The grand finale and the coconut calypso

IF the testament to any musical show are the catchy numbers they leave you with, then Mermaids and Pirates comes sliding in at number one this summer. 

Forget about Grease. Don’t spend your money on The Lion King. Instead, get yourself down to Coram’s Fields where a whole new canon of music awaits you. 

Long Gone Silver and his band of merry pirates 

And the intriguing thing about this show is the music was never actually written for adults to perform. It was originally penned for kids learning the ropes in musical theatre at Perform clubs across the country, with the show tunes all written by its musical director Will Barnett for its miniature stars. 

This is the first time Mermaids and Pirates has been performed by adults, for children, after Perform CEO Lucy Quick decided during the pandemic she wanted to put their show on the road in the face of so many theatres closing. And it was a smash with the children who came to see it while my niece Ruby (11), my nephew Louie (9) and my daughter Luna (6), all loved it. 

Ruby, Luna and Louie posing outside with their key ring purchases

The audience participation bit even had a few laughs for the grownups too – not least when Rita Conchita, the parrot who wants to be a broadway showgirl, headed out into the crowds to chat with none other than the West End stage’s very own Darren Day. If you’re asking what the former I’m a Celebrity… contender was doing at a kids’ theatre show in the middle of the day in King’s Cross, then you and me both! So I obviously had to google him – and it turns out he’s dating the head mermaid! 

The head mermaid

But back to the songs. 

Since going to see the show, literally all that goes on in my head, most of the time embarrassingly, are the words ‘Rrrrrrita, Rrrrrita Conchita… da, da, da, da, da, da dahhhh!’ And the earworms only get more addictive as I scroll through the tunes, which are, to my daughter’s delight, downloaded on an app on my phone (called Mermaids and Pirates). 

Just this week, we danced along merrily to the Coconut Calypso – another smash from the show – as we made our way to a Heathrow hotel room to await our 4am fate. Luckily for the players in Mermaids, theirs is a happier ending as they do the strawberry salsa and the melon mambo in the barnstorming finale. 

Featuring sacred coconuts, stripy suited castaways singing about Netflix and some well-hidden raft-building equipment, there is nothing mythical about Mermaids and Pirates IRL: the show will make you sing, jiggle in your seat and tell your kids to please sit down. 

Magical costumes that catch the eye also keep you watching, long after the plotlines leave you all washed up. 

Castaways in stripy onesies

Quick has hit upon an innovative idea, setting up a 500 seat theatre big top tent in Coram’s Fields. It is a welcome addition to the oldest playground in London and one that is always in need of funding. I for one will be hoping this becomes a summer season institution in north Camden.

Three other plays are also being performed, alongside a range of evening talks for teenagers. Tickets start at £17.50. The show runs until August 28.