Hull New Theatre – until 10th March 2024
Reviewed by Dawn Bennett
5*****
What a brilliant night was had at Hull New Theatre watching DreamWorks Shrek the Musical. This is a must-see production! It was funny, heartwarming and it had a Princess, a Lord, ogres, a talking donkey, nursery rhyme characters and we even had a dragon!
Brought to Hull New Theatre by Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale, Gavin Kalin and Laurence Myers it tells the story of Shrek (Antony Lawrence) who at the age of 7 is booted out of home by his Mum and Dad to live in his own swamp. All is quiet until his peace is shattered by the arrival of the Nursery Rhyme characters who have been banished to the forest by Lord Farquaad (James Gillan). Shrek is joined by Donkey (Brandon Lee Sears) and together they go to rescue Princess Fiona (Joanne Clifton), who has been locked up in a tower for years, so that Shrek can get his swamp back from Lord Farquaad. Princess Fiona has to be rescued by her one true love but lots of people have tried, failed, and died, in the process as the tower is guarded by a dragon (Cherece Richards). (The puppeteers of the dragon Remi Ferdinand, Jessica Lim and Rory Shafford brought the dragon to life wonderfully). Why was Princess Fiona in the tower? Do Shrek and Donkey rescue her? And does everyone live happy every after?? Well, you’ll have to go and watch!
If you’ve seen the film of the same name this musical follows the same story but the musical numbers make this a brilliant production to watch. Antony Lawrence is a fabulous Shrek he manages to portray him as a sensitive soul and his singing is just jaw droppingly good! Joanne Clifton played Princess Fiona brilliantly, she is definitely becoming one of the best in the business …absolutely a triple threat! James Gillan was hilarious as Lord Farquaad his comic timing was brilliant, his character was camp with just a hint of malevolence! Brandon Lee Sears was amazing as Donkey; his physical comedy and fabulous stage presence was a joy to watch! Cherece Richards who played the dragon (along with the Wicked Witch) has the most fabulous voice!
The ensemble was outstanding, their singing, acting, dancing and comic timing was out of this world. They all played multiple parts and their energy up to the very last beat of the show had to been seen to be believed. I particularly loved the four knights that had been locked up in the tower, with chains fastening their hands and feet together they totally gave Take That/Backstreet Boys boyband vibes…hilarious!
The orchestra (led by Musical Director Richard Atkinson) played magnificently all the toe tapping musical numbers which included “Morning Person”, “This is How a Dream Comes True” and “Freak Flag” and many more.
This production is stunning and very much worth going to watch and the I think the audience who gave the cast a standing ovation would agree!!