REVIEW: Little M Anders Duckworth at The Place 24 October 2025

‘The intention is admirable … but who is it for?’ ★★☆☆☆

Little M reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid as a dance-led story of self-discovery and transformation. Although Andersen famously denied that his tales were written for children, his works have become central to family theatre — and this production, recommended for audiences aged eight and above, gestures toward inclusivity without ever defining its audience clearly.

In the theatre, a few younger spectators were present, but the majority were adults. This raised an intriguing question: who is Little M really for? It does not need to be a children’s show, yet if it seeks to offer new meaning or resonance for a wider audience, it needs to go further. Instead, it sits uneasily in the middle — too underwhelming to challenge or move adults, and too static to hold younger viewers’ attention.

The concept — reframing the mermaid’s tale through a queer, non-binary lens — is timely and full of promise. Little M, an outsider who yearns to explore identity and belonging, could have been a potent metaphor. The dancers’ skill and the effort invested in puppetry are visible, yet the staging feels curiously underdeveloped, lacking artistic imagination. Visually, it relies on familiar tropes and small gestures that never quite transform into wonder. The Ursula-inspired puppet, for instance, is an interesting idea that never achieves the scale or theatricality to astonish.

Little M ultimately seems more invested in asserting a new identity for the story than in communicating that vision to its audience. The intention is admirable — to question who gets to belong, and what lies beneath the surface — but without sharper dramaturgy or bolder theatrical imagination, the message dissipates.

It is neither a show for children nor one for adults, but something caught in between: wellmeaning, sincere, yet emotionally and visually incomplete.



Cast & Creatives

Choreographer & Co-Director: Anders Duckworth

Writer & Co-Director: Luke Skilbeck

Designer: E. M. Parry

Associate Costume Designer & Supervisor: Eve Oakley

Associate Set Designer & Supervisor: Kit Hinchliffe

Puppet Maker & Co-Designer: Scamp Niemz

Lighting Designer: Carey Chomsoonthorn

Composition & Sound Design: Nicole Raymond / NikNak

Additional Music & Production: Joseph Smith

Dancers: Jose Funnell, Áine Reynolds, Naissa Bjørn, Tylee Jones

Production Manager: Helen Mugridge

Stage Manager: Florian Lim

Project Facilitator: Orrow Bell

Associate Direction: ShayShay

Co-Produced and commissioned by The Place.Supported by FEAST, Yorkshire Danceand Gendered Intelligence.

 Photography: Camilla Greenwell