REVIEW
Shrek the Musical
Palace Theatre, Westcliff
26th - 29th October 2022
Shrek the Musical
Palace Theatre, Westcliff
26th - 29th October 2022
The Palace Theatre foyer was jam packed on the opening night of LODS' production of Shrek the Musical. With it being Half Term school holidays, there were plenty of excitable children queuing up for sweets and treats before taking their seats to see one of DreamWorks most popular characters come alive on stage.
The musical is based on the film, Shrek, with music and lyrics written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori. Shrek the ogre finds himself on a life changing journey, accompanied by a wisecracking Donkey, to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona from her tower. All the characters are here, including Gingy, Pinocchio, the three blind mice, Dragon and of course that 'short' tempered baddie, Lord Farquaad.
The anticipation to see this show was palpable on opening night, with an audience literally packed to the rafters. In true tradition, the show starts at the very beginning with us seeing the 7 year olds, Young Shrek and Princess Fiona being abandoned by their parents - bit cruel - but never fear, as in all fairytales we know there's going to be a happy ending, right?
Young Shrek is nicely played by Charlie Whitnell (Frankie Lamberti plays the part on alternate performances) and Young Fiona is beautifully played by Lola Fuente who has the most gorgeous vocals (Matilda Berry and Lily Harvey also play this role in other performances). Also, little shout out to Cody Gray as Teen Fiona who proves that there's no such thing as a small part.
The LODS ensemble really comes into its own with the portrayal of fabulous fairytale characters with Pinocchio, Gingy, the Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice and Ugly Duckling (James Boatwright, Louise Brown, Simon Sharpe, Sam Blyth, Jane Lamberti, Crystalle Cox, Gemma Lloyd, Ellis Watson, and Courtney Emery) all making their mark and huge credit must go to the talented University Centre South Essex Make Up Artist students who have done such great work here. The set looks great and costumes all look spellbindingly wonderful and it would seem that no expense has been spared in this department. Story of My Life is a great number for all the characters to shine with some lovely choreography. Freak Flag is another great ensemble number with plenty of laughs.
The set design also includes the clever use of a giant Fairytale Book at the back of the stage, designed with the creative talents of Drew Seal, with graphics which really draw you into every magical scene change.
Shrek, of course, is the larger than life star of the show and Declan Wright completely owns this part. It's almost as if the green ogre has jumped out of the animation and on to the Palace Theatre stage. Not only does he look the part, he also sounds the part with a great Scottish accent and some lovely vocals too. His sidekick, Donkey, is probably best known from the film version of Shrek for the voice talents of Eddie Murphy and Nathan Gray gives as good as he gets from his portrayal of the annoyingly hyper-active, pain-in-the-butt travel companion; again with some great vocals to boot. A huge amount of energy is needed here, and Nathan delivers in abundance.
Joanne Halliday grabs the role of the feisty Princess Fiona with gusto and really shows off her comedic talents, not least in the scene with Shrek where they have a burp/fart off competition. I mean, who doesn't love a fart gag? Her Morning Person number also gave us lots of laughs.
There are some great stand out performances from the rest of the cast, and Tilly Darragh was a super sassy, sexy and soulful sensation as Dragon, however, scene stealer of the night has to go to James Cohen who completely embodies the part of vain and arrogant, Lord Farquaad. In a brilliant display of character acting, James takes on this role with absolute glee and with all the complications that must entail with playing such a physical role, really nailed it. The What's Up Duloc number is just an hilarious delight.
The only downside to this show, for me, is that some of the songs just don't seem to match up to the type of show this is and aren't instantly memorable, or what I call, 'hum on the way home' kind of tunes. That's not to say that they aren't well written; there are some great lyrics and melodies, but I think they are perhaps a little too deep for the type of audience dynamic this show attracts and maybe need to be heard a few times before they become more familiar. The show also may be a little too long for some younger members of the audience, running at approximately 2hr 45mins including interval, but there is lots to keep children, and adults alike, amused with lots of laughs to be had and a little innuendo to keep the grownups chuckling.
That said, where the show really shines is where the whole company are involved and Director and Choreographer, Claire Carr, has clearly worked her magic with the LODS cast. Likewise, MD, Natalie Thurlow, hidden below the stage, has done a fabulous job working on vocals as well as producing a great sound from the 12 piece orchestra in the pits. Stage Manager, Bradley Gull and his team will definitely need a lie down at the end of this run. They are doing a great job of keeping a huge show like this moving and the technical talents of Glenn Oxenbury on Sound and Joshua Blows on Lighting are clearly evident.
We are incredibly lucky in Southend to have so many talented am dram societies to entertain us, not just in musical productions but with the many drama plays too that are performed in the Dixon Studio. LODS have clearly gone all out on Shrek with exceptionally high production values, resulting in a very professional looking show. Obviously this comes at a cost to the company but it also gives audiences here an opportunity to reap the benefits of being able to watch such a production at far less cost than West End prices can afford, especially if you want to take the whole family.
