Shrek The Musical At Kings Theatre, Edinburgh Review

Reviewed by Lynsey

Tonight, I took my five year old daughter to see The Bohemians Lyric Opera Companies adaption of the Dreamworks Movie Shrek. And when the curtain went down and lights when on I turned to see her standing on her booster seat clapping so enthusiastically with a huge smile on her face. She turned to me and said, “that was so good Mummy”. And that’s when I got that funny flutter that Mum’s get when they see how happy their child is and realise it was all because of a wonderful night spent together. So, any concerns I had about taking her to see such a long show at such a young age were washed away.

Now I’m not trying to take credit for making her this happy I only took her to the show, it was absolutely down to the fantastic cast and crew that transformed a great movie into a fantastic musical stage production. For those who don’t know the storyline its about a grumpy loner Ogre who finds himself befriending a very talkative donkey on a quest to rescue a Princess for the height impaired wimpy Lord Farquuad. Now Princess Fiona who has been locked in this lava and dragon protected tower since a girl has dreamt of being rescued by her Princess Charming. Something Shrek is not! However, Shrek and Donkey succeed in their quest and on their travels back to Duloc to deliver the Princess to Lord Farquuad Shrek falls in love. The story takes a turn to show that love is more than just what’s on the outside.
The production was simple but very effective from the stage setting to the outfits, it all worked really well. It was light hearted and full of fun. My daughter was laughing hysterically throughout and very engaged with the story. At one point being horrified at the Gingerbread Man being called a monster and not a good guy. The characters were all fantastic. My personal favorite was Shrek himself, I thought Andrew Gardiner really captured the drool and sarciness of Shrek’s character. Of course, my daughters favorite was Princess Fiona, who was portrayed beautifully by Rachael Anderson. And Alex Singh played the very annoying love him or loathe him donkey to a tea. And a fairytale would not be complete with out an iconic character and this musical has them in abundance. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are you will definitely recognise some familiar faces.

The King’s Theatre is a traditional small theatre with a very welcoming atmosphere and friendly helpful staff. It is located in the city center so is easily accessible by public transport but is also surrounded by on street parking. It has a couple of small bars perfect for a pre-theatre or interval drinks. And has a huge variety of restaurants and bars in the immediate vicinity for food and drink pre and post show.

We had a fantastic night watching these amazing character’s come to life and tell what is an important story. I would recommend to friends and family young and old. Its an easy fun watch for the adults and full of silliness for the kids.

Rating: I would give the production 4 out of 5 stars.

Shrek the Musical is on from Wednesday 16th March until Saturday 19th March 2022

Tickets cost from £19

To book tickets please visit The Bohemians Shrek the Musical – Capital Theatres or phone the box office on 0131 529 6000