Shrek the Musical

Generally speaking, if someone asks if I want to spend my Bank Holiday Monday at the theatre, I’ll bite their hand off (!) and this was absolutely the case on Monday 26th August, when I was invited to attend Emma Louise Productions’ version of ‘Shrek the Musical’. I was accompanied on the day by my wife and our nine-year-old daughter - both of whom are Shrek fans.

Whilst I have visited Viva in Blackpool a number of times now, this is the first time I’ve been to see a full-scale musical theatre piece there. Admittedly, I was unsure as to how the venue would work for a piece like this and ultimately, I don’t think that it really does. For conferences, large scale events and variety shows, there’s probably few places better in the area but for a theatre performance, I’m just not convinced. For me, the issue was less about the on-stage element and more about the audience. Sitting cabaret-style around group tables, with drinks and food being diligently delivered by the (excellent) staff, seems to encourage audience members to not play by the rules of theatre. Few tables felt compelled to be quiet and many people were getting up and moving around the room at regular intervals - all of which I personally found quite distracting. I wanted all of us in the audience to be able to focus fully on the excellent work happening on stage but that was, at times, very challenging to do.

I’ll briefly stay on the venue because there was another issue which impacted the performers - the sound. The microphone levels were unfortunately lacking in balance. Some lead characters were difficult to hear, leading to a number of lost lines, whilst a number of the ensemble’s microphones were high enough to make me wince. At times, the show was so loud that it was near-impossible to focus on what was happening.

However, none of this was the fault of Emma Louise Productions, and their work ranged from accomplished to spectacular. The amount of time, effort and attention that had gone into putting this piece on stage was staggering, and is even more incredible when one takes into account that almost everything comes down to one person, the titular Emma Louise herself. To direct, choreograph and be musical director for a show of that complexity, is an astonishing achievement. The attention to detail was magnificent, and significantly beyond what many individuals could accomplish.

Emma Louise had help in the area of costumes, which were provided by Dorothy Ann. To put it simply, the costumes were uniformly brilliant throughout. I can barely begin to imagine just how long it took to curate that number of high-quality pieces, and the performers should consider themselves blessed to be working with a company which has such an eye for detail. A tour de force in costuming.

Now, to the performances…

The cast ranged in age from Key Stage One to the late teens and the way in which these young performers threw themselves into the show was highly commendable. Lacey Bowkett opened proceedings with a star turn as Mama Ogre, delivering a strong singing performance and real vocal clarity.

The titular character, Shrek, was played by Harvey Holmes. I felt that he had a slightly nervy start to the show, and was slightly hampered by a microphone which was too quiet, but as the piece progressed, he hit his stride and began to fully inhabit the character. Holmes maintained Shrek’s tricky accent throughout the performance, and delivered the character with the requisite mixture of energy and grumpiness. When I spoke to him after the show, he was exhausted - a sure sign of the hard work he put in over the course of the performance!

Donkey is the counterpoint to Shrek. He’s positive, energetic to the point of near-explosion and endlessly entertaining. In this version, he was brought to life by Thomas Hulme, who did a stand-out job in the role. He brought a very welcome burst of energy to the stage, accompanied by impressive vocals. On occasion, he spoke a little too quickly or shouted a little too loudly but it’s impossible to deny his enthusiasm for the role. A great job!

George Coole had the highly-enjoyable job of bringing the villain of the piece, Lord Farquaad, to life and an excellent job he did of it, too. Coole revelled in the pantomime villainy of the role,and cackled with glee at regular intervals. Occasionally, he fell into the trap of speaking too quickly, and this paired with patchy sound meant that we lost a few lines here and there and some of his jokes missed the mark. Coole should be commended on his physicality on stage, and the way in which he was able to command the space when he was on.

Princess Fiona was more than capably played on the day by Letitia Moore, who delivered powerful vocals, confident movement and accomplished acting. She provided a lovely counterpoint to the other principal roles and seemed very comfortable in this character. One to watch out for in future performances!

On the subject of ones to watch… Harriet Hargreaves as Dragon. One word review as follows -  WOW. I could speak about her for a very long time and perhaps reflect on how her degree in Dance and Musical Theatre came into play on stage but instead, I’ll focus on raw, natural performance ability. Hargreaves has a powerful, dynamic singing voice, and a truly impressive range. Put simply, she was outstanding during every moment she was on stage. Her job was made more difficult given that she performed in a phenomenal yet cumbersome dragon costume but she seemed not to notice! A star turn.

The role of Pinocchio was played by Leon Harrison and he did an admirable job of it, too. Lines were delivered with clarity and confidence and he made a valuable contribution to the singing and dancing, too. He had immeasurable energy on stage and was often the injection of fun that the show needed.

In the dual roles of Sugarplum Fairy and Gingy, Lily Styles was outrageous - which is a compliment in my book! Her vocal ability is quite astonishing and when she was given moments to shine, she didn’t miss a beat. Confident, talented, excellent comic timing… I could go on. Well done, Lily.

The principal cast were more than capably supported by a large and talented ensemble of characters, all of whom worked exceptionally hard to ensure that the pace and energy of the show never waned. There are, unfortunately, far too many to individually name in a report like this but their work on the day was excellent. They were the beating heart of the production and it was clear from the outset that Emma Louise had them expertly drilled. More than that, though - she was able to capitalise on their love of performing in the very best way. Well done to each and every one of them.

I will make brief mention of a group of performers who I feel excelled during the performance, and that’s the dancers. They were sharp, focused, energetic and incredibly watchable throughout. A couple of times, wigs and props went flying mid-performance (!) but the dancers never missed a beat and were unflappable. Hugely impressive work.

The production itself was brought together by an excellent set. Items were on and off at a rapid pace and the digital backdrops did a sterling job of setting the scene in an impressive manner. This really added to the slick feel of the production itself, which made the afternoon what it was. Emma Louise’s creative vision had clearly driven the project forward and the effort she had gone through to ensure the success of the piece can’t be underestimated. With her at the helm, I’m certain that these talented young performers will continue to go from strength to strength. In ELP we trust!

Thank you for the invitation to what was a fabulously entertaining afternoon of musical theatre. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.