Meow Meow’s The Little Mermaid

Meow Meow’s production of The Little Mermaid is a post-modern cabaret performance with themes derived from the original 1837 Hans Christian Andersen tale. This fun filled, interactive theatre performance is a feminist take on the fairytale. Meow Meow says the original is basically Ariel “giv[ing] up her voice to get laid.” The show is narrated with snippets of a voice over of Meow Meow’s post-modern version of the fairytale.

Greeted by an intimate dark, starry lit room at The Merlyn Theatre filled with open clam seashell lights around the stage, Meow Meow enters with pizzazz and spunk through sounds of thunder and lightning. It begins with a monologue where Meow Meow cries about how the world is obsessed with love. She tells the audience how she wanted to give us a show on happiness and love, but she cannot as the world isn’t filled with happiness but only with sadness, just like in The Little Mermaid.

The performance was situated around Meow Meow’s subconscious. She travels through her past relationships and tells us how none of them are perfect and how she had thrown them all away in her past. Pulled out from under the stage is the body parts Meow Meow loved of them; two different arms, a torso and a foot. She puts these pieces together to create the perfect partner as she says “is it too much to ask?” Meow Meow also pulls out a “younger version of herself”, which is, ironically, a sex doll. Her quest for love is sparked by her vulnerability through these. We explore her heartache and pain in the constant search to find the perfect man during the worlds “drought of love”.

As the audience, we go through a journey with Meow Meow as an array of lights and songs aid to the magic of it. Her performance was breathtakingly beautiful. The audience feels her sadness and her joy through different scenes of the show. Meow Meow’s interactive-ness with the audience is fun and makes everyone feel involved in this journey.

Meow Meow pours her heart out through this production through laughs and music. Mainly performed on her own, she does not draw breath and is constantly looking through the audience, involved and searching. Meow Meow is a true performer and did not leave the stage for more than 1 minute throughout the 80 minute show.

Through circus tricks above the audience, Meow Meow’s talent is really showcased. Her background in dance and theatre shines through. This post-modern version of cabaret is a fresh and exciting take leaving the audience in stitches.

The show was filled with amazing lighting, tricks and music performed by The Siren Effect Orchestra. The performance featured songs from Megan Washington, Amanda Palmer, Iain Grandage and Kate Miller-Heidke. Meow Meow’s quest for love is beautifully shown through song.

Meow Meow’s The Little Mermaid
Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Sunday January 28 – Sunday February 14
malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/meow-meows-little-mermaid