Shrek

Shrek first appeared in the cinemas and on our screens in 2001. It was turned into a musical in 2005. The main characters in the show were Shrek (Luke Henry) and Donkey (Jack Murray). They were on stage for a large part of the evening and entertained us greatly in word and song. Two other main characters were Princess Fiona (Caroline Bennett) and the evil Lord Farquaad (Tony Bright).  He had two songs with the ensemble - well sung and very cleverly danced on his knees. The transformation of Princess Fiona to an adult through a child and then a teenager was cleverly managed.

Involved in the plot were forty-three nursery rhyme and fairytale characters, many villagers, guards, skeletons and rats.  Many of these parts were played by about twenty people who had two, three or even four costume changes throughout the show. The costumes were excellent and mainly bright and really cheerful - except the ones that needed to be plain - for example, the rats. The three blind mice and skeletons were lovely and the dancing in their numbers was wonderful.  The choreography for the guards and Duloc residents was most impressive and the tap dancing number was extremely cleverly executed. The show also featured a small number of children and they were a delight to watch. 

The scenery throughout was absolutely amazing - wonderful high sets and again loud and ostentatious. The dragon was also part of the scenery and most impressive, as it was the complete height of the stage and had much controlled movement. Lighting and sound cues were efficiently executed. I have not seen this show before or know any of its songs but I was thoroughly delighted with them all. The fifteen strong orchestra complemented the singers perfectly. What was really pleasing was seeing so many children in the audience who were obviously enjoying  to see their well-known film characters on stage. Congratulations to all on and off stage and all the production team members.

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