Shrek The Musical

Last night I ventured into the Swamp.. a big bright beautiful world filled with a host of delicious characters, too many to mention individually but this clever script allows every person their own chance to shine. During the production we experience so many of the well-known fairy tale characters, the challenge of blending all these together was wonderfully choreographed and directed throughout, Pinocchio, White Rabbit, Three Little Pigs, Wicked Witch, Three blind mice and Pied Piper and his Rat Tappers to name but a few.

This show had an enthusiastic and energetic ensemble and needed strong leads, and you certainly had them in abundance.

I was smitten by Shrek admirably brought to life by Scott McRuvie who was born to play this loveable ogre multi-talented and consistent throughout in an outstanding emotional portrayal with attention to accent, character and superb vocals.

We were treated to a very energetic Donkey characterised by Raymond Wood whose movements reactions and facial expressions in a superb costume were a joy to watch on stage and well Matthew Millar as Lord Farquaad was nothing short of hilarious, stealing the show, giving a truly outstanding performance and all the more incredible how he embellished the character and accent flawlessly while tackling the clever choreography on his knees.

All paired together with a straight talking, feisty Claire Wallis as Princess Fiona who gave it all in character and beautiful vocals and was a pleasure to watch. Mention must also be given to Teen Fiona Erin Paterson and Gracie Simpson as Young Fiona for what was a truly superb ‘I Know It's Today’

The appearance of the love struck Pink Dragon was wonderfully staged, though slightly let down in my opinion by my ability to see the operators which was only masked by the magical vocals of Laura Ferrie. ‘This is How a Dream Comes True’ was so powerful.

This show is filled with a range of musical numbers, all delivered well by this vocally enthusiastic cast. I particularly liked 'The Story of My Life', 'The Travel Song', 'Morning Person' and 'What's Up Duloc'.

An excellent set, expertly managed by the back stage team, and the vibrant costumes and colourful headdresses from Utopia Costumes sparkled to perfection under a creative lighting plot by PC Lighting and provided all the magic needed to transform this Disney show into a Big Bright Beautiful Musical World!

Congratulations to all involved.

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