Merboy, a queer telling of The Little Mermaid, will open in London this spring.
The play, presented by Campfire Theatre, will open on 21 February in celebration of LGBTQ+ history month.
This poetic retelling will be jam-packed with love songs from the 1960s and portray the sexual awakening of a mixed-race queer boy navigating school and the gay scene. Merboy is also semi-autobiographical, influenced by the personal life of writer and producer Liam Sesay.
Kemi Clarke will play the role of Merboy. He will be joined by Yasmin Dawes as Siren 1/Mother, Ralph Bogard as Siren 2/Sea Witch and Anthony Psaila as Siren 3/Sailor.
The new production is inspired by both The Little Mermaid and letters from Hans Christian Anderson to his friend Edvard Collin.
Sesay said: “My mum and I were incredibly close. Growing up in the 80/90s in Kent, as a gay mixed-race kid was pretty tough. When I was little, whilst my dad and 4 brothers went to play football, we’d watch Dynasty, Sweet Charity or a Japanese Anime version of The Little Mermaid.
“My mum and I were both fish out of water and we felt an affinity to these stories of outsiders.”
Campfire Theatre will also work with the charity Mosaic LGBTQ+ to run creative performance sessions for young people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Merboy will open at London’s Omnibus Theatre on Tuesday 21 February 2023. Tickets are available now.
Words by Elinor Rees
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