Shrek the Musical Jr

Mid Cheshire Youth Theatre were back on stage with their production of ‘Shrek the Musical Jr’, which was directed by Jenna Finnigan, assisted by Ben Mather-Dodd. On entering the auditorium, the audience were met with an open set of a forest backcloth, with a couple of trees stage right and stage left. Shrek was emblazoned on the apron of the stage in big, glittery letters. Behind the forest backcloth was a large, static castle exterior, which looked impressive and was used for most of the production. Jenna’s direction was good throughout, and she made good use of the whole auditorium, with characters entering and exiting through the audience and some scene taking place within the audience. This helped create an immediate relationship with the audience. By using the full auditorium, it allowed scene changes to take place without drawing the audience’s eye, and kept the pace of the production high. There were some nice, comedic moments throughout, and the characters were all suitably over-the-top. Everyone on stage looked confident in what they were doing, and it was great to see so many smiling faces on stage. The costumes were great, and it was great to see that everyone had their own fairy tale creature character, which was each costumed well. The prosthetics used for Shrek looked the part.

The musical director for this production was Amy Rattenbury, marking her first time as musical director. The cast performed to backing tracks and they did well with this aspect. There were good vocals on display from the cast, and the ensemble numbers were strong.

The choreographer for this production was Jenna Finnigan. Choreography was accessible for all levels of performers and was performed well. The cast appeared confident with what they were doing. The tap routine during ‘Morning Person’ was good.

Technical elements were good throughout the production. The sound balance between the cast and backing tracks was good. There were some moments where cast mics were cued late. The lighting was very good throughout, with some great use of colour throughout.

The titular character, Shrek, was played by Joe Bateson. Joe had a great stage presence, and sustained the Scottish accent throughout. He was larger than life throughout, but it would have been nice to have seen a more layered performance. He was quite shouty from the start. However, the moments with Fiona were nicely played, showing a tender and caring side to the character.

Sidney Causer played Princess Fiona. Sidney was full of sass and humour, and demonstrated great vocals throughout. She led the ensemble in ‘Morning Person’ well, which was a great number. Sidney was able to showcase a range of emotions throughout the production. ‘I Know It’s Today’ was performed well by Sidney, Sadie Lovatt (Teen Fiona) and Mia James (Young Fiona).

Alfie Davies certainly threw himself into the role of Donkey. He demonstrated a good sense of comedy in his interactions with Shrek. Just be aware of where your audience is. There were times where you were performing upstage with your back to your audience, which meant that the audience missed your funny reactions.

Thomas Liney delivered a standout performance as Lord Farquaad. He delivered a great, comedic performance and had the audience in the palm of his hands throughout. Thomas wringed out every comic moment brilliantly and was an audience favourite.

Heidi Eden, Lucas McNab and Alice Owen worked well together as the Storytellers. They were confident in what they were doing and helped move the story along. Their vocals were good individually and together.

Lilah Makin gave a strong performance as Dragon, delivering a great vocal. Lilah prowled around the stage delivering her number in front a fantastic Dragon puppet, which was operated by members of the cast. The puppetry was very well done by those involved.

Emma Baylis played Gingy and did well in the part. She did well with the iconic voice of Gingy, which she sustained throughout the performance. This was a good cameo performance.

Percy Helm did well as Pinocchio. Another well-known character, who has a distinctive voice from the film. Percy initially did well with the voice, especially in the dialogue. Percy delivered the humour well, especially with the growing nose sequences.

The ensemble of fairy tale creatures did well throughout. They were energetic and performed the numbers well. Some particular highlights include the Three Blind Mice (Daniella Priestley, Scarlett Tilly and Cali Johanson) who were always in character, and the Three Little Pigs (Ethan Evans, Sarah Baylis and Lyra Reilly) who made a great impact with their cameo roles.

Overall, this was a good production. There were some great performances, moments of great comedy, and inventive direction that kept the audience’s attention.

A big thank you to everyone at Mid Cheshire Youth Theatre for their kind invite and their hospitality.

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