Shrek the Musical at Royal and Derngate Northampton Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Janine Rumble
Last night, I went to the Royal and Derngate in Northampton to see Shrek the Musical and what a musical extravaganza it was! You do not have to be a fan of Shrek and his noble steed Donkey to enjoy this musical, but it does help. From beginning to end, Shrek the Musical was a feast for the eyes and the ears and brilliant for the young, the old and everyone in between. It really is a wholesome family event, with a few jokes/innuendos thrown in for the adults of the audience.
For all fans of the movie, Shrek, you will not be disappointed, as the show follows the same story of Shrek’s quest to get his swamp back by working for Lord Farquaad by rescuing Princess Fiona from her tower guarded by a fire breathing dragon and all of their adventures with the myriad of fairy tale characters, including Pinocchio, the three little pigs, a cross dressing wolf and a wicked witch, amongst others.
Every aspect of the show from the actors, the acting, the singing, the dancing, the costumes, the choreography, the puppetry, the set design, the music, all worked so well together to produce one brilliant show and a great night out at the theatre.
Anthony Lawrence was brilliant as the bad-tempered ogre Shrek. The costume and the makeup used to turn him into the green ogre, made him even more believable. It was nice that his costume was close to the original film. It was also nice that he voiced the character in his own way and did not attempt to adopt a strong accent as in the film version.
Joanne Clifton, of Strictly Come Dancing fame, played the strong and determined Princess Fiona waiting to be rescued from her tower by her one true love. Brandon Lee Sears was the overly energetic Donkey, a great accompaniment to Shrek and Fiona. They were a fantastic team, incredibly talented, and truly embodied their characters, making them unique to previous works.
The set was fantastic, with ingenious ways of portraying the larger (and smaller) creatures throughout. Some new plot twists helped keep this separate from previous adaptations and injected more humour into this already laugh-out-loud production.
My personal favourite was the finale; all guests were invited to get up on their feet, and join in. What better way to end an evening of wonderful performances, than getting to join in with them?
The songs were catchy, but heartfelt – who knew an ogre could make you shed a tear? They had great messages within them – it’s good to be different, in fact, it makes you stronger. And that being beautiful isn’t always about being pretty.
It was a fantastic show, and I would highly recommend anyone go and see it – even if you haven’t seen any of the movies. The story is retold wonderfully (and there’s even some great souvenirs!)
Tickets are available from https://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/shrek-the-musical/ and are priced from £27.00.
Rating: 4/5