A year ago, Disney announced their live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, releasing May 2023, with Halle Bailey playing Ariel. The announcement of a Black lead resulted in immediate backlash and outrage online, with racist Disney fans proclaiming #NotMyAriel.
Upon the casting release, I began thinking: What would The Little Mermaid be like if examined through the lens of Black femininity? What would it be like to investigate the core themes and challenges in the original story, as perceived and lived within the Black femme experience? This project was an opportunity to explore mythologies about love within our culture versus the reality of the journey of misguided loving.
This adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is set in a 1930s Bolero nightclub. Our “Little Mermaid” is the club’s star, who recounts her tragic love story over the course of the evening. The song “Lágrimas Negras” by Miguel Matamoros was a huge inspiration to the conception of this show, and is therefore the musical and storytelling focal point.
The overall themes of love and heartbreak from the original Hans Christian Andersen text are intertwined and presented with the intrinsic themes of love within the Afro-Cuban Bolero music genre. The show examines how dance can be incorporated within puppetry, as dancers perform with puppets on stage, and also incorporates the use of shadow puppetry.
The Little Mermaid is a tragedy telling of a story emphasizing heartbreak and rebirth.