A
giant ogre, a talking donkey, a magical princess, a tiny Lord and a fire
breathing dragon – all quite feasible characters for an animated movie but
surely a challenge to portray as a live stage musical – or so you’d think, but
under the expert direction of Nigel Harman (and aided in no small way by the
brilliant cast and choreography) Shrek the Musical is a modern day masterpiece
to rival anything currently on show.
Drawing
heavily from the Dreamworks animated movie made famous by the vocal talents of
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, this non-stop extravaganza
concentrates the essence and humour of the CGI film whilst introducing new songs
and some amazing costumes for which Tim Hatley should be lauded and applauded.
Right
from the opening scene, the storybook backstory of how a young Shrek befell his
swamp life, the whole show has a larger than life feel as though the audience
are being immersed into a true fairy tale. Brilliant set design, the multitude
of additional characters and the very clever little details mean there is so
much to watch; in fact the interval
conversation was peppered with “I didn’t see that, I was watching ….”. Special mention must go to the dragon, a war-horse-esque appearance brimming with character and dare I say totally believable.
The
main factor that made the original movie such a must for repeat viewing was the
subtle (and not so subtle) pastiches, homages or just plain ‘steals’ from
multiple genres – spotting the digs at Disney, the role reversal of children’s
stories or the twist on expected norms meant adults could also laugh while the kids
hollered at the ‘rude’ jokes and naughty behaviours. This show has taken that premise and, in
keeping for a stage musical, took a mischievous aim at many of the most popular
musicals – as such you can find nods to Wicked, Rent, Matilda, Spamalot, Bob
Fosse, Avenue Q, Rocky Horror, Blood Brothers and I’m sure many more. For a fan of the theatre, this is like
playing Musicals Bingo, write out a list and tick them off as you find them.
The
main cast are all fabulous; Steffan Harri (Shrek) seems to tower over the other
fairyland creatures in presence yet never loses his soft side whilst Samuel Holmes
(Lord Farquaad) is hilarious as the diminutive ruler with a desire to be
considered large (his dance routines should come with a health warning of split
sides and inability to breath due to laughing).
Marcus Ayton (Donkey) has all the style, soul and street of a cross
between James Brown and Jay Z but I think it was Laura Main (possibly best
known for Call the Midwife) who gives Princess Fiona some real umpf – she is
sassy, alluring and totally bonkers, laugh out loud funny and not afraid to
bend her leg and let us know she can ‘Shrek’ it with the best (oh and boy can
she sing)
The
show has a feel of a pantomime in that it is super friendly, instantly
recognisable, enthralling and entertaining through every minute (and provoking
a theatre full of kids laughter), but
this is no corny ‘he’s behind you’ fare, this is musical theatre at it’s very best
and packed with moments of genuine hilarity.
Even
though it’s only February, I’d say this will be THE show you will still be
talking about come the end of the year and most certainly the one you’ll want
to go and watch again and again
★★★★★.
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