Shrek The Musical

Shrek the Musical is full of fun, sadness, falling in and out of love, pathos, anger and many more heart wrenching emotions. How were this group going to cope with all these feelings in front of a capacity audience in the Hull New Theatre? Well, quite magnificently.

Russell Fallon as Shrek gave a flawless performance showing great stage presence by using the whole of the stage rather than remaining on the central section. His change of mood reflected the confusion within this loveable character, not knowing from one moment to the next where he was going, how to get there and what to do when he actually arrived. His command of the stage was excellent, characterisation of the highest degree and this, coupled with a very good singing voice, produced a figure which we could not take our eyes off.

The Donkey, played by Harry Owen, was so much larger than life, continually haranguing Shrek to do the right thing and again we had a character who completely used the stage to full effect. His facial expressions were a joy to behold and his movements so reminiscent of the movements of a donkey. This coupled with yet another excellent singing voice kept the audience on the edge of their seats on every occasion that he appeared.

Here we had two wonderful characters who set the standard for the rest of the cast and they did not disappoint.

Lord Farquaard (Joe Porte), a small dwarf like figure was full of bombast and his own importance, bullying all and sundry and demanding that he should be obeyed at all times irrespective of who was in the firing line. Yet again we saw another cast member who knew how to use the stage. Although he was on his knees throughout the show, as demanded by the part, he moved so quickly and purposefully that one forgot that he was of somewhat small stature. His entrance on a large (plastic) horse was completely hilarious and had the audience in fits of laughter. His singing too was of the first quality.

In spite of these exceptional performances the Dragon, which was guarding the tower in which the Princess Fiona was imprisoned, was the star of the show, being moved across the stage by six puppeteers who, I understand, had very little time to rehearse was a revelation. Its movements were so precise and it did seem to float across the set with little or no effort. Sally Hague, who was the lead puppeteer, worked so hard to keep the Dragon’s mouth moving in time to the words, beautifully sung by Georgina Garton, that it did appear that the Dragon was really singing.

Princess Fiona was played by three members, representing to us the time span of the imprisonment the Princess. Sarah Brodie, who took the main part of the adult Fiona, was truly superb in her portrayal. Her singing voice was powerful and melodious, and she too used the stage to its full extent. Her scenes with Shrek both of a feeling of love and then anger as she sought to control her emotions towards Shrek. She was ably assisted by Jazmin Lacy and Lily Porter playing the young and the juvenile Fiona. Their trio sung in the tower was indeed a showpiece for the up and coming talent within this society.

The supporting cast, all being recognised as characters from well-known fairy stories, with James Galer outstanding as Pinocchio, were very good showing much energy and liveliness on the stage. Their choral singing was of a very high standard and this, coupled with some excellent choreography, proved to be a wonderful support to the main characters.

The costumes were magnificent and did credit to the society particularly as there were many quick changes all accomplished without error.

The stage set was massive but was handled with great aplomb by an excellent crew, noiseless and very efficient. Lighting was very subtle and not garish and this added to the show

Sarah Lucy Penny certainly did justice to the music in her role of Musical Director. Much hard work had obviously gone into her rehearsals and this showed in the final product.

The Director and Choreographer, Martin Beaumont, had so clearly taken this show to heart finishing up with an end product that would not have disgraced the West End Stage and I must say that the only word I can find to describe this performance is PROFESSIONAL.

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