Shrek The Musical

On this opening night’s performance of Shrek The Musical, there was a buzz of excitement in the auditorium from a sizeable audience. I was made especially welcome by the secretary, Colin Hunt, and escorted to my seat.

Essentially, this was a fast-moving story that was  heart-warming escapism with a well-constructed set design and very creative staging.

The leading character, the ogre, Shrek was protective of his swamp which was raided by fairy tale characters because they had been evicted by the abnormally short Lord Farquaad, ruler of Duloc. Farquaad gave Shrek a mission, to bring back, Fiona, a princess from a dragon guarded tower. Farquaad promised in return to clear Shrek’s swamp of the intruders if Shrek saved the princess and delivered her back to be his bride. The character, Donkey, entered the stage in a frantic rush because he was being chased and though it took some persuading, Donkey convinced Shrek to let him tag along. Donkey provided comic relief and often acted as Shrek’s conscious and attempted to tell Shrek to tell Fiona, (after Shrek had rescued her from the dragon guarded tower) how he felt, when he began to be fond of her. As the story progressed, an emotional connection between Shrek and Fiona developed as they learned that they had much in common, both parents had sent them away at an early age, both lived in isolation for most of the time, both emotionally hurt and both appearing as ogres.

Director, Alf Rai clearly has great vision for such magical stories and a master of creative skills. In collaboration with choreographer, Lindsey Vickers and Musical director Rob Murray a cohesive performance of this captivating story was created, but also showing understanding of theatricality with some awe and wonder. There were dazzling visuals where the dancing complemented the drama well and these larger-than-life characters from fairy tales were brought to life radiating magic and fun. The dancing was polished and invigorating in ensemble pieces and, as a former tap dancer, I especially enjoyed some impressive sequences. Rob Murray had clearly been hard at work coaching the singers and doing justice to the production’s music. Many of the songs set the mood and advanced the plot, thoughts, and characters of the story, like the charming ballad, “Morning Person,” sung by the character, Fiona.

 This musical was a tale of acceptance and inner beauty and, reflected in numbers, “Let Freak Flag Fly,” and “I’m a believer,” which were celebratory of difference, and joyous to watch performed by the ensemble. Some songs, however, were unmemorable and some sound amplification made some dialogue between characters difficult to interpret at times. The set design was well constructed and elaborate which supported enchanting scenes. The ambitious challenge of the appearance of the enormous dragon was well executed and impressive, manually operated by invisible stagehands with sound effects. The lighting in several scenes when the dragon appeared, was used effectively but also throughout the performance showing transition ie between night and day and when the characters were travelling The lighting additionally captured the mood of the scenes to enhance focus on the action of the character.  Each actor appeared cast in a role to match their strength and talent and each one donned an outfit with makeup and accessories to portray the character. The costumes were fabulous, bright, colourful, and eccentric as appropriate. Lord Farquaad’s costume deserves notable mention for to make him look oddly short, he was left walking on his knees throughout the show and there was a piece of fabric with short legs to hide his actual legs. The makeup on characters was superb, not just the green faces and body paint of the ogres, but for all the characters on that stage, attention to detail was noted.

Daniel Haddon played the demanding role of Shrek, the ogre, the loveable, fearless outcast with charm and an authentic Scottish accent. He had a strong, deep singing voice and made good use of gestures and body language. His delivery of the song,” Who I’d be,” presented a heartfelt moment in the show and, “Building a wall,” which related to betrayal and hurt. Donkey, the fun-loving pest of a friend played by Will Phipps embodied high level energy, huge amounts of enthusiasm and sass. He oozed confidence and charm; was visually strong as well as talkative, adopting grand gestures, wriggly body movements and facial expressions constantly on stage. Rachel Chadwick was captivating as character Fiona. She was suitably feisty at times and a delight to watch. Her vocal range was impressive. I particularly liked the song showing Princess Fiona growing up in isolation imagining what Prince Charming will come and rescue her. It was performed with three actresses of different ages and the song finished with them all singing on a balcony together, amazing voices! The younger performers were a delight. Dom Napier was magnificent as the diminutive Lord Farquaad. His slick comedic timing, especially when he performed in a high kicking dance routine with the aid of prop legs in yellow tights, left the audience laughing. He was really entertaining and successfully heightened the role of undersized Lord Farquaad hoping to achieve kingliness and given that he was walking on his knees throughout the performance and delivered musical numbers with panache, he was outstanding.

Congratulations to all the cast, those in key roles and those in supportive roles. Much credit afforded to the production team for successfully bringing to the stage the story of Shrek, worthy of the rapturous standing ovation I observed at the end of the evening.

Thank you for inviting me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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