Notes From Row H

Off West End theatre review – The Other Palace

Written and directed by Robyn Grant, and also written by Daniel Foxx, with music by Tim Gilvin, Unfortunate is the story that Disney does not want you to know – the story of Ursula the Sea Witch, and it is at The Other Palace from 7^th March until 5^th April. 

Is Ursula actually as bad as The Little Mermaid makes her out to be? She tells us her story – and it is not the villainous story that Disney tells you that it is. Starting during her school days in Atlantica and then playing through the events of the Little Mermaid and its aftermath, this musical is camp, raunchy, and full of energy. It is a refreshing and chaotic breath of fresh air and is quite the opposite of its name – it is fortunate AND fabulous. 

Sam Buttery is Ursula and brings a riotous energy to the show. She gives an extremely charismatic performance and commands the stage with a filthy and unapologetic presence from the start. Her Ursula is witty, outrageously funny and self-aware – but balanced with genuine emotion. Her vocals are incredible too and does justice to Robyn Grant and Daniel Foxx’s lyrics. 

Julie Yammanee as Ariel brings a satirical energy to the character – framing her as an obsessive teenager and an air head. Her parody of ‘Part of Your World’ was roof-raising and was hilariously dirty. Blair Robertson as King Triton is a marvellous pairing with Buttery – their chemistry is magnetic, and their rendition of ‘Suckin’ on You’ is one of the best songs in the show. Allie Dart as Sebastian (and others) was a bundle of energy, and her use of castanets was *chefs kiss* (no pun intended). James Spence gives a very engaging performance as the flute-loving Prince Eric and brings chaotic energy to every role he plays. There is no weak link in this production – they all have superb comedic timing, which makes it such an enjoyable watch. 

Despite only having a cast of seven, it actually feels as if there are more – and that is because of the multi-rolling, which is expertly done by all the cast, and adds an extra layer of chaos to the show. An absolute highlight is when Allie Dart is changing between Sebastian and Chef Collette in the same scene, and it is superb.

This queer, fast paced and outrageously filthy musical is nothing without the marvellous set and costume designs of Jasmine Swan, Melody Sinclair’s choreography, and Adam King’s lighting design. The puppets are added stroke of genius – and their song ‘We Didn’t Make It To Disney’ was hysterical. The set, costume, and lighting design combine to give us a visual feast, and a very aquatic feel to the musical. The choreography too helps to create a unique look and subtle elements of comedy that are just perfect. Particular highlights of mine are the can-can routine that is very reminiscent of Moulin Rouge, and a graveyard scene that has very Disney-centric themes. It is all just bonkers – but it just works. 

This musical is flawless – and frankly I have used my thesaurus so much, that I have run out of synonyms for ‘excellent’ and ‘hilarious’ – if I could give it six stars, I would. It is a queer, fabulous, bonkers mixture of incredible performances and genius writing. It also has a core that is unapologetically itself, and touches on underlying themes of body confidence and self-worth with an empowering balance of care and campness. It was a riotous show, and I absolutely loved every second of it – go and see it before it ends! 

Written by Helena Featherstone