REVIEW | Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch
Curve Theatre, Leicester
★★★★★
At the Curve Theatre this Autumn was the New Work Festival - formally known as Inside Out. Across the 10 days in October productions and activities for all ages have taken over the spaces in the theatre. New Work Festival both supports and shows the most dynamic and exciting talent from across the Midlands. This year's line up also included several performances direct from this summer's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
What's more, is this year The Difference Engine has been introduced in selected performances. Created by Talking Birds' this new tool makes events and performances accessible to partially-sighted, deaf or hard of hearing audience members by delivering captioning or audio description direct to your mobile device. The performances of Unfortunate were both using this tool and I definitely wish I had more phone battery so I could have trailed it for myself!
One of the performances I managed to see of the festival came directly from a sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch. Fat Rascal Theatre is a well-renowned company who produce new musical theatre productions and have created 6 brand-new musicals in two years, including Buzz and Vulvarine. I heard a lot of hype surrounding this production from the streets of Edinburgh so was delighted to see they were coming to Leicester with a new innovative for a story we all know so well (or so we thought!).
It's important to say here that The Little Mermaid is possibly my favourite Disney movie ever but I loved this production and thought it was h i l a r i o u s!
At the Curve Theatre this Autumn was the New Work Festival - formally known as Inside Out. Across the 10 days in October productions and activities for all ages have taken over the spaces in the theatre. New Work Festival both supports and shows the most dynamic and exciting talent from across the Midlands. This year's line up also included several performances direct from this summer's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
What's more, is this year The Difference Engine has been introduced in selected performances. Created by Talking Birds' this new tool makes events and performances accessible to partially-sighted, deaf or hard of hearing audience members by delivering captioning or audio description direct to your mobile device. The performances of Unfortunate were both using this tool and I definitely wish I had more phone battery so I could have trailed it for myself!
One of the performances I managed to see of the festival came directly from a sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch. Fat Rascal Theatre is a well-renowned company who produce new musical theatre productions and have created 6 brand-new musicals in two years, including Buzz and Vulvarine. I heard a lot of hype surrounding this production from the streets of Edinburgh so was delighted to see they were coming to Leicester with a new innovative for a story we all know so well (or so we thought!).
It's important to say here that The Little Mermaid is possibly my favourite Disney movie ever but I loved this production and thought it was h i l a r i o u s!
Unfortunate is full to the brim with hilarious lyrics, catchy songs and a really cleverly crafted new narrative. This production takes on Ursula's story; the iconic villain from Disney's The Little Mermaid. The show is only 80 minutes long but we dive into an alternative story that doesn't contain a lot of PG friendly material. It shows similarities to Wicked in that we witness a different to a popular villain and Fat Rascal Theatre does this in style.
There is also some cleverly thought out modern references incorporated into the story, particularly important topics like the growing numbers of plastics in our oceans.
The small cast of 5 is outstanding in this show - each bringing snappy comedy timing and brilliant characteristics to their roles. Hats off to Allie Munro, Jamie Mawson, Katie Wells and Steffan Rizzi for playing multiple roles and the slick transitions through these that were superb. With a musical that was so fast-paced they really kept up with the tempo. Robyn Grant makes the Ursula role her own as she provides spectacular sass and glam to the character. Grant does an excellent job in showing her more sensitive side too!
Unfortunate gives Ursula the spotlight she deserves. Beneath the surface of the parody and the fun is an important message of valuing your voice and love the skin you are in. Make sure you watch this musical whilst you still have the chance!
Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch is performing next at Theatre Deli, Sheffield 10-14 December and Birmingham Hippodrome 16-22 December.
Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch is performing next at Theatre Deli, Sheffield 10-14 December and Birmingham Hippodrome 16-22 December.
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