Who doesn’t love a love story. Where a shining knight – or shiny green ogre – rescues the princess in distress at the top of the tower. Based on the classic, beloved motion picture – Shrek the Musical hits the stage of Kings Theatre Glasgow for a ‘Shrek-tacular’ evening for all of the family.
Join Shrek and his trusty sidekick Donkey as they set out on a quest to defeat the fearsome dragon and rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona. With a heartwarming story and a cast of unforgettable fairy tale characters from your favourite stories, this musical extravaganza is ready to blast it’s toe-tapping soundtrack and get everyone on their feet.
Directors Samuel Holmes and Nick Winston did a great job at blocking and creating a show that flowed perfectly from scene to scene. The use of projections designed by the fantastic Nina Dunn and back drops that opened into the actual onstage set designed by Philip Whitcomb really immersed the audience into the world of Duloc.
The show itself seemed on a smaller scale which actually worked nicely for the cast and created opportunity for more subtle jokes and comedic moments. The show also seemed slightly under energised at certain moments throughout the play. Seemingly it could be a minute of cast energy dropping or lack of chemistry in certain mom
The Illustrious Anthony Lawrence starred as the Scottish ogre himself – Shrek. Lawrence showcased his very slick acting ability nicely in the role and blew the theatre down with clean, beautiful vocals from the opening scene. At times it seemed as though Lawrence took a more internal approach to expressing Derek’s emotional journey and storytelling, from delivery of his lines to his projection during specific encounters, each element aided the characters’ anxious, insecure but falsely confident persona. However, it did hinder Lawrence’s performance at times. The volume of dialogue was lost from time to time, feeling as though the end of sentences were being dropped or faded out simply just due to not being able to fully hear them. And the energy of Shrek in act 1 at times never matched or pushed another character’s energy that shared the stage with them. Which dipped the energy of the scene overall – even if only slightly. Although, Lawrence came out in act 2 with a brand new lease of life. Lifting the energy, vocals and adding even more personality to the character than already present.
Joanne Clifton was excellent as Princess Fiona. Her energy and physical comedy was great from start to finish, always executing her comedic moments. Clifton brought a great mix of elegance and crude behaviour and took Fiona on a great character arc. She showcased beautiful vocals during her performance, showing great range and technique.
James Gillan as Lord Farquaad was a bundle of energy mixed in with some subtextual innuendos and jokes for the adults. Gillan’s flamboyant characteristics allowed for a great character to be build, that made the audience love Gillan but hate Farquaad – which is a job well done. It seemed at times that the character veered off piece slightly, ad-libbing possibly and trying for some laughs which at times never landed and felt slightly unnecessary.
Brandon Lee Sears as Donkey was the perfect casting. His character development for the famous noble steed was excellent and brought so much energy and charisma to the show. Sears had the audience in the palm of his hand with his dancing, singing and comedic timing with physical comedy and dialogue delivery. However, even though Sears showed off his impressive vocal range, it was slightly over done during specific numbers. The use of the pitch changing and sliding is a great technique that can add something to the song and lyrics but the consistent delivery of lines mid pitch change made some of the song get lost in the noise.
Cherece Richards stole the show with her impactful entrance as Dragon. Richards came out and belted some powerhouse vocals, making everyone sit back and take notice of her talents. Her chemistry with Sears was excellent in their short but important encounter. She delivered a fantastic overall performance full of energy, sass and attitude – ending with a well deserved roar from the audience as she entered the stage for their bows.
The ensemble, which is made up of: Leo Abad; Scotty Armstrong, Imogen Bailey, Jabari Braham, Georgie Buckland, Natasha Cayabyab, Mark D’Arcy, Jonathan David Dudley, Talia Duff, Remi Ferdinand, Gabriela Gregorian, Sonny Grieveson, Jamie Jonathan, Bethany Kate, Edward Leigh, Jessica Lim, Andile Mabhena, Brontë MacMillan, Rory Stafford and India Thornton – were exceptional throughout the show. Not only did each member bring a fully developed character to their designated fairy tale persona, they never dropped energy and never missed a beat between their singing and dancing and interaction between each other. The harmonies and vocals that were on point and excellent. The choreography – choreographed by co-director and the creative mind of Nick Winston – was amazing, very technically slick and always attracted eyes to other areas of the stage.
In conclusion, Shrek is a great show, fun for all the family, however, a show that needs a big boost in energy in Act One, mixed with some character decisions that could use more thought or precision.
Get your tickets here –
Glasgow Kings Theatre
15 January – 20 January 2024
https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre-glasgow/
Edinburgh Playhouse
22 January – 27 January 2024
Theatre Scotland 
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