Pond Wife

The Little Mermaid is cast into the real world in performance duo Holly & Ted’s unusual retelling of the classic story. Here, in a piece about feminism where the top of the ocean is called ‘the glass ceiling’, the mermaid loses her voice in exchange for lungs, befriends a nineties popstar and helps her write a smash hit.

It’s sort of a coming-of-age story, except slightly bizarre and with a huge number of nineties pop songs thrown in for good measure. Holly Norrington and Teddy Lamb recite lyrics as if they’re scripts, with snatches of All Saints, Spice Girls and many, many more played over the top. 

Some lovely visual touches lift this show, like glitter and ribbons blown by a huge fan to create a swirling underwater world. But there’s a strange, slow awkwardness to the performances, particularly Lamb’s, which seems neither entirely natural nor deliberate.

Using just an old bath and lots of sparkly things, Holly & Ted put a familiar story through their own unique lens. Some of it works, some of it clunks. There’s a message in here about women and celebrity, especially that unique brand of nineties singer whose styles, songs, entire lives were dictated by male producers. 

Although fun—particularly hearing some blasts of nostalgia—it’s a bit slight and its message could be clearer.