Shrek The Musical

 

Shrek The Musical

Performed at The Pavilion, Exmouth

by

Centre Stage Exmouth

18th April 2023

Directed and choreographed by Sue Bonnett

Musical Director - Joseph Binmore

Stage Manager – Mark Worsley

 

Centre Stage have an excellent reputation of being one of finest youth groups in the South West, in my humble opinion, and expectations were high having produced a superb version of The Addams Family in 2022.  I am delighted to say that Shrek the Musical was exceptional in every way.

From the minute the audience entered the auditorium they were drawn into the magical world of Shrek. We were greeted with an open stage, cleverly painted treeline background on sliding flats and a huge stack of life-size books of which one had an S on its cover. The performance begins as Shrek, unexpectantly, steps out of this book to narrate the story as it unfolds. The actor portraying Shrek grabbed the audiences’ attention immediately by his mere presence and a strong, clear voice with a ‘wee’ Scottish twang. This actor, throughout the whole production, commanded the stage and had a fabulous singing voice. His interactions with his fellow actors, especially Donkey and Fiona were superb. I loved his performance.  

As the ensemble of magical characters enter, we are treated to an array of colourful costumes all perfect for the individual character portrayed. The three pigs in their gingham suits were hilarious along with Pinocchio and his lengthening nose! Gingy the Gingerbread Man gave a competent and amusing cameo performance and his comic timing makes him one to watch in the future. The three blind mice with their dark glasses and cracking harmonies during ‘Make a Move’ with donkey were in total sync with each other.  I mention these characters but EVERY SINGLE MEMBER of this ensemble cast acted their boots off, on or off the script, facing the audience and interacting with each other continuously. Their choreography and singing during ‘Story of My Life’ in Act 1 treated the audience to what was in store from this group of talented individuals for the duration of the show. The MD, Joseph Binmore, must have worked hard during rehearsals with the company to produce such a good sound and solid harmonies.

This show was hilarious from start to finish and the actor portraying Donkey added to this with his sassy characterisation and lovely singing voice. Falling in love with a dragon was not difficult for this donkey. This particular Dragon was beautifully dressed and obviously could sing well, her rendition of ‘Forever’ was delightful with a great touch of jazz in her voice. The three actors who portray Fiona during ‘I Know it’s Today’ acted their parts perfectly and all had strong voices but I must make special mention of the actor portraying the grown Fiona. This was a performance of pure quality. With excellent comic timing, fabulous characterisation and a lovely lyrical singing voice, this actor gave us a perfect version of ‘Fiona’. Well done indeed.

As we meet Lord Farquaad’s’ character and the Duloc Performers the audience were blown away by ‘What’s up Duloc’ and the actor playing Farquaad had them roaring with laughter. It is never easy to act on your knees on stage even for one number but to dance, act and sing throughout a show week and to keep the audience laughing takes courage. I especially loved the way Farquaad unmounted and mounted the horse! Hilarious performance by a very confidant performer.

The expert eye of the director and choreographer, Sue Bonnett, with her attention to detail was obvious with slick, pacy production numbers, performed to the highest standard. Not only that, she also provided the company with excellent costumes for each and every character which is a huge challenge for any society wardrobe team, let alone one person. I hope she had some help!

Well done indeed to the backstage crew who negotiated the huge tree flats, castle ramparts, an altar, Farquaad’s’ horse, the exploding bird (Yes, it did explode) and a 20ft + dragon with expertise. This was the first performance and it ran smoothly with no issues at all. The lighting was perfect throughout, in particular, the end of Act 1 with the backdrop of a beautiful moon and stars during ‘Who I’d Be’ and with crystal blue skies and the added touch of dry ice to represent clouds at the top of Fiona’s tower during ‘I Know It’s Today’. Both were clever touches.  

The orchestra and MD, who are normally placed in front of the stage, were hidden during this production, away from the stage and the sight of the performers. This can add more difficulty to both the actors and the sound engineer but this was not an issue for either as the sound quality and balance between orchestra and performers was perfect and consistent throughout.

I have waxed lyrical throughout this report about the quality of this production in all areas and I really cannot praise it enough. This a youth company who are extraordinarily talented and have produced an exceptional show.  As I mentioned previously, the principals, the fairy-tale characters, the ‘Duloc’ dancers, the guards and every other member of this cast must be congratulated. Each performance was a credit to your society and each one of them produced a treat for the theatregoers, fully deserved of the standing ovation from a delighted audience.

My heartfelt congratulations to the cast, crew, production team and committee of Centre Stage for a sensational ‘Shrek the Musical’.  Well done to all involved.

Lyn Burgoyne

Noda Representative (Mid and East Devon)

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