Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch

Based on the book Robyn Grant and Daniel Foxx, who have additionally penned the lyrics that bring to life the original music by Tim Gilvin, this is an updated version of this production, which is back at The Lowry for a five-week festive visit. ‘Unfortunate’ retells the story of ‘The Little Mermaid’ from the point of view of Ursula, the villainous Sea Witch, who we all know is the bad guy of the story. Or do we?! Now, I’m not quite sure what wine the writers were drinking on the dark and stormy evening in 2018 that they conceived this fever dream of a production, but I think I might need some! Because this even I have been exposed to two hours of entertainment which is bafflingly brilliant, raucously ridiculous and fabulously fun.

In this critically acclaimed parody, the character of Ursula we think we know from the original Disney classic is given an audacious makeover and presented as less of a natural villain, and more of a wronged party, gaslit and marginalised by her treatment at the hands of King Triton, his weird king father and much of Atlantis, blamed for a crime she did not commit and forced to become the hard edged, dishonourable diva we all love to hate. And as Ursula ‘spills the tea’, she plunges the audience into a sexy, saucy, and quite frankly, scandalous version of what really went down under the sea. Make no mistake, this irreverent, filthy version of the Disney classic we all know and love is definitely not PG (in fact, it has a guidance rating of age 16+), definitely not cute and definitely not for kids! Writer Grant also directs this fantastic production, which does a brilliant job of flipping the Disney narrative while delivering some pretty impressive statements about the meaning of true value, the importance of having a voice and the empowering impact of demanding the ability to take up whatever space you need to.

The casting for this production is an outright triumph. They collaborate together with seamless perfection to create two hours of joyful silliness with a more than liberal sprinkle of bizarre! Manchester born and bred Sam Buttery (Little Shop of Horrors, The Addams Family Concert, Burnt At The Stake, Cabaret, Taboo, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Jesus Christ Superstar) takes on the title role of the piece and plays it like she owns it. Buttery oozes personality as the tentacle tornado who dominates the stage. Sly, sassy, and sensational, her stage presence is phenomenal, and her vocals are at times, reveals a powerhouse which befits such a larger-than-life character. Buttery’s Ursula is unashamedly proud, and challenges the audience, not always comfortably, to examine their biases about her characterisation, and by extension, their biases in general. There are themes of self-acceptance in a world which values beauty over substance, the insidious and harmful impact of believing the narrative others create rather than seeing people and their situation for what and who it really is and or course, the fragile reality of accepted that the traditional ‘happily ever after’ is the only way to truly achieve happiness. These are handled with equal measures of confronting pathos and gleeful glibness but in both versions, they don’t pull punces.

Allie Dart (The Comedy About Spies, Homo Alone, 2:22 A Ghost Story, Cinderella) reprises her role as the comic crustacean character of Sebastian (and also the French Chef, amongst other roles throughout the evening), for which she already earned herself an Off West End Award for Best Supporting Female. She is simply brilliant. Her comic timing, facial expressions and exaggerated tone in delivery hits the comic mark again and again. Miricle Chance (Fangirls, Starter for Ten, The Witches, The Rocky Horror Show, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Footloose, The Wedding Singer) delights as a vapid, man obsessed (well, obsessed with a specific part anyway!) frivolous version of the traditional heroine Ariel. But this version delivers a precocious, sometimes witty and mostly ditzy version who you cannot help but like despite how annoying she probably is. Scenes shared between Buttery and Chance are like a camp-tastic version of pistols at dawn, and you best believe that the glitter and sea-spray fly! James Spence, (a graduate of Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) is the archetypal preening Prince Eric, a little bit dull, a lot dense, obsessed with his ‘little flute’ (make of that what you will) and a whole lot of syrupy self-entitled.  

Blair Robertson rounds out the main cast as King Triton with just the right balance of loveable Himbo and genuinely soft-hearted good guy – wrapped in some rather snazzy sequins and sparkle and some excellent arms! The ensemble cast of two is made up of Freya McMahon (Hairspray) and Fionán O’Carroll (Follies, Beauty and the Beast, The Rocky Horror Show) work tirelessly to weave in and out of the unfolding scenes in a colourful array of characters in a very quick space of time. I was exhausted watching them and yet they keep the pace, bring the energy from the opening to the closing minutes and their constant rotation really does stand out as a standout performance of the evening. To be fair, most of the cast weave between several roles throughout and it’s really well done.  This is a razor sharp, fiendishly fabulous cast whose energy and momentum froths like glittery star-studded sea foam and delivers a masterclass in wit and performance on every front.

