Shrek Jr

This was Shrek like you have never seen it before.  With a cast of 84 of CTC’s juniors, the youngest little Shreklings being just 5 years old and with many of the cast having been members since they were 5 years old. They were all fabulous, all with their own individual nursery rhyme characters and looking delightful.  With a cast of this size and age one could imagine a disaster with members not knowing what they are supposed to be doing or just one going in the wrong direction and causing havoc, but no, each and every one had been perfectly schooled so they knew exactly where they were supposed to be in their dance routines, singing their little hearts out and all thoroughly enjoying being part of such a great show.  All credit is due to the dedication and experience of Bridie, Erin, Rosie and the team. 

Individual mention must go, however, to some of the older cast members with their leading roles. The title role of Shrek was performed confidently by Zakhary Wilson. He manages his character very well and with some good comic touches. Princess Fiona (Sophie Rogers)  is accompanied at one point by the younger Teen Fiona (Gracie Boyd) and Young Fiona (Ada Bendall) and together they give a lovely performance as they sing ‘I know it’s today’.  Princess Fiona brings a warmth and compassion not withstanding a touch of spiciness to her role and with a maturity and strength to her songs. Donkey was played by Penelope Hutchinson and this young lady at just 10 years old gives a mature performance, well beyond her years, with her brilliant comic timing and accented dialogue, both confidently delivered. Alex Townes is Lord Farquaad, a difficult role as much of his onstage time is on his knees. I’m sure he was wearing knee pads but it was still very demanding. Well done Alex. Gingy (Ella Standring) and Pinocchio (Olivia Strandring) were both lively comic characters. Grace Boyton looked absolutely fabulous as Dragon with her enormous florescent sparkling wings. So a very big well done to all of the cast for a fabulous performance with outstanding singing and excellent choreography.  

Costuming this cast was a mammoth undertaking with many having several costume changes. At one point most of the cast were all in matching  costumes and then all in their different individual character costumes, from the Big Bad Wolf, to Peter Pan, the Wicked Witch and Red Riding Hood. They all looked brilliant due to the endless hours of work by Rosie Fuller. I might add she was also the Choreographer; where does she get her energy from!! The majority of the girls with long hair all had very smart looking plaits and I can just imagine a long line of girls all plaiting each other’s hair. The makeup also looked excellent, particularly Donkey, it was very effective.  The set had to be minimal  with the ratio of cast to the size of the stage but it was perfectly suited and emphasized with good lighting effects, especially the Princess’s transformation scene.

Many congratulations to all the cast under the leadership of Bridie, Erin, Rosie and all the team for another fantastic show.  As always thanks for your kind hospitality, it was good to see you all again.

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