Shrek the Musical

We were led into the auditorium with an open stage dominated by a castle and from the first moment we were transported to a world of fairytale creatures and characters. Director Laura Thomas had worked hard with the cast so every performer was 100% committed to their role whether big or small. There was a good use of the available space for a large cast and different levels added interest. Every pun and joke seemed to work and although I had seen Shrek before, I had not realised how funny the script was until now. The decision to create the Dragon using 3 people worked well and lots of little groups gave everyone a chance to shine.

Siobhan Austin-Guest devised choreography to suit all abilities which always make me happy. There were different styles of dances and the cast were well drilled. I particularly liked Fiona with the tap dancing rats and Welcome to Duloc. The orchestra, under the baton of Paul Garner, was in a different room and relayed in to the auditorium. This worked well although there were times when the vocals were quieter and the music a little too loud. There were some good harmonies from the cast and strong vocals.

Will Taylor-Watson as Shrek, demonstrated good comic timing, kept his accent at all times and sang well. Princess Fiona, Imogen Jean Routledge, was an excellent actress, sang with a round warm tone gave us some really funny moments. Donkey, played by Andy McPhee, showed great physical comedy and was very endearing. He had some great expressions and we could see his thoughts changing. Jason Austin-Guest never stopped acting as Lord Farquaad and also had great timing although we missed some of the lyrics in his song as the music was too loud. Hollie Persico was a charismatic Dragon and she looked and sounded fabulous. The Princess Fiona trio was very clever and the harmonies were sung confidently and accurately. All of the minor roles were sung well, especially Corinne Boddington as Gingy, Louise Yellowlees as Pinocchio and the 3 Blind Mice.

The set was designed and built by members of the company and the moveable lower level became steps and the wobbly bridge. There could have been more of a suggestion of Shrek’s swamp but the scene changes were slick, helped by a small army of stage crew. The costumes were colourful and varied and there were some lovely details, although Peter Pan would have been easier to recognise with a hat. Make up was complicated and effective, especially for Shrek and Donkey and Fiona’s transformation worked well. The props were well thought out, the Dragon head was a clever design and the exploding bird was very funny. A 3D printer had been used to great effect to create Pinocchio’s nose, Donkey’s hooves and Farquaad’s tiny feet!

The lighting helped us identify locations and times of day and highlighted the Dragon’s fiery lair. I’m not sure that the projections added much that the lights could do and I found it distracting when stars seemed to be projected on to Shrek’s chest. We heard some funny sound effects including a beeping reversing horse, a singing bird and lots of burps and farts.

We were given a warm welcome, met the creative team and were looked after by the President of the society. After the show we were given a tour of the orchestra room and the backstage area. This was a real team effort and my guest and I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, thank you.

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