For those who have seen previous, longer versions of Unfortunate, this is a shorter, snappier, but still sharp as a tack incarnation. Grant and Foxx say they have been careful to keep the original feel of the original, apparently with all the best bits retained. As a newbie to the production, having not seen the original, all I can say is that it was pacey, full of casting chemistry and enrobed in Jasmine Swan’s whimsical, playful, colourful costume and set designs, Adam King’s lighting designs and a musical gravy from Gilvin that complements every aspect of the story perfectly – from the poppy, boppy, frothy pieces, to the loud, proud power ballads and a few club classic floor fillers in between. I absolutely loved the music and the way it had the audacity to make not-so-subtle references to some rather familiar tunes associated with the alternative version of this story, while standing on its own merit and with some wickedly wonderful lyrical content.

This production may be crude, rude and just a bit filthy, but it is also a little taste of therapy for anyone who’s ever felt the horrendous impact of being miscast as a villain by someone else’s narrative of them, or who has ever felt marginalised for not meeting society’s relentless insistence to equate value with beauty. Packed with gloriously bold humour, catchy music, satirical lyrical fun and delivered by a vibrant cast.


WE SCORE UNFORTUNATE...

WATCH OUR "IN CONVERSATION WITH SAM BUTTERY" VIDEO DISCUSSING THE SHOW

UNFORTUNATE IS SO ELECTRIC AND ENERGETIC IT WILL OCTOPI YOUR HEART AND TANTALISE YOUR TENTACLES!

Ursula is back in town and this powerful, progressive, and purple sea witch means business!  Her tentacles will try to tantalise, tease and tame you and she will throw a tidal wave of doubt upon the story you thought you knew.  Ariel the little who now?!  Please!  Two legs and two hands are so 1990!  This cephalopod has eight feelers and has no issue in slapping you down with each and every one of them until she has reduced you the sucker that you are.  So swim yourself down to The Lowry and let Ursula tell you the story of what really happened under the sea.  She will strangle the Disney out of Disney, give it a 2024 swagger, adult up the whole concept and leave many of you soaking wet! 

Fat Rascal Theatre have once again proven their musical theatre magnificence with Unfortunate, having done the rounds at festivals, nationwide tours, and solidifying its smash hit sex appeal with a critically acclaimed run in London.  It is now back on tour bigger, bolder and brassier than ever!  With a fierce and filthy sense of humour throughout, this is no fairytale of a Princess who needs to change and adapt, or to be rescued by her Prince.  This is the stuff of legends where the marginalised break through to put their stamp on the world, and where icons are born.  So, is Unfortunate’s Ursula really full of black, repulsive and repellent ink, or is she simply creating a defence mechanism as the one who was truly wrong all those years ago?  Dive into her world, swim around in her waters, and see if you would have reacted differently.  Gruesome and guilty, or glamourous and gaslit?  Ursula had her heart broken, was fitted up for murder, banished from Atlantica, and treated as an unworthy outcast.  Then out of the blue, the very man who let her down turns up asking for help with his daughter Ariel (or Anal, or Ariola as she may sometimes also be called!)  I mean really, under those circumstances, what’s a gal to do right?  Ursula hooks us into her world and we wait with baited breath to discover just how deliciously devilish this diva can be when it comes to setting the story straight.  Her smut, fierce rebut and hypnotic strut will beguile your senses, entice your dark side to come out and play, and liberate your mind.  Inspired one liners reveal insight into Ursula’s loves, life, and aspirations and you’ll be made privy to the inner workings of her heart, her brain, and her libido!  Ursula rules this fabulously fishy tale and have no doubt, the entire spectacle is on her terms.

There is no camouflaging the irresistible music of Tim Gilvin in this musical.  The songs command your attention and deliver not only cracking tunes befitting of an endorphin fuelled party, but brilliantly interspersed parody, humour and a good dollop of mickey taking fun at the expense of Disney, and political correctness.  Melodic lines, phrases, lyrics and licks from songs and shows such as The Little Mermaid, Ratatouille, and other Disney classics are cajoled into new music, providing a familiar platform of recognition to poke fun at in brilliantly new ways.  ‘Ask The Girl,’ instead of ‘Kiss The Girl,’ should give you an inkling as to the jibing, banter and modernised approach that Unfortunate embodies through song and with a never ending reel of sarcastic, satisfying and scintillating tunes coming your way, you won’t be disappointed.  If you’re not convinced, don’t take my word for it, book yourself a ticket and listen to these hilarious songs yourself.  But I must warn you, they are not for the faint hearted, and with beautiful songs such as “Part Of Your World” being replaced with the more adult “Where The Dicks Are,” please do take heed of the 16+ age restriction on this show, because Disney it is not!

