Shrek

Arriving at the Oasis Academy, this will be the third time I've reported on Superstars and their hugely enthusiastic volunteers, cast and crew. They are a youth theatre that has not long been going so it's great to see how they are growing and improving.

And they certainly are. Warmly welcomed by the front of house and shown to my seat I settled in looking forward to this afternoon's performance. Shrek the Musical is based on the Dreamworks film of the same name and involves all the characters from the film, Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Farquaad, the list goes on. This is a show that should really appeal to the cast, and their excitement for it was obvious from the start. They were here to entertain and enjoy themselves, and this they certainly did.

The staging was a simple affair, black cloths to stage right and left and (at last) a woodland background scene that enabled the cast to feel at home. This, along with a series of fairytale and swamp props brought the show to life. The costumes, and there were many of them, were well thought out and put together and the team of Julia Foster, Jayne Stephens, Ann Fielder and Amy Bennett had obviously worked hard to create what was needed. The lighting and sound, supplied by Howard and Jill Corbet was simple and yet enhanced the staging well. The sound delivered by the team was at a good balance. This coupled with the diction that was, on the main (and given the age range) of a very reasonable standard, and the story (albeit well-known) was easy to follow and the show flowed well.

The choreography worked well and the cast looked fairly well rehearsed, not too many errors, and again they were having a great time, this came over well into the auditorium.

All the principles word well together with Seb Roberts as Shrek, Lara Missouri as Donkey, Lee Freemantle as Fiona and Callum Prideaux as Lord Farquaad who interacted well together and were very well backed up by the Dragon, Esme Smith, with Gorgia Drake, Evelyn Sweet and Freya Symons as the storytelling three blind mice holding it all together

Overall, well done to Superstars, you are improving with every show!

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