The Little Mermaid: 'exciting' opportunity to bring panto back to Adam Smith Theatre

Mairi Cowieson is directing her fourth Kirkcaldy panto as she takes the helm of The Little Mermaid. The show debuted on December 9 and is a fresh re-telling of the Disney and Hans Christian Anderson tale.

The theatre underwent a three-year, multi-million £ refurbishment between 2020 and 2023 and welcomed the Little Mermaid as its first post-renovation pantomime, “It's such a lovely space, so it is nice to be back in with its newness, and it is such a nice space to work in,” Mairi said. “The rehearsal room, and the dressing rooms have all had a bit of a facelift which is nice.”

However, the upgrades are not just decorative. There have also been major improvements to the lighting and rigging, which allows for a more dynamic set, “It gives us a bit more facilities which is nice.”

And this year’s panto makes the most of the new facilities, with Kim Shepherd’s Princess Azurial and Scott Watson’s Freddy the Flounder, using the rigs to “swim” about the theatre’s stage. “Technically quite challenging” is how Mairi subtly describes the set pieces. “Neither of them had ever flown before!” she added.

Working alongside Gregor Keachie, musical director, and Roy MacQueen, choreographer, Mairi has brought Fraser Boyle’s script to life. Having worked with Gregor previously, Mairi said that the familiarity has helped make the process more enjoyable.

She explained: “As a team, the three of us have really, really worked well together and it makes rehearsals so enjoyable. To have such a good strong team on musical direction and choreography and then direction for me, it's great.”

In addition to Kim and Scott, the cast includes River City’s Greg Powrie, OnFife panto mainstay Colin Little, Lorraine Graham, Michelle Donnelly, Benjamin Kempton, Charlotte Jean Moore and Bradlee Wetherill. And each cast member has played their part in bringing the show together.

Mairi said: “They're just fantastic. I've worked with a lot of them before - and they're so professional. We don't have a big name like some of the other pantomimes, like at the Kings in Edinburgh. Obviously, Greg Powrie is in River City, but it's not about the CV that the big names have got, it's about the talent that we’ve got on stage and they’re a real joy to work with. Everybody has the same goal, and that is putting on the best family friendly, story driven pantomime. And that's really important.”

Updating a script for a modern, and localised audience, is also a part of the panto tradition and it was no different with this production. From “dark” source material to legal obstacles with the well-known animated movie, it relied on a collective effort from cast and crew.

Mairi said: “We had to find and navigate our own story without putting anyone’s nose out of joint and getting us into trouble from a rights point of view.”

However, familiarity with the cast has ensured that Mairi has been able to produce a clear vision for the production. She explained: “It makes things so much easier because I'm reading the script and before I even get into the rehearsal room I can picture what's happening. I can picture how I'm going to put that on the stage. Because I know my actors. That really helps.”