure, which submerges children within a strange, shimmering underwater world. Here, with the friendly seahorse as your guide, you can - in your own time - explore an environment created with more dash than cash from cloth-covered walls, hanging nets, lobster pots, shells, rock pools, old wrecks and lots of glitter. Oh, and a bubble machine.
Children, and adults if they wish, can transform themselves into mermaids, run their fingers through the Prince's treasure chest, search for pennies in the san and, if they dare, enter the sea witch's grotto through the shark's mouth and see her secret, jewel-like potions lined up on a shelf. Then it is over to a corner of the room and a chance to meet the Little Mermaid's older sister, who tells us her sibling's story with a delicious waggle of her tail that signifies an unusually happy ending.
This is a wonderfully tactile experience that balances being sympathetic to the needs of small children when faced with the unknown and the creation of an environment that stimulates the imagination and allows it to take glorious flight. A rare and precious pearl indeed.
