Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch is a Disney-inspired delight – review
There are two sides to every story, and Unfortunate is to The Little Mermaid what Wicked is to The Wizard of Oz. Ursula is the Disney villain we’d most want to see given their own moment in the spotlight, and this new musical – which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 but has now evolved into a full production – doesn’t disappoint.
The narrative pretty much stands on its own feet, although a reasonable knowledge of The Little Mermaid is required to get the most out of this show, especially the music, which offers a number of entertaining parodies of the original songs.
This tongue-in-cheek show pulls no punches – nothing is off the table, even poking some fun in Disney’s direction. A song performed by a collection of unconventional-looking sea creatures titled ‘We Didn’t Make It To Disney’, which gently mocks the film giant’s erasure of unattractive characters, is a highlight.
It’s also a show with a wickedly subversive sense of humour and some delightfully colourful language – a far cry from the original source material.
