by David Lindsay-Abaire (book & lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Director Viv Morrison<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crescent Theatre, Birmingham \u2013 Saturday 6th June 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on the 2001 DreamWorks movie, this is the tale of an ogre who just wants to be left alone in his swamp but instead has his space invaded by a bunch of fairytale characters evicted from their homes by the evil Lord Farquaad. Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad that if he brings him the Princess Fiona, he will essentially give Shrek his swamp back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had some excellent staging here with some impressive sets, including that of Farquaad\u2019s castle battlements & interiors and Shrek\u2019s swamp home. The space was well used and ensured that the song and dance numbers were handled efficiently. I was also impressed with the swiftness and slickness of the scene changes, meaning that the action wasn\u2019t slowed down at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One problem we had at the start was the opening narration that was coming over the PA system. Unfortunately, this was very quiet and difficult to hear what was being said. We also had the not uncommon problem of the music being played too loudly during the songs making it difficult to hear Shrek\u2019s voice during the opening number and Farquaad\u2019s during \u201cWhat\u2019s up Duloc\u201d. The musicians were excellent, but we do need to be able to hear the actors at all times as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The musical numbers were very entertaining, although we did have some people in the dark during parts of the opening number, a fate which also befell Fiona during \u201cWho I\u2019d be\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A superb array of costumes on view here, most of which would have been familiar to anyone who has seen any of the films (Most of us, surely?) \u2013 Shrek was in his suitably down at heel white smock and leather jerkin accompanied by tartan trousers as befitted his Scottish accent, Fiona resplendent in her fairy princess green dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also had a nice variety of fairy tale characters making up the chorus, all of which again based on familiar designs so we had a traditional Pinocchio (complete with a retractable nose which was impressive), Fairy Godmother, Wicked Queen and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there\u2019s Farquaad, largely based on what appears to be based on the traditional King of Hearts, albeit with the addition of an extra feature being a couple of yellow-stocking legs which (due to the short stature of the character) meant that the actor spent almost all of the show on his knees \u2013 I just hope he was wearing pads! This did get the appropriate laughs from the audience so was obviously a good decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had a Gingerbread man cleverly portrayed by a variation of a ventriloquist\u2019s dummy, having some very humourous exchanges, enough to draw away attention from the operator who if you looked you could see was speaking, but this did not detract from the overall effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of props and as always I am amazed by the attention given to the visuals by amateur companies for things which are on stage for a very short amount of time, and here we had a giant plastic horse which carried Farquaad into a scene in act 2. Must have cost a fortune but it did bring the house down which I am sure made it worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there was the piece de resistance \u2013 namely a giant dragon which made sporadic appearances through the show. Where other productions have gone with just a head, with the rest hidden behind the set, here we have a full sized full body prop complete with working parts. I heard gasps at one point! By only confusion, is that there is a character called Dragon in the cast list and it wasn\u2019t clear what the relationship between the two was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there was the rat dance! Whoever came up with the idea of putting rat shoes on the cast at the bottom of the curtain should be absolutely commended. Not something I can recall seeing before, but an idea that was genius in its execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On to the cast, led by the superb John Morrison in the title role of Shrek. John did a great job of keeping the accent going throughout the show, and overall gave a very strong performance. He worked very well with Paul Stait in the role of Donkey. The two of them made a very good comedy double act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also had a strong performance from Lily Moore who gave us a charming and bubbly rendition of Fiona. She also had a very strong singing voice which especially came over in \u201cThis is How a Dream Comes True\u201d and the aforementioned \u201cWho I\u2019d be\u201d, where she was definitely not phased by the lack of light at one point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stuart McDiarmid had the thankless task of spending most of the night on his knees as Lord Farquaad, a character which a lot of funny lines and situations, which Stuart carried off with aplomb. There was a lot of visual humour as well, playing with the limitations of the costume, which delighted the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were treated to a plethora of very good performances from the fairy tale characters with each of the chorus members taking their chance to make their mark in each individual roles. On paper, these could easily be just a group of people standing around, but the cast here obviously decided to play each of their parts as if they were the main role. Which is how it has to be to get an outstanding performance like this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hesitate to name individuals as everyone worked well as a collective unit, but Isaac Upton as Pinocchio and Siobhan Ganley as the Ugly Duckling certainly made their mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, a delightful evening in front of what appeared to be a full house, which always helps with the energy of the production, especially on what I believe was the final performance, the final rendition of \u201cI\u2019m a Believer\u201d certainly brought the house down (as well as the curtain!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So a big well done to director Viv Morrison and her team for bringing us a superb evening\u2019s entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviewed By – David G.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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