REVIEW: THE SEAWITCH SPEAKS
Appalled by her depiction in the 1989 Disney animated version of The Little Mermaid, a poor unfortunate sea witch takes a journey to the human world (it’s still a mess) to set the record straight about her role in the much beloved, though deeply inaccurate, animated version of the classic Hans Christian Andersen faerie tale.
In her short time here on land, Sara Anderson’s sea witch is as regal as can be with her sweeping tentacles peeking out of her self-fashioned sail cloth garment. She has a cool, alluring presence on stage as she describes what life under the sea is really like and has amusing interactions with the younger members in the audience.
The sea witch reflects on how all acts of service come with a price and then shocks the audience with the reality of what happened after the mermaid’s efforts fail to land her a prince’s love. Anderson’s performance brings refreshing, well-crafted intellectualism to the story of The Little Mermaid while also blending dry humour that Anderson delivers naturally. All these narrative elements allow the audience to come to a deeper understanding that the witch may not actually be the villain that literature and film versions made her out to be.
The Seawitch Speaks leaves the audience with an impactful lesson to take home: good intentions do not always make good decisions. The show also stresses the importance of using your own voice to speak your truth. It would be interesting to see Anderson’s take on other Disney-fied classics versus their origin stories in the future as her passion for the material is clear. If you enjoy faerie tales and debunking them from the so-called villain’s perspective, than be sure to catch this one at Fringe @ Ringside!
Photos provided by: Sara Anderson
