Shrek the Musical

Shrek the Musical... stage and performed by Orrell Musical & Dramatic Society at Winstanley College, Winstanley Road, Billinge, Wigan on Saturday, 18th October 2025

I think I’m right in suggesting that Winstanley College was OMADS third, possibly fourth different venue in the past couple of years ... think NOMADS could be a consideration for new society name... ahahahahaha!  Thank the Lord for ‘Sat Nav’!
But, seriously, Winstanley College looked like another wonderful venue... facilities looked good, car parking superb!

In ‘Shrek the Musical’ ... ‘Beauty is in the eye of the Ogre’! Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks animation film and the fantastic Broadway musical ... we are taken on a journey through this “big bright beautiful world” where everyone’s favourite Ogre, Shrek, leads a cast of fairytale misfits on a quest to rescue a princess and to find true acceptance!  Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, Shrek is an irreverently fun show which contains a powerful message for the whole family. The story follows grumpy ogre Shrek who, having been thrown out of his swamp by Lord Farquaad, accepts a ‘quest’ so he can re-claim it! He’s joined on his quest by a ‘fast talking’ Donkey and along the way they bump into all manner of weird and wonderful people and creatures. After he finds and rescues the Princess, their relationship develops, but Fiona is hiding a dark secret, a curse that can only be broken by a ‘true love’s kiss’!  Will the curse be broken? Will Shrek find his ‘happy ever after’? Will ‘Donkey’ EVER STOP TALKING!

Production Team ...  guiding us through the ‘murky depths of the swamp’ was Alex King (Director), who not only took the stage directed, but who also took on the lead character Shrek, ... now that really is a challenge! The ever-present Linda Scott (Musical Director), Natasha Ralston and Steph Stevens (Choreographers) where the ones working alongside Alex to bring this production to stage!  They’d brought together a good cast who looked happy, well-rehearsed and up for their ‘quest’ through the swamp, well done guys, not the easiest of productions to stage for sure, especially at a new venue, which, not doubt, held new challenges!

The Cast...  a cast of twenty-five took to the stage for this production and as soon as the lights came up, they all looked ready for the challenges that lay ahead...
Alex King played ‘Shrek’; Jude Asbridge - ‘Princess Fiona’. Stephen Ascroft - ‘Donkey’; Pete Carletti - ‘Lord Farquaad’;  Amber Lowe - ‘Dragon’; Emily Reeder - ’Gingy’;
James Asbridge played ‘Little Shrek’ & ‘Grumpy’ Jerome Antony Pargetor – ‘Papa Ogre’ Rachel McGunigle – ‘Mama Ogre’, Jenny Asbridge – ‘Young Fiona’; Steph Stevens – ‘Teen Fiona’; Hannah Grayson took on two roles ‘Bishop’ & ‘Walter’ Kate Bradbury - ‘Pinocchio’;  Thomas Hurst – King Harold,  Liz Schofield – ‘Queen Lillian’; Claire Kirk, Sarah Farley & Natasha Ralston – ‘The Three Blind Mice’. 
The Ensemble: (each taking on a variety of roles including - ‘Fairytale Creatures, Guards, Rat Tappers, Villagers and Knights played by Carol Clayton, Elaine Eccles, Molly Strangeway, Sammie-Rose Thomas, Janet Malone, Lily McGunigle, Jannine Paize.  
As is the norm, I will be selecting a number of MY favourite characters, you’ll have your own ideas, but these are mine! Not sure we actually had a ‘showstopper’ ... but we did have some fabulous characters created. So, where to start? Well, I’m going to start with Pete Carletti’s interpretation of ‘Lord Farquaad’, which was simply hilarious! Not only do you have to create a character playing Farquaad, you then have to spend most of your time wandering the stage on your knees... a task in itself and Pete’s comment, which I’m thinking, may well have been an ad-lib ... ‘Got my 10,000 steps in already’ was genius and brought the house down, topped only by his entrance on his ‘plastic horse’... another side-splitting moment! Accent was good, character created was excellent and his stage presence, first class.  Well-done Pete, great job.  My next choice... and I don’t think these two should ever be split, is ‘Shrek’ and ‘Princess Fiona’ played well by Alex King and Jude Asbridge. It's essential if Shrek the Musical is to come to life... that these two characters have real chemistry, they’ve got to be ‘over the top’, with a little intimacy going on throughout, which I felt they achieved. Loved their rendition of ‘I Think I Got You Beat’ ... the ‘burping/trumping’ scene that followed “Yeah, Yeah, Yeeeaaaah ... ‘nailed’, loved it, as did the audience...  well done you two!  Final favourite was the ‘Dragon’... not only Amber Lowe’s portrayal, which was really good, but the actual ‘Dragan’ and its ‘puppeteers’ a three-man team (not named) who gave the dragon life, creating a super effect, one loved by everyone present.  Just a little add on... thought Kate Bradbury made a great job of ‘Pinocchio’... great accent, superb diction, never missed a word. Be proud everyone... great job!

Stage/Set/Tech ... set was excellent, adding so much to the overall production provided by UK Productions, Emily Reeder and Natasha Ralston. The Tech side of things, especially the sound was a little hit and miss at times if I’m honest. I wasn’t sure who was ‘miked up’, but there were occasions when we lost the narrative completely, simply because we missed lines being delivered. If you have even the smallest of roles, like many of the ‘fairytale creatures’... always remember, those audience members sat on the back row need to hear everything you say or things can and will get lost! Lighting was good overall, under the watchful eye of Glenn Howard with Jonathon Lee overseeing the Sound.  Andrew Clayton and his stage crew, worked extremely hard with this fabulous set!

The Band... led, as always, by the ever so experienced Linda Scott who also played Piano and Flute. The band included Dave Appleton (Reeds), Maria Green (Brass), Stephen Turner (Guitar) Kevin Bates (Bass Guitar) and Nick Woods (Drums/Percussion). Great sound produced that supported everyone throughout. A slight concern for me was the band’s location!  It narrowed the stage space which isn’t that big in the first place, plus the lights used by the band to see their music scores were set that some shone in the eyes of the audience and I was worried at first, that the location may have caused issues with the band overpowering the cast, which it didn’t.  I’m obviously not privy to the considerations or alternatives but it’s just something to consider if Winstanley is used again!

Costumes/Props... costumes supplied by Northern Costume Hire were of an excellent quality and again enhanced the production ever so much as did the ‘Props’ which were used well and kept under the watchful eye of Corrina Connor, Sue Riley and the cast.

Thank you so much for the invite, I really did enjoy the production, hope none of my comments have offended ... never meant to, merely ‘constructive advice’ in an effort to hopefully make things better!

Stay safe, Keep well ...
Stronger Together
Jim Briscoe ...
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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