Shrek The Musical

Darlington Academy of Performing Arts took us into the depth of the Swamp for their full Company Production of Shrek The Musical. From the 1st entry and the stunning detail of the larger than life photo booth to first viewing of the stage and larger than life scenery depicting the Castle Walls of Duloc it was clear how much work had gone into ensuring the visuals matched the colourful family story.

The costumes matched this attention to detail with everyone from Shrek through to the wonderful Nursery Rhyme characters full of colour and all instantly recognisable as their main roles. It was visually so well planned and carried out with a detailed and colourful lighting plot combining with a lot of larger than life props and special effects to add magic to the scenes.

Great credit to not only the technical team and scenery builders/decorators but also to the Junior members of DAPA. Being their main production with a lot of the Senior leadership team being on stage, the Junior members became Lighting Crew, Stage Managers, Stage Crew and Front of House. It really was a huge team effort and a reflection of the family feel to the running of the Academy.

Like all good Fairy Tales the story begins with a lovely intro to our story and Sue and Eric Laycock did a lovely job with the main vocals in Big Bright Beautiful World setting our characters off on their journey. The story telling was enhanced with some lovely work by our Young Shrek Martha Cochrane who acted her little socks off with some great facial reactions to being kicked out. 

Shrek is a great Musical for large companies as it doesn’t just offer the societies Junior and Adult ensembles but almost everyone gets a chance as a main character, from Guards of Duloc through to the heart of the big numbers, the amazing Fairytale Characters. Involved in all of the big numbers these really were the heart and soul of the energy in the production with Story of My Life and Freak Flag being two of the standout numbers, both tricky songs but very well performed.

There are so many characters that it’s simply impossible to go into detail on everyone but they all really got immersed into the roles portraying all of the lovely characteristics of each role. There were a number of standout performers in this large group who deserve a mention. Joanne Mason was wonderfully high pitched and squeaky as Pinocchio, her extending nose also as visually entertaining as the wooden and robotic movements in her movement. Mama and Papa Bear created a lovely family unit along with Baby Bear with Rebecca Richmond’s voice as Mama, really impressive in her solo lines. Amy Whitehead as Elf also really impressed with a beautiful tone to her voice. Clair Carter-Metcalfe really delivered her snappy lines as the Wicked Witch whilst Julian Pinkney as the cross dressing Big Bad Wolf was larger than life. Kathryn Gibson Coates really stood out on the packed stage. Her smile, facial reactions and stage presence as Red Riding Hood and the skeleton/ghost scenes really caught my attention. She led the dance numbers from the front and her vocals came through clearly. Kathryn was playing Princess Fiona on alternate performances and from what I saw of her in this smaller role I am sure she will have been a huge hit.

The huge standout performance from our Nursery characters had to go to one of the younger members of the Principle characters and that was Aoife Carter-Metcalfe who was absolutely brilliant as Gingy. From her 1st entrance pinned to a wall and shrieking in agony and pain in the squeaky voice to her sensational vocals in Freak flag where she absolutely nailed the power, control and style of the song. Not only that but for someone so young she showed great timing in line delivery with the Muffin Man sketch with Farquaad absolutely nailed. A definite star in the making here.

Despite the main roles being played by the Adult members of DAPA a lot of the younger members really shone. Phoebe Carr was a knockout as Dragon, her vocals were amazing with a lovely range and showing a lot of character in her delivery despite being hidden behind the stunning larger than life Smoke breathing dragon (a great visual effect from the team). Phoebe doubled up as Sugar Plum Fairy and took a senior lead in a lot of the dance routines showing a combination of all round skills.

There are some lovely vocalists within the Academy and our Young and Teen Fionas were great examples of this, not only delivering great pitch and tone to their voices but mastering the art of story telling through song. A huge well done to Katie Moore and Laila Clegg, you were both incredible, especially in I Know It’s Today.

The Juniors were heavily involved and really seemed to be having a blast, in and out of numerous scenes and their involvement in some of the really well choreographed numbers such as Forever brought energy and life to these numbers.

For once in one of my show reports I can finally say that the smallest person on stage possibly had the biggest impact on the comedy and humour of the production. Ben Moseby took on the now iconic role of Lord Farquaad and had the audience in stitches throughout. From his cheeky and mischievous accent to his physical comedy bounding around the stage on his knees he really owned the role. His big numbers What’s Up Duloc and the Ballad of Farquaad were huge numbers with him taking stage and the ensemble behind him clearly thriving from his energy as the performance levels definitely rose. 

Our main characters all brought their own characters to life with Camryn Mason as Donkey really bringing the entertainment factor with a larger than life performance. The costume and make-up set the base for Camryn to allow her facial expressions and mannerisms to add some lovely comedy to this loveable character. Her interactions with Shrek were brilliant and it was lovely to see a change in her character upon discovery of Fiona’s true identity and the messy love story. 

Fiona, our lovable character was played by Laura Pattinson who is really growing in confidence in each show. By far her largest role to date she delivered some confident vocals in her main songs and she really delivered every angle of the character. Her cheekiness shone through whilst also displaying a touch of ego in the role as the wannabee Queen in making. Her tantrums were well portrayed and it was great to see her character with Paul Mason as Shrek develop throughout the show, I Think I Got You Beat (or the fart and belch song as we now know it) a brilliant example of how well these two bounced off each other on stage.

Paul really commanded the stage in the title role, Shrek.  With a performance as big as his belly he didn't just look the part (with some great make-up and prosthetic work) but he really seemed to understand the character. From his temper and sulky behaviour to the soppy and heart broken Ogre the different characteristics were all notable switches and clearly delivered. Involved in numerous solo numbers it was great to see different sides to the vocals with great timing and comedy in When Words Fail to the passion and power in Build a Wall. 

Shrek not only commands the characters to be on point but also it has to be visually exciting and it didn’t disappoint. From exploding birds to fire breathing dragons the production really was as animated as the film. The big routines were really entertaining with ensemble vocals really strong and the choreography was detailed and lively with all of the cast clearly well rehearsed as the numbers were polished and filled the stage with energy.

With an action Packed calendar for the Junior members it’s lovely to see the adult members, Academy leaders and Parents get a chance to let their hair down and perform themselves and from what I saw in this production there are a lot of stars who will be challenging for the lead roles in their next production. A huge thank you from me and Peter for a lovely warm welcome and thoroughly entertaining evening excellently finished off with a true party atmosphere in I’m A Believer where we joined the audience in rocking away for the Finale.

 

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