Review: Pieni merenneito
Voice for the Little Mermaid!
The premiere of The Little Mermaid musical was celebrated at the Helsinki City Theatre on 29.8.2019! With the wave of a magic wand, two young people appeared on stage, struggling with the tight grip of their parents’ values. One is tempted to abandon sailing at sea, while another is tempted to live on land. The young people fall in love with each other in the collision of these two worlds. At first, Erik is so enchanted that he can’t see beyond his nose. He is only looking for a mystical voice when he should be listening to the whole. He learns to trust the language of movement together with Ariel.
Ariel and Erik (Sonja Pajunoja and Martti Manninen) are teenagers who are growing up. Like every adolescent, they try to come to terms with themselves in relation to the world around them. Both notice how difficult it is to reconcile their own dreams with their parents’ high expectations and narrow opinions. They struggle against prejudice and strive to break free from shackling thoughts. Young people try to rise to the surface, come out and breathe freely – to be themselves.
The musical is about finding your own voice – literally and figuratively. Ariel and Erik want to be free together. They don’t care about the framework set for them, but fight to achieve their dreams. They know how to combine two different worlds and create something of their own out of it. We are all different and express our essence in our own personal way – despite our limitations and origins – or because of them.
Acting as a counterforce to the hope for a better future in her youth, Ursula (Sanna Saarijärvi) is a powerful woman who is determined to survive with devious means. He is entangled in his hatred and hiding in the deepest depths of the sea, where nothing but darkness, resentment and bitterness reign. He has chosen the path of revenge and bathing in evil. Ursula feels that the opportunities of the world and the women of her time are unfair. He doesn’t see that his ways to access his dreams are wrong. He is too deep in his own dark thoughts. Ursula receives the loudest applause of the evening when she first steps on stage. He is a wonderful revelation. Frightening, terrifying and in some strange way admirable. Sanna Saarijärvi is the perfect choice for the role. He shines.
The musical offers a thought-provoking side of traditional comedy as a counterbalance, the best example of which is the hilarious chef Louis (Tuomas Uusitalo). His pravour is to prepare seafood for food. Not everything goes smoothly when Sebastian (Tero Koponen) appears in the kitchen. What a voice that self-proclaimed spineless guy has, by the way! What a voice most people have! I experienced tingling on my skin several times! What about the visual side then! From that point of view, my favorite scene is definitely when Erik is drowning in the sea. The audience holds their breath together with the boy and stares in disbelief at the view of the endless sea that opens up before their eyes, into the depths of which the young prince inevitably rolls. Everyone asks in their minds whether their dreams have now been finally suppressed. You don’t lie down in any scene. The musical has everything in abundance. I liked the idea of using puppets in the presentation. It is an art form of its own. I can only imagine how much work it has taken to perform with the doll. And what about the movers of Ursula’s tentacles! I was intoxicated by the mystical choreography, which brought the merino witch to life.
After the musical, I was completely speechless. I felt that I had experienced something special.
The plays are wonderful because everyone can interpret them in their own way and from their own point of view. Everyone takes with them exactly what they need in their life at that moment. Thoughts focus on specific themes. The gaze is drawn to different things than someone else’s. Everyone interprets situations in their own way. I think this is just such a play. Ambiguous. Something for everyone.
The musical leaves you with a thought that whispers you to listen to your own inner voice. What am I dreaming about? What’s stopping me from achieving my dream? How can I pave my way towards the realization of a dream like young people?