Theatre reviews: The Little Mermaid | Inside No. 9 - Stage/Fright
The plot may be sketchy, but The Little Mermaid at the King’s in Glasgow still makes for a brisk, brilliant and often hilarious Christmas show, writes Joyce McMillan
The Little Mermaid, King’s Theatre, Glasgow ★★★★
Inside No. 9 - Stage/Fright, Playhouse, Edinburgh ★★★★
It’s a rare thing, a new panto story, in a world often dominated by the same big four or five narratives. Yet here it is, a glittering panto version of The Little Mermaid, newly created by industry giants Crossroads Pantomimes, and never seen in Scotland before; and at the King’s in Glasgow, it makes for a brisk, brilliant and often hilarious Christmas show, gorgeous to look at in silvery sea-greens and blues, and ready to laugh at its own terrible jokes with such cheery goodwill that it’s impossible not to join in.
The story, by Harry Michaels and Alan McHugh, is an ingenious blend of traditional panto tale and dark Hans Andersen myth, presided over by a glowing Elaine C Smith as Queen Mary, down-to-earth Weegie monarch of a lovely and peaceful underwater world.
Her beautiful mermaid daughter Ariel, though - played with wit and serious vocal power by newcomer Jasmine Jules Andrews - is longing to visit the world of men, particularly after she saves a handsome prince from drowning; her restlessness in exploited by her wicked aunt the Sea Witch, a classic panto villainess - a fine-voiced Hannah Jarrett Scott - who persuades her to give up her voice in return for a pair of legs and a chance to visit the Prince. And in a trice, Queen Mary and her two kindly sidekicks - Johnny Mac’s daft laddie Johnny Crabsticks, and Darren Brownlie’s gorgeous Dishy Fishy, mayor of Atlantis - are off to the rescue.
From that point on, the plot is frankly sketchy; Benjamin Lockhart’s handsome Prince Eric has little to say or sing for himself, while the romantic storyline never even reaches its natural lovers’ kiss conclusion. No-one cares a jot, though, as the panto swims its way through extended routines involving endless fish jokes (“Could I no just be Johnny Mackerel?”), nonsense patter songs, and the usual shopping trolley full of confectionary with suggestive brand names, from Snickers to Twisters.
In traditional panto terms, there is plenty missing, of course; and musical director Neil McDonald and his excellent band keep the songs so blessedly short that few of them even seem to reach a second verse. There’s plenty of “Hiya pals”, though, with much lusty booing at the Sea Witch, and some joyfully exuberant work from Jane McMurtrie’s eight-strong dance team; and the whole show is powered by as strong and relaxed an ensemble company as the King’s has seen this decade, full of real 21st century Glasgow stars, cheered on by a delighted audience.
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Inside No. 9 - Stage/Fright, briefly in Edinburgh this week, is also a show powered by the star quality of its leading performers; in this case, the UK-wide fame and and slightly improbable glamour of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, two stalwarts of the League Of Gentlemen who have also starred, since 2014, in nine series (naturally) of their own television comedy show Inside No. 9.
The show is famous for its mix of traditional British comedy and grand-guignol horror, with added dark plot-twists; and the stage version sticks firmly but inventively to the same formula, spending most of its first half on a version of the much-loved “Bernie Clifton’s dressing room” sketch, featuring failed British comedy duo Cheese and Crackers, and then diving after the interval into a dark 1920s-style theatre of blood drama full of evil doctors and beautiful but hapless female patients.
These two stories are wrapped around, though, with loads of enjoyable meta-theatrical nonsense featuring theatre ghosts, wobbly video footage of the Playhouse’s sinister depths, and the sudden deaths of several key characters, handled with great relish, and no taste at all; in a show full of harmless fun and sudden, unexpected cultural and emotional depths, that keeps a delighted audience guessing, to the very end.
The Little Mermaid is at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, until 4 January; Inside No.9 - Stage/Fright is at the Playhouse, Edinburgh, until 29 November.
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