Shrek

What a splendid evening’s entertainment this was. It was fast paced, high energy from start to finish. Everyone involved should be congratulated and be justifiably proud of final outcome.

Much of the action centres around Shrek (Darrell Burns), Fiona (Ellen Nicholls) and Donkey (Andy Nicholls) as they trace the story of boy meets girl etc. in true musical theatre style. All three of them had immense stage presence and awareness of the audience. Their diction, both in dialogue and song, was excellent and not a word was missed by the audience. The story telling was enhanced by the wonderful use of expression and body language. This was true of all the characters on stage. Lord Farquaad, the diminutive pretender to the throne, was well portrayed by Neville Leedham and there was more of the story told, in song and verse by the talented Leo Wright as Pinocchio. There was confident singing throughout in solos, ensembles and chorus. I was particularly impressed by the young Fionas (Sophie Mccallum, Lara Brown, Poppy Wright and Kirsty Busby) in ‘I know it’s Today’ with Ellen. It is talent like that which ensures the future of the society. There was some skilful use of puppetry with Sammi Thomas voicing Gingerbread Man/Bluebird and Sharron Burns voicing the amazing Dragon. They both showed off their vocal talents. Every single fairy-tale creature was in character and costume but there isn’t space to mention them all but every time they appeared on stage, they brought it to life with the colour and action. The choreography was well thought out and the routines were very slickly performed. I particularly like the Rat Tap dancers led by Ryan Spencer as the Pied-Piper.

The orchestra made a big contribution to the production and the balance in the ‘pit’ under the direction of John Nicholls was excellent. Perhaps, more important, was the balance between the orchestra and performers on stage was just right. The scenery and stage extension were used to good effect in enhancing the performance throughout. The technical aspects of the show supported the production in sound, lighting, backstage and props ensuring a complete package. The costumes were excellent as were the prosthetics and make-up. Well done and congratulations to everyone!

I was sitting next to a 5-year-old girl and she was enthralled by the action on stage. She occasionally spoke but that was only to comment on something that she saw or heard. I think that just illustrates how clear the diction and storytelling were.

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