NEWS: Cast and creatives announced for fin-tastic The Little Mermaid

Dive into a world beneath the waves with Notts born actor Hannah Breedon, who makes her professional stage debut as Marina the Mermaid. Hannah trained at Fourth Monkey Drama School. Making a splash as an array of different characters, including Marina’s best friend Sullivan the Turtle, is Ollie West (Rouge, The Old Joint Stock; The Dazzle, Menagerie Theatre). Ollie is an actor, comedian and clown, who trained at the renowned École Philippe Gaulier.

This brand-new adaptation of this family favourite is written by writing duo Rob Gathercole (music and lyrics) and Joe Venable (lyrics and book), whose prior shows include Rishi Sunak’s Doing a Musical. It is directed by Alessandra Davison (Sonic Journey, Young Vic; Coven, Seven Dials Playhouse), a director and dramaturg from Birmingham who was part of the inaugural Jamie Lloyd EMERGE Company.

The creative team were appointed following an open call-out to artists for the roles of Director, Writer and Composer. The call-out was part of Nottingham Playhouse’s Amplify programme, which supports local creatives with opportunities, workshops networking and mentoring.

The open call-out is a key part of Nottingham Playhouse’s policy of being open and equitable in engaging artists and ensuring that they are offered real opportunities to work in their own community.

The Designer for the show is Emma Howson, a Nottingham Trent University graduate (BA Hons Design for Theatre and Live Performance) who was announced as the winner of the Playhouse Prize earlier this year. The prize gives recent graduates their first professional job after training, which is producing the costume and set designs for the Christmas show for younger children in the Neville Studio.

Director Alessandra Davison, said:

“I’m thrilled to be starting rehearsals for this new version of The Little Mermaid, brilliantly reimagined by Joe Venable and Rob Gathercole. We’re very lucky to have cast two incredibly talented actors, Ollie and Hannah, who I know will thrill audiences with the energy and humour they bring to the characters.

 “We can’t wait to all get in the room together and start bringing the production to life on Emma’s beautiful set. I’m especially excited to be working with Matt Powell to integrate creative captions into the performance, making sure that our story is both fun and accessible for as many young people as possible.” 

Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford, said:

“Nottingham Playhouse has been creating work especially for children, including touring schools, for decades. It’s often the first experience children have of watching live theatre, which introduces them to a whole world of storytelling and ways of making sense of the world. And that’s more important than ever when arts subjects are getting cut in schools.

“Our talented creative team are creating a really exciting new version of this classic story, full of fun and wonder, and we can’t wait to have young audiences dive into it.”

Specially created for children aged 3 to 8, this sparkling new version of The Little Mermaid is the perfect introduction to live theatre for little ones. With magical music, playful puppets and oodles of opportunities to join in, this 50-minute-long show is a great festive family treat.

The show also incorporates Creative Captioning, which uses simple imagery on a screen to highlight key points in the story, making it more accessible to children who are hard of hearing or have issues with auditory processing. There are also fully captioned and BSL Interpreted performances for access.

The Little Mermaid will also tour to schools and community venues in January 2026.

Dive into a world of magic and music with our adventurous mermaid and her sea creature friends.

The little mermaid dreams of a life on the land but finds herself out of her depth when her dreams finally come true.

Specially created for children ages 3-8, this brand-new version of a family favourite is the perfect introduction to live theatre and a fin-tastic festive treat.