Shrek the Musical

The set had a good mix of staging and props to set the scene including very effective trailing greenery which descended when needed for the forest and swamp scenes. Costumes were excellent with a mix of hired and made and wonderfully colourful. Hair and makeup were also good. The dragon was utterly magnificent and I understand was made by a very talented local man who also operated it. It really was amazing and very professional. Lighting too was very good with some excellent effects during Fiona’s transformation. Sound had a few issues on the first night, but I'm sure these will have been ironed out for subsequent performances. I loved the little conversation at the start of the show between Shrek and Donkey reminding people to switch off their phones; very entertaining!

Shrek (Noah) gave a very self-assured and enjoyable performance. His singing was excellent and I loved the soft Scottish brogue he used. It is hard to believe that someone so young could give such a well-rounded portrayal of this much loved and larger than life character. Very well done.

Donkey (Jamie) gave an amazing performance; full of cheeky character and boundless enthusiasm. His singing was also fabulous. How he performed with such energy in a full fur suit in exceptionally high temperatures is beyond me. Bravo!

Fiona (Evelyn) was the sassy princess with attitude that all princesses should be. She gave a cracking performance with strong vocals and excellent characterisation.

Lord Farquaad (Leo) was very funny and fully embraced the absurdity of this little man with a big ego. His entrance through the audience on a local community arts project, brightly painted, giant great bustard sculpture rather than a horse was inspired and a particular highlight for me. He had great characterisation and performed well throughout.

The Dragon (Amelie) had an insanely good voice and really excelled in her big number ‘Forever’. Unfortunately, her mic didn’t appear to be working for the final song, ‘I’m a believer’, so we didn’t get to hear that stunning voice again, but what great performance.

The younger Fionas also showed off strong vocals (Olivia and Matilda), as did the many Fairytale creatures. Unfortunately, there are far too many to mention but they all did a great job of bringing these characters to life. Pinocchio (Darcy) and Gingy (Sienna) managed the tricky voices for their characters admirably and the 3 blind mice (Alice, Evie and Ruby) were wonderfully sassy as Donkey’s backing singers in ‘Make a Move’. When all of the Fairytale creatures sang together in ‘Story of my Life’ and ‘Freak Flag’ they sounded wonderful.

Dancing was nicely varied and well performed with committed and well-rehearsed routines for this large cast. The tap was very enjoyable and I appreciated the nod to 42nd Street with the mice feet starting the number below a curtain. The whole cast moved and danced with energy and enthusiasm.

Direction and musical direction were strong, with some lovely moments such as Donkey going down to the audience for one of his songs and lots of interesting entrances and exits through the auditorium. Vocals were excellent from both the principals and ensemble and they had obviously worked hard to produce such glorious, well blended harmonies. All in all, this was a joyous show to watch and it looked like the cast found it a joyous show to perform. The standing ovation was fully deserved after giving such an energetic and engaging performance on one of the hottest May days in history! Very well done.

 

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