Preview: Finding Nemo

By Giles Broadbent on October 17, 2008 10:10 AM |

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Finding Nemo. On ice. What’s not to like?

One of the most human stories in the Disney/Pixar canon reworked into a live show (a la Lion King) so you get all the glory and kitsch spectacle of an ice show and all the piscine pranks of curious clownfish Nemo, his overprotective father Marlin and their absent-minded pal Dory.

And you can pretend you’re going for your children’s sake.

To win family tickets to see Finding Nemo, enter our competition

But how – as they say – do they do that?

Producer Kenneth Feld said: “In this show, we create a living sea on the ice in such a way that audiences will feel they are actually underwater.

“We combine digital projection, choreography and the most unbelievable costumes ever seen and the result is a visual masterpiece that will transform the ice surface and take audiences through the ocean and into the aquarium.�

Creative director Jerry Bilik said: “When I first saw the film, I found myself constantly laughing at the capturing of human foibles.

“It was the kind of physical humour, the way the fish moved, and on ice the movement of fish is better than humans could translate it in any other setting. So we were able to really recreate these wonderful, comedic characters.�

Production designer John Arnone assembled the coral reefs to convey the openness of the ocean, contrasting with the claustrophobia of the aquarium.

He said: “You’re given the same space – a very large ice rink – in which to seem either completely free or completely imprisoned.

Choreographer Cindy Stuart said: “The audience will travel underwater to a myriad place – and we also want to take them to different places with the choreography. So we developed a language for each scene and explored a variety of styles with which to add texture. We incorporated a lot of variety and energy into the music as well.�

If you could have any more fun with fish-human hybrids, they’d make it illegal.

Oct 23-Nov 2, 7pm (mats 11am, 3pm), £16.50-£41, 0844 856 0202, www.theo2.co.uk, Jubilee: North Greenwich

To win family tickets to see Finding Nemo, enter our competition

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