By Hans Christian Andersen, adapted by Theresa Heskins
New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme
14 November 2025–24 January 2026

Programming a Christmas show can be a daunting task: it must have plenty of excitement to keep young children engaged and at the same time it needs to have something for adults to marvel at even if they’re not captivated by the whole performance.

The New Vic and contemporary circus company Upswing formally got together in 2023, and The Little Mermaid is their first Christmas production together.

It’s a masterpiece of ingenuity, with much of the action in the first half taking place under the sea. Five outstanding circus artists create fascinating characters including mermaids. The children who attended on the day I saw The Little Mermaid gasped at the spectacle. On occasions, though, I got the impression the aerial sequences were a little contrived and went on too long.

New Vic artistic director Theresa Heskins has adapted Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale and co-directs with Upswing boss Vicki Dela Amedume. Their version is big on spectacle but light on characterisation, particularly in the relationship between Coralie and Prince Caspian.

If you don’t know the story, it follows the journey of Coralie, a young mermaid princess who is willing to give up her life in the sea to gain a human soul. When a mermaid turns 15, she is allowed to swim to the surface to catch a glimpse of the world above. Coralie, effervescently played by Rhiannon Skerritt, sees a birthday celebration being held in honour of a prince. She falls in love with the prince, Caspian.

Coralie visits the Sea Witch, acrobatically depicted by Harrison Sweeney, who gives her a potion that gives her legs instead of a tail. Children guffawed at the start of the second half when Coralie found it more difficult than Bambi to stand up because she wasn’t used to using legs. They also enjoyed the modern touches, including a barbecue and disco with all the cast dancing enthusiastically and giving their all. Strange, though, that Heskins jettisons the plot line about plans for the prince to have an arranged marriage, which breaks Coralie’s heart.

There are some sound performances in The Little Mermaid: Darcy Braimoh shows us a fun-loving yet at times irresponsible Caspian; Inês Sampaio valiantly tries to drive on the action as Red Whip Coral; and Alexander Bean portrays an imposing god of the sea, Poseidon, when he steps from behind his drum kit.

The Little Mermaid has its plus points in what is at times a thrilling show. For instance, puppets depict seahorses and other creatures, lighting up the auditorium in an extravaganza of colour.

But there are a few baffling elements too. The music, composed by Arun Ghosh, is dark and heavy, which seems at odds with the magical world under the sea. It also seemed strange to introduce the band right at the beginning before we’d met the actors.

The annual festive show at the New Vic is usually something special. The Little Mermaid falls into that category and has all the hallmarks of a typical New Vic show: committed acting, a slick, inventive presentation and a joyous overall feel. Despite that, I couldn’t shake the feeling that The Little Mermaid could have been just a bit more exciting.

* This review originally appeared on the British Theatre Guide website