Shrek The Musical Reviews

Carol from Manchester, England

UTTERLY CHARMING

I went to see Shrek with few expectations. It was funny, silly and charming. The 5 leads were excellent . It made me laugh a lot and I left with a smile on my face.

Yasmin Al-Sheklly from Manchester, England

A SHREKTACULAR FAIRY TALE ADVENTURE

What is the plot of Shrek The Musical? Shrek The Musical is based on the hit DreamWorks animated films that featured Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz. Shrek is an ogre of seven who is sent on his way by his parents and finds out what life will be for him. Years later Shrek is angry when numerous fairy tale characters are left on his swamp by Lord Farquaad to which he cannot tolerate them being there a second longer. Shrek does not care as to what Lord Farquaad wants and so he goes to ask him so that they are removed. Whilst on his journey Shrek meets Donkey who has never asked Shrek about his behaviour. They then become friends and comes to save the swamp. They arrive in Duloc to discover that Lord Farquaad is holding a competition where the winner will rescue Princess Fiona in order to marry him. In addition Shrek will get his swamp back. What are the themes that are explored in Shrek The Musical? The themes that are explored in Shrek The Musical are family, friendship, love, inequality, isolation and unity. Cast Anthony Lawrence truly brought the character of Shrek to life. His stage presence was warm, witty and full of charisma. He conveyed the character brilliantly showing vulnerability but also how he has a big heart. He is a light-hearted ogre which makes it real and relatable with his honest words of wisdom. His vocals were powerful that vibrated around the stage. Joanne Clifton was sensational as Princess Fiona. Her stage presence was strong, sassy and determined. She truly made the role her own showing how a woman can be independent. She was likeable with a warm heart. She is not just truly talented in her dancing from Strictly but it also extends to her natural acting and singing on stage which was a joy to watch. The chemistry between Princess Fiona (Joanne Clifton) and Shrek (Anthony Lawrence) was infectious. They were a great partnership on stage. Brandon Lee Sears was incredible as Donkey. He was funny, adorable, and full of charm. His performance was impressive and we also witnessed him doing some cool dance moves too. His vocals were out of this world. James Gillian was spectacular as Lord Farquaad. Despite being evil yet he brought some flamboyance and elegance to the role. At the same time he was charming which means that it is hard not to like him. He gives a unique take on the role which he does so effortlessly. The other characters in the cast including Cheree Richards as the Dragon, Georgie Buckland as Gingy, and Mark D’arcy as Pinocchio blew me away with their sheer talents especially their spine tingling vocals. This was a talented cast whose talents all shone during this production and their team spirit was incredible working in unison regardless of how big or small their roles were. Sets The sets were simple, effective and were full of style. We were truly transported to all the locations as featured in the film including Shrek’s swamp and the dragon protected castle. In addition there is also the pit stop in Duloc and the torture chamber. The soft set changes were seamless. The sets used were creative with a playful vibe. Costumes The costumes that were used in this production designed by Philip Whitcomb were full of glamour and colour. It was evident to see that within the numerous fairy tale characters including The White Rabbit, The Big Bad Wolf, The Three Little Pigs, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. They were dressed to be seen. Soundtrack The soundtrack for this production featured a great variety of heart felt ballads and catchy energetic numbers. Highlights included a great duet I Think I Got Your Beat between Shrek and Princess Fiona. It was a great performance showing how a relationship is developed. We see how they hate each other but this is then transformed to a friendship. This is done in hilarious fashion by burping. Another favourite was Freak Flag. It is full of positivity and has a great message in its lyrics in that it is OK to be different. The encore at the end to I Am A Believer was uplifting where the audience could clap along, sing and dance ensuring that you left the auditorium with a smile on your face. All the music was brought to life by a live band with brilliant orchestration. If you are looking for a show that is full of joy and happiness with a heart-warming story and great songs then Shrek is a musical for you.

from Oxford,

SHREK THE MUSICAL

I thoroughly enjoyed this performance everyone was fantastic but Donkey was amazing he was hysterical he had me laughing all the way through

Sean Davenport from Edinburgh,

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. GREAT NIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT.

I went along not really knowing what to expect or how much I would enjoy it, but left having thoroughly enjoyed the performance. A really good show and excellent value for money.

