Review | The Little Mermaid at Portsmouth Guildhall Studio: 'A deep-sea delight'

Now in their second year at Portsmouth Guildhall’s Studio, this is a much more intimate show than the heavy-hitters of The Kings or The New Theatre Royal. And as such it is nice to see them trying something a bit different with a lesser-told panto tale.

That said, most of the elements of your traditional pantomime are present and correct – even down to that rarity these days, an actual principal boy – writer and director Charlotte C-K as Prince Eric. The set is minimal, which reduces the need for cumbersome scene changes. The show instead relies on giant LED screens at the back of the stage which provide vivid images, plunging us into the depths or the heart of a storm.

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While all the leads are strong, the energy – and entertainment levels – rise by several notches whenever Nathan Camilleri as Claude Crimson Claws or Aled Price as Queen Ursula hit the stage. The pair are riotously camp without tipping into crudeness and Price is clearly having a whale of a time chewing the sea-based scenery as the villain of the piece.

And in a script packed with fishy-puns Price and Camilleri’s tongue-twisting scene shows off verbal dexterity which manages to be impressive and funny. The kitchen scene where Claws – a crab – realises he’s on the menu is a bonkers fever dream. Meanwhile, the climactic duel between C-K and Price combines Blondie, some tremendous trident twirling and a nifty bit of swordplay to great effect.

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Meghan Hyne as Flipper and Lucas Penfold as Codswallop acquit themselves well as the sidekicks – particularly the latter up against his mistress, Ursula. Special mention too to the 18 young members of the ensemble who have a lot of dancing to remember, with plentiful costume changes - I dread to think what it must be like backstage.

There are some problems with the sound levels at the start when vocals are drowned out by backing tracks but that is soon corrected and we’ll put that down to it being opening night.

With so many shows fighting for your attention, there is much to tip the scales (sorry) in their favour – this is a deep-sea delight. Until December 27.