G Live, Guildford – until Saturday 15 August 2025
Reviewed by Rebecca Scott
4****
Well this production brought by the G Live Youth Project 2026 was full of family fun, and you certainly didn’t leave feeling green!
The original 2001 classic alternative fairytale from DreamWorks is vibrantly brought to the stage by a wonderful cast, ensemble and crew. For those who need a refresher, Shrek is a Scottish Ogre who is content living alone in his swamp. That is until he wakes up to find his home has been overtaken by a lot of fairytale characters, due to Lord Farquaad evicting them from his kingdom of Duloc.
To get his swamp back Shrek strikes a deal with Lord Farquaad. He must complete a hero’s quest, alongside the very chatty Donkey to rescue Princess Fiona from a tower…but just like any fairytale it isn’t plain sailing and there’s a few hiccups along the way!
The stage adaptation remains true to the film’s scenes and scripts, ensuring to keep the brilliant one liners audience know and love. I must praise the staging, costume, orchestra, set design and lighting. They really brought the scenes to life and gave the stage that magical feel.
The show incorporated all the characters we know and love. Ethan Kethero who played Shrek was the perfect choice for the role, and his side kick Donkey (Naru Sivaganeshamoorthy) was as animated as you’d expect! I must give a shout out to the brilliant Lord Farquaad (Jessie Scothern) who had brilliant comedic timing and stage presence, and Eliza Edworthy’s singing voice as Dragon was stunning!
There were times the scenes lacked a little energy, and at first, I didn’t think Shrek and Fiona (Olivia-Mai Stevens) had much chemistry, but this did change after they sang ‘I Think I Got You Beat’. Also, some of the transitions between scenes were a little slow. But this did not spoil the overall production at all. Some of the songs were so fun (especially This Is Our Story) where it teaches you that you are perfect the way you are, but some songs were a little lacklustre and not that memorable. My family loved when they sang ‘I’m a believer’ at the end, and you got to see the cast and ensemble have a little party.
I must point out that this is a youth production, of which the cast, crew and ensemble had two weeks to put together the musical – you would not have known! And even with the hiccup of the national emergency alert setting off phones, and the musical having to restart after 5 minutes in. The whole team handled it professionally, and I want to praise them for this.
You could tell every cast member loved being on that stage, and their dedication shone through, which in the end brought some wonderful fairy tale magic!