The Mermaid Princess
Teatro Kismet
written & directed by Teresa Ludovico
inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid
UK tour produced in association with Warwick Arts Centre
Once upon a time, in the depths of the ocean, a mermaid princess is singing, and a young prince is drowning… she saves him… he kisses her… I love you, you love me… the mermaid exchanges her tail and sublime voice for two legs, but the prince, alas, marries another!
Combining music, dance, physical performances and ravishing costumes, Kismet’s simply staged and brilliantly inventive style will transport you from a shipwreck in the depths of the ocean to a prince’s castle, from a sea witch’s cavern to a cloud of sea mist lifting to the skies.
From the company who brought us The Snow Queen last Easter, Teatro Kismet’s The Mermaid Princess is a rare and wonderful opportunity to experience world-class family theatre like no other. Don’t miss this chance for a truly extraordinary experience that promises to make a huge impression on all who encounter it.
This UK tour follows acclaimed performances in Italy and France and is produced by Warwick Arts Centre, confirming the centre’s commitment to bringing the best international theatre to audiences across the UK. The tour has been made possible thanks to support from Arts Council England.
“Teatro Kismet is a wonderful Italian company that constantly creates visually ravishing work for family audiences… The result is work that is full of wonder and doesn’t patronise the audience.” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
Ages: 8+
1hr 5mins
Trailer
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Tour Schedule
Curve, Leicester
Wed 24 – Sat 27 March
www.curveonline.co.uk
Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts
Wed 31 March – Sat 3 April
www.lighthousepoole.co.uk
Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
Wed 7 – Sat 10 April
www.theatreroyal.org
New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
Wed 14 – Sat 17 April
www.wolseytheatre.co.uk
The Lowry, Salford
Wed 2 – Sat 5 June
www.thelowry.com
Hall for Cornwall, Truro
Tue 8 & Wed 9 June
www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
Sat 12 – Mon 14 June
www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
Oxford Playhouse
Thu 24 June – Sat 26 June
www.oxfordplayhouse.com
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
Wed 30 June – Sat 3 July
www.wyp.org.uk
Press Reviews
The Stage
Thu 25 March 2010
by Pat Ashworth
This is the English speaking version of the European reworking of Ludovico’s Japanese commission, which pretty much sums up the global appeal of Teatro Kismet. The Mermaid Princess has been to Italy and France prior to the UK tour and these influences are joyfully apparent, especially in the costume.
Children will slot into it at a different level from adults. If they’re expecting the happy ever after Disney ending to the story, they’ll have to make quite a leap of maturity to accept that this mermaid’s happy ending is to metamorphose into a cloud and begin a life of continuous renewal.
It’s shiveringly beautiful and frequently spellbinding, played out by the five ensemble members in a vast space where suspended silken banners have a wafting choreography of their own, physicality creates the dramatic storm and shipwreck, and the slow descent of two chandeliers provides a palace. Thrilling opera accompanies swells of high drama and blends with pop and nursery rhyme in a characteristically quirky score.
Comic moments come from the Machiavellian Lord Chamberlain and the hopeful candidates for the Prince’s hand, to sweeten the often bitter pill of the Mermaid’s tragic situation. She has been aqueous and iridescent. Now she emits a terrible silent scream when her voice is ripped from her throat, and lumbers awkwardly on bloodied legs. When she redeems herself and lets fall the dagger that might have killed the Prince, it is borne off on the silent sweep of the bridal train. It cuts to the quick.
Read the review on The Stage website
The Times
Thu 1 Apr 2010
by Donald Hutera
Originally created in 2007, this adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is the fifth production by Teatro Kismet to tour the UK since 1994. It’s easy to see why this Italian company keeps being invited back. The work has a cross-generational appeal and is typically put across with great visual flair. This take on Andersen’s dark and fishy tale of sacrificial love by the writer-director Teresa Ludovico is no exception. Touring the UK until July 3 under the auspices of Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, the hour-long performance has been deemed suitable for ages 8 and above.
Designed by Luca Ruzza with a simple grandeur, the show contains some indelibly poetic images including a finale that’s as graceful, delicate and touching as could be wished. The route to that magical ending is, however, more than a mite choppy. At times Ludovico seems to be playing against her own strengths.
Take the opening passage. The scene is set neatly by a wispy but engaging female narrator (Raffaella Gardon) and her sweetly lumbering animal companion (Valerio Tambone). But as soon as they slip away the heroine’s loquacious Nanny Tuna barges onstage, her litany of complaints sprinkled with supposedly witty wordplay. Although Eugenia Amisano delivers it with gusto, I longed for her to shut up. Ludovico also tries spicing things with a few cultural anachronisms. Example: the lovely, limber Daria Menichetti’s spirited teenage mermaid is introduced with a French rendition of the kitsch-pop classic Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.
The show’s bouncy, commedia-influenced side feels slightly laboured, and yet the piece, however fitfully, casts a spell. The sense of acute pain catches at the heart. It’s evident in the desperate desire of Tambone’s Prince to hear the mermaid’s voice again, and in the brutal bargain she strikes with Amisano’s Sea Witch. And the poignant, almost ceremonial beauty of the closing moments is like a balm.
Read the review on The Times website
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National Press Contact: Anna Goodman | Abstrakt | 0207 834 0440
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