A bold reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of love, loss and desire, transported to a contemporary setting.
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, leaving her childhood behind for ever 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?
Polly Teale’s Mermaid was first performed by Shared Experience and Nottingham Playhouse on a UK tour in 2015.
‘A beautiful, stylistic and intelligent adaptation’
— Teaching Drama
‘Wonderfully atmospheric’
— WhatsOnStage
‘An enchanting fairy story brought splashing into present-day, superbly woven around a highly descriptive text’
— The Public Reviews
