The Little Mermaid
Big Telly Theatre Company
The Little Mermaid is designed for a young family audience, the company wanted to involve as many young people as possible in how it is made, rather than solely as audience members. We devised an Access Programme for approximately 90 young people aged between 7 and 11 years of age.
The workshop programme encouraged children to interpret the story of The Little Mermaid in their own unique way, contributing to the production's development and design elements of the set and props. The workshops evolved depending on the children's response to the creative processess, enabling the children to determine the course of the workshops, while maintaining a structure that would ultimately benefit all those involved.
By setting a theatre production in swimming pools the company is challenging the perception that imaginative work belongs in and can only take place in a designated 'artistic' environment. The company wanted the young people involved to feel a sense of ownership of the project and also to be empowered to dream up their own creative projects. The company enjoyed working with young people who may be involved in sport, who may not consider themselves creative, so as to broaden their self-perception and further their expressive skills.
The children taking part appeared to gain confidence in self-expression, skills in visualisation and narrative structure and enjoyed the unique thrill of being part of a creative team. It is hoped that they will utilise the skills learnt to be able to approach new challenges in a creative way and therefore be empowered to invent opportunities for themselves.
The show premiered on Tuesday 24th May 2005 at 8pm to a full house. The cast and crew performed 38 shows in total including 16 matinee performances to a total audience of 5,391.
The young people had the opportunity to attend performances in Coleraine and experience the completed production from the viewing gallery for the first time.