Chloe from Liverpool,

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

The acting, the signing and the whole show was just brilliant. We do the theatre a lot and this is in my top 3 favourites. I’ve seen a lot of reviews by parents complaining their children were bored, but my 7 year old son sat through the whole thing absolutely obsessed, he didn’t take his eyes of the stage. We seen a few people leave but this was just due to younger children struggling to sit through the show. It really was brilliant, I couldn’t find one thing to complain about. We all loved it! The actress who played the dragon has the most amazing voice! She really stood out for me and was my favourite! And the actress who played the gingerbread man was great, she got the voice spot on! :) 10000% recommend!

Dee from Liverpool,

FABULOUS

Show was amazing couldn’t fault anyone perfection . The characters were beyond talented. the singing voices unbelievable ..costumes and set magical …

Mo madden from Birmingham,

SHREK AT ALEXANDER THEATRE BIRMINGHAM

Thanks to ALL of the FANTASTIC CAST of Shrek) On a very wet cold miserable weather in Brum was completely forgotten by Fabulous dancing, marvellous acting, lot's of fun and amazing costumes. Not forgetting all the AMAZING SINGERS...Wow, just super:) If you haven't got a ticket yet try to catch this cast on tour. Big hugs to the cast to ALL involved in putting on this super show .

Sheila Johnson from Woking, England

SHREK THE MUSICAL

Disappointed, couldn't see as people in front kept fidgeting and moving about. The show didn't hold my attention and my grandchildren 8 and 12 wanted to leave. We left at the break. Lots of the audience seemed to have no idea of how to behave in a theatre. This was opening night on the Monday 30th. Shame because I was looking forward to seeing it.

Paul from Liverpool,

THINK ABOUT THE YOUNGER AUDIENCE

I agree with a lot of the positive comments..however..in the cheap seats it was quite hard to understand some of the diction. Many young families up with us, some leaving not even half way through. A family show needed some more family humour thrown in, let's appreciate some first timers to the theatre. The farting dance, got the biggest laugh, something everyone can relate to. Re-write on some joke additions and an improvement on. The sound reaching the upper seats..would be my critique. Singing and dancing very good but much of the songs did not remind me of the movie...could do better.

Marjory Perry from Edinburgh,

SHREK

Disappointing. Was in the Balcony in RowF so fairly good seats. Difficulty both with diction and hearing. Grandchildren aged 6 and 9 were not particularly interested and kept asking if it was over. Agree with previous review that the songs chosen bore no resemblance to the original.

Harper family from Edinburgh,

NOT AS WHAT WOULD BE OBVIOUSLY EXPECTED

So disappointing after the hype and excitement from my 4 grandchildren awaiting this much anticipated show. All to quickly the children lost interest with what was going on. The youngest kept asking us 'when are they going to sing shrek songs'? We were all expecting to hear at least some of the original music/songs. Half time and the children had their coats on ready to leave. Thank goodness for 'breaking wind' top and bottom as the children were hysterical at this, unfortunately the humour did not last long for them. The finale was its only saving grace when the cast started to sing 'Im a believer' and my four children went wild, dancing, clapping, singing and cheering. If only the show maintained some originality in music and song.......... I personally feel as a family of 4 adults and 4 children that we were robbed of over £400.00 Sorry to inform but I I will not recommend this show to anyone with children.

Rita from Liverpool,

EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING

We were really looking forward to this musical, but but it was a disappointment. We were at the top of the upper circle on row Q on the left looking at the stage. We couldn't see much of what was going on because the half moon cover over the stage restricted our view. We couldn't see Fiona in the cave, nor the finale with the dragon and Lord Farquar. The sound was inaudible in many parts, and there was not enough going on to keep the childrens attention. We expected to see similar content to the film, after all, thats what the children were excited and expecting to see but it was severely lacking in many ways. The music was boring and the tempo was slow, it felt more like a pantomime without the audience participation. Many people left before the end, however we stuck it out. The only reason we give it 2 stars was because of the fart and burp scene, and I'm a believer at the end when the audience actually came alive! It came across as a cheap production, a very poor show indeed

Isaac from Oxford,

AWFUL

This honestly felt like a village pantomime at best. The worst £180 I’ve ever spent - we left halfway through the show. Awful acting, very average stage set up, singing was mediocre at best. Had very little relation to the actual story and don’t expect to hear the songs in the movie. Complete disappointment, would highly recommend avoiding this one.

Jennifer Taylor from Edinburgh,

SO DISAPPOINTING

We found it a really bad show, songs were awful and too many of them and Shrek himself wasn’t a big enough presence on stage.

Melissa from Liverpool,

DISAPPOINTING

We couldn't understand what was being said or sang. The songs were boring and not at all catchy. There were way too many songs. The actors lacked presence. We got do bored We left 3/4 through.

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