The Little Mermaid
Wed, 21 Aug 2013, 01:25 pmGordon the Optom1 post in thread
The Little Mermaid
Wed, 21 Aug 2013, 01:25 pm‘The Little Mermaid’ is a fascinating variant for adults on Hans Christian Andersen’s shadowy fairy-tale that has been devised by Georgia King and Jacinta Larcombe. This Blue Room Theatre and Houston Sinclair presentation can be seen in the main theatre of the Blue Room, at 53 James Street, Northbridge.
The 50-minute shows start at 7.00 pm and run nightly until 7th September.
The main wall of the theatre is covered with large, randomly shaped pieces of rusty corrugated iron. There is a black dais at the side of the stage. The scenographer of this unusual set was Shaye Preston.
A young Australian girl, scantily dressed in her underwear, gyrates in the back garden as the pounding music captures her mind and body. This is Grace (Jacinta Larcombe), a pubescent child filled with love and curiosity who just starting to discover her body. Her jealous and sexually frustrated, widowed mother, Nina (Georgia King) rushes out of the house horrified at her daughter’s exhibitionism.
Grace is sent to her bedroom and curls up beneath the ‘shrine’ in the corner, and worships her idol – Leonardo DiCaprio. In her dreams, she remembers her father and his way of life, and yearns to have a similar freedom.
One day Grace is approached by an equally shy and withdrawn school friend, James (Ben Gill). James asks her to be his partner at the School Ball. At first Nina’s jealousy kicks in, before she recalls her own Prom and how she was the ‘star’ of the evening.
Will Grace’s School Ball also be the best night of her life? Or will the evening take a strange turn?
Director, Ian Sinclair, has skilfully guided the cast through a simple script, but has filled it to the brim with sensitivity and emotion. Shinead Gecas’ costumes ranged from the plain, slightly daggy boy’s outfit to the smart, prim and proper mother’s skirt and shirt, to the stylish nylon net, tutu-like clothes of Grace.
Contemporary dancer Jacinta’s movements and rhythmic actions were superb. Her dream and metamorphosis sequences were beautifully realised.
Often a producer simply manages the money and has little input in a show; here, however, Sophie Fosdick-McGrath has employed her WAAPA acquired skills to give us a presentation that was exciting and different.
The magnificent sound design is by Laura Jane Lowther, who performs with a soft purring Melanie-like voice, under the name of KucÌŒka (which amazingly means ‘a bitch of a woman’) has blended in some wonderful percussion and beautiful rhythms.
Chris Donnelly’s lighting was inventive and captured the many complex moods perfectly.
This is a very professional show, crammed with emotion and love.
It has little to do with the Andersen tale and is certainly more suited for 12 upwards.
Yet another quality presentation from a team that has never let us
down.
‘The Little Mermaid’ is a fascinating variant for adults on Hans Christian Andersen’s shadowy fairy-tale that has been devised by Georgia King and Jacinta Larcombe. This Blue Room Theatre and Houston Sinclair presentation can be seen in the main theatre of the Blue Room, at 53 James Street, Northbridge.
The 50-minute shows start at 7.00 pm and run nightly until 7th September.
The main wall of the theatre is covered with large, randomly shaped pieces of rusty corrugated iron. There is a black dais at the side of the stage. The scenographer of this unusual set was Shaye Preston.
A young Australian girl, scantily dressed in her underwear, gyrates in the back garden as the pounding music captures her mind and body. This is Grace (Jacinta Larcombe), a pubescent child filled with love and curiosity who just starting to discover her body. Her jealous and sexually frustrated, widowed mother, Nina (Georgia King) rushes out of the house horrified at her daughter’s exhibitionism.
Grace is sent to her bedroom and curls up beneath the ‘shrine’ in the corner, and worships her idol – Leonardo DiCaprio. In her dreams, she remembers her father and his way of life, and yearns to have a similar freedom.
One day Grace is approached by an equally shy and withdrawn school friend, James (Ben Gill). James asks her to be his partner at the School Ball. At first Nina’s jealousy kicks in, before she recalls her own Prom and how she was the ‘star’ of the evening.
Will Grace’s School Ball also be the best night of her life? Or will the evening take a strange turn?
Director, Ian Sinclair, has skilfully guided the cast through a simple script, but has filled it to the brim with sensitivity and emotion. Shinead Gecas’ costumes ranged from the plain, slightly daggy boy’s outfit to the smart, prim and proper mother’s skirt and shirt, to the stylish nylon net, tutu-like clothes of Grace.
Contemporary dancer Jacinta’s movements and rhythmic actions were superb. Her dream and metamorphosis sequences were beautifully realised.
Often a producer simply manages the money and has little input in a show; here, however, Sophie Fosdick-McGrath has employed her WAAPA acquired skills to give us a presentation that was exciting and different.
The magnificent sound design is by Laura Jane Lowther, who performs with a soft purring Melanie-like voice, under the name of KucÌŒka (which amazingly means ‘a bitch of a woman’) has blended in some wonderful percussion and beautiful rhythms.
Chris Donnelly’s lighting was inventive and captured the many complex moods perfectly.
This is a very professional show, crammed with emotion and love.
It has little to do with the Andersen tale and is certainly more suited for 12 upwards.
Yet another quality presentation from a team that has never let us
down.