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Review of Shrek the Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Once upon a time, there was a splendidly green ogre who went by the name of Shrek. For many years, Shrek starred in a captivating and thrilling adventure set upon a theatre stage. This came to pass following a tale told in a Dream(works) in a cinematic spectacle. His tale was told in a truly fun way, with staging sublime, and endless mirth from a nefarious baddie who in many ways came up short. However, around the corner, there was greater evil afoot as our green friend's show was undergoing a transformation for further adventures on stage. What possible way could this evil be stopped? Sadly, for all, it could not and the evil reigned for a full UK tour which journeys most recently to the magical kingdom of the Royal & Derngate after a long adventure across the land.

So, dear reader, forgive my fairy tale preamble, and perhaps, from that you might imagine this show isn't up to much and sadly you would be right. Shrek when it toured before to Northampton was a little light on content but a visual feast and brought to life by one of the funniest characters in shows of this ilk, Lord Farquaad. The character in all his diminutive state was pure fun and comedy, the performer on his knees and the best lines and humour as a result.

For some reason, this production chooses to present Lord Farquaad as a taller, maybe slightly shorter than the norm character and it robs his every scene of what made the character so good. James Gillan does his best in the role, but, unlike the dragon (more on her later), he simply has no teeth or the character to perform. It is difficult to explain how much these decisions have destroyed the character, and the show as a result.

Our other leads have a little more success, Antony Lawrence is a striking presence as the titular Shrek but does play second fiddle to other characters despite his name on the show. Brandon Lee Sears as the Donkey comes out best really from this show, filling his scenes with energy and comic poses and looks making him the clear crowd favourite. Finally of the main characters, Joanne Clifton is a solid and likeable Princess Fiona, but does at times play the role with too much brattishness and annoying manner, with little softness of character to add belief to the role.

On top of some poor production changes, the show did have a few technical issues as well, including some overamplified sound across the show. This was most prominent during the Story of My Life song (one of the best, catchiest of the show) where we are introduced to all of the fairy tale characters. The sound levels made clarity of lyrics extremely difficult and actually, slightly painful to listen to at times.

The world of Shrek on stage is created much more from projections this time, with much less physical set making it look a little cheap despite the projections being generally very good, if a little disjointed at times. The dragon (sung beautifully it has to be said by Cherece Richards) is slightly poorly realised also in comparison to previous versions in an almost obvious reduction in production costs.

In this production, Shrek is something you may enjoy or something you grit your teeth through. If you haven't seen the stage show before, you won't feel deprived of the splendour and endless humour from the Lord and get carried along for the ride (many of the kids loved the show). Those who have been to this fairy tale world before might find it far from as fantastical as it once was though sadly.

Entertaining once again, but some production decisions leave it really lacking compared to previous versions.


Performance reviewed: Wednesday 23rd April 2024 at Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton.

Shrek the Musical runs at the Royal & Derngate Theatre until Saturday 27th April, 2024.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Production Photos: Marc Brenner


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