Shrek - The Musical

It was great to see a full house when arriving at the theatre for this spectacle of a show. And indeed what a spectacle it was; a great set, incredible costumes, beautiful lighting and attention to detail that really made this production sparkle.

Of course the ‘ensemble’ is more than just your usual chorus in this show and each fairy-tale character came to life on stage. Special mention must go to Connor Edwards as Pinocchio for a very fine performance, and the Three Little Pigs had some comedy genius from Sally David, Cath Bingham and Joanne Griffiths. Of course we had the wonderfully talented Leah Collet as the Dragon wowing us all with her amazing voice.  I mention these few but the whole cast were excellent and the company’s vocal sound was, as we have come to expect from this talented group, outstanding. Huge congratulations to musical director for his work here.

I saw the Team Red cast, as the show was double cast. It was lovely to see Max Dennis as the young Shrek and Ava Cuggy and Eva Dennis as the Young Fiona and Teen Fiona respectively. They delivered their song exceptionally well and there was great rapport between them and adult Fiona expertly played by Bethan Packer. She brought effervescence and a real sense of playfulness to this character and her comedy timing was excellent! Ewan Forrest shone as Shrek, in his first major role I am told, and his voice was incredible. He kept a very good Scottish accent going throughout the show and fully immersed himself into the character. There was a fabulous relationship between Shrek and his sidekick Donkey and this part was quite brilliantly played by the ever talented Michael Aubin. Comedy, character, cheekiness, amazing vocals and an incredible stage presence really exuded from Michael as he took the audience on a fantastic journey. Of course the show would not be complete without the diminutive Lord Farquaad and we were indeed in for treat when Nick Packer came onto the stage. For me the performance of the night, he gave it his all with camp humour, outstanding energy (he spent the whole evening on his knees of course) and great stamina. He had the perfect delivery of the comedic lines and his vocal ability shone through. He really did light up the stage whenever he was on.

The audience left having been thoroughly entertained and singing and dancing. Another triumph from the company and their Artistic Director, Ashely Eynon-Davies!

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