Synopsis
Mermaid
Polly Teale from Hans Christian Anderson
Published by Nick Hern Books
2 Male 6 Female
Beneath the ocean's waves there is no death or pain or separation
Above, the modern world is beset with war, poverty and desire
On her sixteenth birthday, a mermaid rises up to the surface
And leaves her childhood behind forever when she falls in love with a mortal prince
She knows that she can no longer live at the bottom of the ocean
But must she destroy herself in order to be loved?
First performed by Shared Experience and Nottingham Playhouse, 2015
Shared Experience is renowned for its thrilling adaptations of literary classics
Plundering Hans Christian Andersen's haunting tale for its dark, erotic, mythic power, writer and director Polly Teale transports the story to a spell-binding contemporary setting
The production invites young women between the age of 14 to 20 to join the actors and perform on stage to create the sound of the mermaids' magical singing
Using this choir of young women to create an unearthly musical landscape, Teale conjures the magical world of Mermaids to empower their sense of self and to challenge myths about femininity