For the perfect Half Term treat, Shrek is definitely the one to beat!
Review: Kim Tobin
Tickets are selling fast so make sure you BOOK YOURS NOW!
WWW.SOUTHENDTHEATRES.COM
@LeighODS
The musical is based on the film, Shrek, with music and lyrics written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori. Shrek the ogre finds himself on a life changing journey, accompanied by a wisecracking Donkey, to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona from her tower. All the characters are here, including Gingy, Pinocchio, the three blind mice, Dragon and of course that 'short' tempered baddie, Lord Farquaad.
The anticipation to see this show was palpable on opening night, with an audience literally packed to the rafters. In true tradition, the show starts at the very beginning with us seeing the 7 year olds, Young Shrek and Princess Fiona being abandoned by their parents - bit cruel - but never fear, as in all fairytales we know there's going to be a happy ending, right?
Young Shrek is nicely played by Charlie Whitnell (Frankie Lamberti plays the part on alternate performances) and Young Fiona is beautifully played by Lola Fuente who has the most gorgeous vocals (Matilda Berry and Lily Harvey also play this role in other performances). Also, little shout out to Cody Gray as Teen Fiona who proves that there's no such thing as a small part.
The LODS ensemble really comes into its own with the portrayal of fabulous fairytale characters with Pinocchio, Gingy, the Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice and Ugly Duckling (James Boatwright, Louise Brown, Simon Sharpe, Sam Blyth, Jane Lamberti, Crystalle Cox, Gemma Lloyd, Ellis Watson, and Courtney Emery) all making their mark and huge credit must go to the talented University Centre South Essex Make Up Artist students who have done such great work here. The set looks great and costumes all look spellbindingly wonderful and it would seem that no expense has been spared in this department. Story of My Life is a great number for all the characters to shine with some lovely choreography. Freak Flag is another great ensemble number with plenty of laughs.
The set design also includes the clever use of a giant Fairytale Book at the back of the stage, designed with the creative talents of Drew Seal, with graphics which really draw you into every magical scene change.
Shrek, of course, is the larger than life star of the show and Declan Wright completely owns this part. It's almost as if the green ogre has jumped out of the animation and on to the Palace Theatre stage. Not only does he look the part, he also sounds the part with a great Scottish accent and some lovely vocals too. His sidekick, Donkey, is probably best known from the film version of Shrek for the voice talents of Eddie Murphy and Nathan Gray gives as good as he gets from his portrayal of the annoyingly hyper-active, pain-in-the-butt travel companion; again with some great vocals to boot. A huge amount of energy is needed here, and Nathan delivers in abundance.
Joanne Halliday grabs the role of the feisty Princess Fiona with gusto and really shows off her comedic talents, not least in the scene with Shrek where they have a burp/fart off competition. I mean, who doesn't love a fart gag? Her Morning Person number also gave us lots of laughs.
There are some great stand out performances from the rest of the cast, and Tilly Darragh was a super sassy, sexy and soulful sensation as Dragon, however, scene stealer of the night has to go to James Cohen who completely embodies the part of vain and arrogant, Lord Farquaad. In a brilliant display of character acting, James takes on this role with absolute glee and with all the complications that must entail with playing such a physical role, really nailed it. The What's Up Duloc number is just an hilarious delight.
The only downside to this show, for me, is that some of the songs just don't seem to match up to the type of show this is and aren't instantly memorable, or what I call, 'hum on the way home' kind of tunes. That's not to say that they aren't well written; there are some great lyrics and melodies, but I think they are perhaps a little too deep for the type of audience dynamic this show attracts and maybe need to be heard a few times before they become more familiar. The show also may be a little too long for some younger members of the audience, running at approximately 2hr 45mins including interval, but there is lots to keep children, and adults alike, amused with lots of laughs to be had and a little innuendo to keep the grownups chuckling.
That said, where the show really shines is where the whole company are involved and Director and Choreographer, Claire Carr, has clearly worked her magic with the LODS cast. Likewise, MD, Natalie Thurlow, hidden below the stage, has done a fabulous job working on vocals as well as producing a great sound from the 12 piece orchestra in the pits. Stage Manager, Bradley Gull and his team will definitely need a lie down at the end of this run. They are doing a great job of keeping a huge show like this moving and the technical talents of Glenn Oxenbury on Sound and Joshua Blows on Lighting are clearly evident.
We are incredibly lucky in Southend to have so many talented am dram societies to entertain us, not just in musical productions but with the many drama plays too that are performed in the Dixon Studio. LODS have clearly gone all out on Shrek with exceptionally high production values, resulting in a very professional looking show. Obviously this comes at a cost to the company but it also gives audiences here an opportunity to reap the benefits of being able to watch such a production at far less cost than West End prices can afford, especially if you want to take the whole family.
For the perfect Half Term treat, Shrek is definitely the one to beat!
Review: Kim Tobin
Tickets are selling fast so make sure you BOOK YOURS NOW!
WWW.SOUTHENDTHEATRES.COM
@LeighODS