The Place, a dance theater based in London that works with young and brilliant dancers, will feature a trans, nonbinary reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, entitled Little M.
The Little Mermaid is a classic fairy tale written in 1837 by the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson. Sources believe one of the story’s inspirations was “really about gay love,” an allegory of Anderson’s unrequited love with Edvard Collin, the son of Anderson’s patron. Many of us, especially during our childhood years, recognized the story from Disney’s iconic movie adaptation, which was released in 1989.
Speaking of Disney, in 2024, they had a casting call for The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, a theatrical ride in Walt Disney World that replaced the beloved Voyage of the Little Mermaid. This call allowed other men and women to audition for the lead roles, Ariel and Eric, including trans men and trans women.
In previous calls, Disney would only list “men” and “women” for the roles, but this call made it more inclusive and accepting of transgender individuals. Although the parks hosted pride events and include more LGBTQ+ characters in their shows, witnessing iconic characters played by transgender actors and actresses in real life is a celebrated step in the right direction. And The Place continues that inclusivity and progress on their own accord in their rendition called Little M.
The Place describes Little M as a coming-of-age story for “anyone who feels like swimming against the tide,” in which Little M and her friend Punk the Puffer Fish go on an epic exploration through the world below to way above the sea, where the people are. The Place continues describing the adventure as full of puppetry, dance, transformation, and “a celebration of difference and acceptance for everyone age 8 and above.”
Anders Duckworth, a British/Swedish trans/nonbinary dance artist, choreographer, and visual artist, choreographed and co-directed Little M with Luke Skilbeck, a nonbinary, award-winning theater actor and director.
“Little M” will be playing at The Place in London for two days this October. Tickets are on sale now on the theater’s official site. Why not be a part of their inclusive, iconic world?
