Little M is The Place’s new production which treats the audience to a reimagined version of the Little Mermaid. We meet Little M who feels like they don’t fit in and dreams of dancing with the ladies on the shore. After meeting with a sea witch they trade in their voice to go to the shore but all does not go to plan as the Prince soon falls for another’s charms.

The show contains joyful themes of acceptance as Little M makes it clear that they want to wear the gowns that the women on the shore wear and dance just like their sisters do. It is clearly portrayed as a queer allegory and is done is such a way that it doesn’t feel forced but instead plants seeds in the younger audience members minds that it is ok to feel comfortable in your own skin.

The story is told through a variety of mediums but the primary one is dance and all of the cast move well together and convey relationships, thoughts and feelings well in this manner and is easy to understand for all ages present.

Puppetry also comes to the fore throughout the show and the opening moments set the tone for the show brilliantly as a jellyfish floats along along with shadow puppetry. Throughout the show an imaginative use of props helps convey different places, my favourite was the way the company decided to convey water in the moments that the Prince is thrown into the sea and saved by Little M. Equally as impressive was the way that the sea witch was depicted. The set was also perfect for this production with ropes, nets and other nautical based items making up the majority of the backdrop for this production.

Apart from Little M themselves the rest of the dancers use voice actors for the dialogue, sometimes this does lead to a slight disconnect but does work well with the feeling that the story is being narrated to a child before bedtime.

The performers themselves were Jose Funnell, Aine Reynolds, Naissa Bjorn and Tylee Jones who mostly multi-rolled taking on parts ranging from Little M’s grandmother to the Prince, and from Little M’s sister through to Punk The Puffer Fish. Despite this it was easy to establish who they were portraying and I found myself forgetting that I was only watching a cast of 4.

Little M is a family friendly dance production with a joyful message of acceptance which captures the audiences imagination, young and old alike.

Little M is on until 25th October at The Place. You can find out more about this show and their future productions on their website.

If you like this review you might also like my review of The Play That Goes Wrong, Matilda and Wicked.