Review: Pieni merenneito
Helsinki City Theatre’s The Little Mermaid is close to perfection in its visuals
Theatre review: The Little Mermaid is one of the most thrilling fairy tales by H.C. Andersen, if not the most thrilling. When transferred to the stage, the fairy tale takes on comic emphasis,” Sirpa Pääkkönen writes.
The Little Mermaid is one of the most thrilling fairy tales by H.C. Andersen , if not the most thrilling. Like many fairy tales, it also hides wisdom and deep emotions.
The little mermaid is fine in her father’s kingdom in the depths of the sea, but she longs for something else, legs instead of a tail, with which she can walk and dance on the ground and at the same time light a flame in the prince’s heart.
She is ready to give up the most beautiful thing she has, her sweet voice and her gift of singing, in order to make her dreams come true.
In the fairy tale, the wish does not come true, and therefore the fairy tale has a wistful and sad ending. Thus, the central theme of the fairy tale becomes renunciation. Mermaid Ariel is forced to give up her voice, her family, her dream, and ultimately her life. But there is a goodness beating in his heart that gives him a new life among the Ilmatars.
In Walt Disney’s musical version, the story changes and takes on a different emphasis. The musical draws its strength from humour and progresses to a romantic ending. Of course, there is also a battle between good and evil when we are in a fairy tale.
At the Helsinki City Theatre, the musical The Little Mermaid, based on the Disney film, will take off. Samuel Harjanne’s direction is extraordinarily smooth and flowing. The scenes follow each other in a cinematic manner, and the rhythm varies from exhilarating crowd scenes to quiet backwaters.
The City Theatre’s investment is expensive, and it is reflected in the excellent visuals of the end result. The stage is a world of fairy tales and illusions, where the viewer gets to dive into the blue sea in the company of mermaids, fish, crabs and various bugs. There is also a vile witch who spreads her tentacles so that the abomination can be felt all the way to the stands.
With the help of video technology, images transform and merge with each other, and fine combinations of many colors and shapes are created in the sea. In the auditorium, one can only marvel at how flexibly the mermaid swims, rises upwards on stage and makes spins, but after a while she is already resting on a rock.
Comedy permeates the performance. It can be felt in the lines and the style of speech with which the people of the sea communicate. It lives in many scenes where the head is treated as a third leg.
One of the funniest scenes is at the beginning of the second act. Mermaid Ariel has entered the prince’s castle mute without a tongue. The chefs and kitchen staff mess around with the catering in the style of a silent film. Even delicious meals are transformed or disappear into the winds of heaven.
The performance has a lot of rhythmic dances and spectacular costumes. Even the little mermaid eventually learns to dance on her log legs, which she got after selling her voice to the witch.
Young actors Sonja Pajunoja and Martti Manninen will play the roles of the mermaid Ariel and the prince. Pajunoja’s interpretation has a touch of a spoiled little girl as she tries to get the prince’s attention after losing her voice. Both sing very well.
The role of the delicious witch Ursula is played by Sanna Saarijärvi. Her witch is convincing in its disgustingness.
The performance is also a bit suspenseful. Is there enough time limit to hunt for the kiss required for the magic to happen?
After all the visual fireworks, the show ends a bit bumpy, because in the end, everything happens quickly like a hocus-pocus or a simsalabim from a magician’s wand.
Evil gets its reward and the mermaid and prince get each other.
As handsome as the musical and the stage execution are, the musical is no match for the original fairy tale when it comes to moving emotions. In the end, the musical is quite sugary in terms of content compared to Andersen’s fairy tale, which even touches on the theme of death.