Shrek the Musical

Shrek the Musical... stage and performed by BOS Musical Theatre Company at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport on Friday, 24th October 2025

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 that contains a powerful message for the whole family. We follow 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. Along the way, they bump into all manner of weird and wonderful people and creatures. After Shrek finds and rescues the Princess Fiona, their relationship develops, but Fiona is hiding a dark secret, a curse that can only be broken by ‘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’ with vision and experience was Liz Clarke (Director) in collaboration with David Wall (Musical Director) and Kim Helm (Choreographer). Staging this quirky comedic musical is no easy task, but Liz obviously had a plan that worked and I sat there amazed at the beautifully costumed iconic fairy-tale characters who just brought this comedic narrative to life!  Kim’s choreo was imaginative and polished, set at levels that supported all the dancers. Loved, loved, loved the ‘Tap Dancing Rats’ and that scene.  David and his band, set behind the set at the rear, were tight and supported all the singers ever so well. Great harmonies throughout, just loved the togetherness of this excellent cast, who looked well-rehearsed and up for their ‘trek through the swamp’.... be very proud!

The Cast...   we had a fabulous cast of twenty-eight for this production and from the opening number ‘Big Bright Beautiful World’ to the final bows, looked full of energy, well-rehearsed and ready to tackle all the hazards that the ‘swamp’ could throw at them...  
Ian Lawson took on the lead role of Shrek, Lucie Colmen played ‘Princess Fiona’.; Jonathan Sheldon - ‘Donkey’; Dom Tolley - ‘Lord Farquaad’; Charlotte Littler - ‘Dragon’; Craig Billington - ‘Pinocchio’; Bex Billington - ’Gingy’; Lucas Reed – Young Shrek;
Bryony Jones – Young Fiona; Cara Whitney-Cook – ‘Teen Fiona’.
The Ensemble cast included ... Katie Allen, Ellie Atherton, Oliver Bailey, Chloe Davies, Samantha Keen, Saffron Livesey, Aynsley Littler, Nick Lloyd, Rachael Perrett, Nicola Powell, Phil Power, Kayleigh Ryan, Carl Sedman, Chris Seery, Mia Seery, James Snape, Ben Wake & Hollie Wills.
Well, as most will know, this is where I ‘stick the old neck out’ and start suggesting a show stealer    and favourite characters of which there were many.  This is MY show stealer and MY favourites, you’ll no doubt have your own, but these are mine!  So, for MY show stealer... I had three candidates in mind, Shrek, Fiona and Farquaad and it wasn’t at all easy separating them, but separate them I have and I’ve gone for the totally outrages Dom Tolley as the dastardly ‘Lord Farquaad’. Physically the hardest role to master convincingly - those poor knees!  Dom gave us this nasty, narcissistic, needy, devious character (his good points) but he was absolutely hilarious as well, his entrance on his ‘plastic horse’ was just a ‘side-splitting’ moment! Accent was good, great stage presence, wonderful character created... think we all loathed and loved him in equal measures, be very proud Dom great job!  I thought long and hard about splitting my next two favourites, ‘Shrek’ and ‘Princess Fiona’, played superbly well by Ian Lawson and Lucie Colman... but I’m of the opinion that a huge part of making this musical a success relies on the chemistry/intimacy/togetherness of these two, so to think about splitting them, would, in my opinion, be wrong! Did they achieve the above ... OH YES and more! They commanded
the stage from the off, they brought charm, humour and a spirited determination to these roles creating two fabulous characters. Both are blessed with amazing voices, so you always felt comfortable knowing that every song they sang was in safe hands. Loved, loved, loved their rendition of ‘I think I Got You Beat’ ... the ‘burping and trumping’ scene that followed (right up my street) t’was hilarious!  Ian handled the facial prosthetics with great aplomb ... and his ‘Scottish Accent’ was authentic throughout as was his characterisation. Lucy created this slightly ‘Gorky’ character, which in my opinion, was ‘spot on’! Totally equalled the banter between Shrek and Donkey and just loved the way she was able to switch personalities with ease... PS... loved the Trio of Fiona’s song ... ‘I Know it’s Today’ sung by Lucie, Bryony Jones, Cara Whitney-Cook - Fiona, Young Fiona, Teen Fiona respectively. I also loved the Dragon and the puppeteers who brought it to life superbly, loved Pinocchio’s character and there were so many other great characters created ... too many to mention individually, but rest assured, you were all noticed, your efforts, your characters enhanced this production ever so much!

Stage/Set/Tech ... the ‘tech side’ of things went very well throughout the entire production. I’m a great lover of ‘projection’ and the projection for this production, provided by Broadway Media and cued by Jacob Grills was amazing... it just adds so much to every scene without slowing the pace of the piece down at all. Everything flowed with ease on stage being looked after by Joni Franiecek and Holly Power (Stage Manager & Assistant) and their team of Karen Browne, Phil Power, Kieran Jones and Ben Keen. Sound and Lighting (under the watchful eye of Dave Murray and Tom Schofield ... respectively) was good. Well done everyone.

The Orchestra under the supervision of David Wall (Musical Director) they provided us with fabulous sound that supported all the singers ever so well... they included Sarah Dutch (Reed1); Michael Grant (Reed2); Owen Tyas (Keys); Cliff Ray (Trumpet); JP Warder (Trombone); Sam Jones (Drums), Jane Gleeson (Violin); Paul Taft (Guitar) and Adam Dutch (Bass) ... talented bunch, superb sound!  

Costumes... a fabulous array of colour and authenticity provided by Charades of St Helens.

Props ...  were first rate and used well provided by Proscenium, Littleborough, BOS themselves, Malcom Browne and Liz Clarke.

Thank you so much for inviting me, I really did enjoy your production and I think I speak for everyone present that night, if the ‘standing ovation’ that greeted the finale was anything to go by, a production loved by everyone present!

Stay Safe, Keep Well
Stronger Together

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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