The Lanchester Marionettes’ Underwater Ballet, performed to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, told the story of a mermaid whose tail becomes trapped in the jaws of a giant clam. A succession of underwater creatures, including a goblin, a swordfish and a seahorse, attempt to free her, but all fail.
A large crab eventually enters and performs a tango, causing the clam to laugh and release the mermaid. The ballet ends with a sweeping final image: the swordfish gliding across the stage with the goblin riding on his back.