In fact, picture Book Of Mormon having a horny drunken affair with RuPaul’s Drag Race, whilst trying to tell a bedtime story to the children they resent for spoiling their fun!  The innuendo is riotous but sometimes, no innuendo is needed for they just spell it out to you in clear, thrusting terms.  Popular culture references are everywhere, making this show relevant, tuned in, and turned on.  ‘Pretty Little Things,’ ‘Etsy,’ and ‘Only Fans,’ are just a few of these drops and do a subtle job of breaking audience walls, because we are watching this larger than life musical, yet our real world is peppered throughout.  Numbers such as “We Didn’t Make It To Disney,” give endless scope and food for thought at those cast outside the perfect illusion of the Disney bubble.  I am a huge Disney fan and often crave their wonderful bubble for the joy of escapism, so I can honestly say that Unfortunate is playing and having fun, throwing a shade of reality on Disney and does not insult die hard Disney nuts in any way, shape, or form…….well no more than it insults and pokes fun at everyone else who gets in Ursulas way!

Shawna Hamic (Orange Is The New Black, Les Mis) is simply sensational as Ursula.  Commanding, captivating and charismatic, she has a delicious twinkle in her eyes throughout and validates the villain in all of us.  A glamorous and wickedly powerful performance, her humour shines through and her vocals reverberate with a diva dynamic!  River Medway (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Death Drop: Back In The Habit) is insanely funny as Ariel, or speechless girl as Eric likes to call her.  A constant vacant smile on her face, her Ariel had love in her heart but not much in her head.  Her voice is comedy gold on its own, yet this doesn’t stop an absolutely rip roaring comedy performance when Ursula steals it.  Her facial expressions and communication are so wildly winsome that you can’t help falling in love with this innocently infectious mermaid.

Thomas Lowe (Les Mis, Cats, North & South) is brilliantly bold, and buoyant as Triton.  He brings a posh, privilege and dim nature to this usually macho role, and flips it entirely upside down with his fabulous characterisation.  His performance is purposefully over the top, making Triton hilarious and perfectly cheesy as he delivers this serious character amidst theatrical flare, and he tops it all off with insanely outstanding vocals.  What a voice!   

Allie Dart (2:22, Cinderella) as Sebastian and many other roles was jaw dropping to watch.  The energy, switching of accents, characters and costumes, including one scene where she literally played Sebastian and the chef at the same time were mind blowing!  Whether dancing, voguing, singing, seducing, or trying to control Ariel, each moment, each character was spot on and filled with what can only be described as a genuine and infectious love of performance.

Jamie Mawson (Fat Rascal associate artist, Macbeth) wonderfully gives us an Eric who is so ridiculously simple, spoiled and in love with himself that you cannot hold the laughter in at any point he is on stage.  He gives such a naive and petulant quality to Eric which he matches entirely with an unstoppable energy as he effortlessly throws himself – literally – around the stage.  Jack Gray as Grimsby and a thousand other characters, including a rip roaring Vanessa is just perfection.  They mesmerise with incredible dance moves, sing the hell out of everything, and provide fantastically honed character after character.  Their Vanessa is something else and I almost feel deserves a spin off all of their own!  Hard working and multi talent doesn’t even come close!  This show is an epic showcase for the entire cast.  It is completed with the nonstop ensemble cast of Corinna Buchan, Jamie McKillop, and Milly Willows who create so many different characters, and are each given their moment in the spotlight for you to truly appreciate their talent.  I have no idea how this cast don’t collapse every night because their commitment, energy and enthusiasm is relentless and palpable.   

Puppetry is used throughout Unfortunate creating endless opportunities for inspired storytelling, characters galore, and a fabulous and unique style all of its own, which epitomises this whole show.  With puppets, set and costume designed by Abby Clarke, she has challenged all usual conventions and created something so perfectly bespoke that it is fascinating to discover the new, exciting and endless species of puppets on offer and gag at the spectacular costumes.   Whether the cast be manipulating simple sock puppets, manipulating huge creatures that each have a unique way of being operated, or they are mixing conventions, half wearing a costume at the back and using puppetry at the front, the creations on offer are inspired and so seamlessly a part of the show that anything seems possible!

Unfortunate will octopi your heart and tantalise your tentacles!  It will delve into the shady segments of your heart and discover your own inner diva dancing on the fake pretences of someone who has perhaps wronged you in life, and boy will it feel good!  You will be thrown into the heart of this sassy show and there are no life preservers here, so make sure you can swim and handle the temperature of the water!  But this show isn’t just about shade.  It is powerful, strong, and urges you to love yourself.  It empowers anyone who has ever felt marginalised, judged, and treated unfairly.  Ariel may have had her voice stolen, but every underdog out there is given theirs back and it packs a punch.  The energy in the theatre tonight was more electric than Ursula’s electric eel best friends and this spark definitely lit up Salford on a cold February evening.  Unfortunate is anything but unfortunate and all I can say is, ‘How Unfortunate’ for you if you miss it.

WE SCORE UNFORTUNATE...

Watch our "In Conversation with Tom Lowe" video discussing the show.