Shrek The Musical

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a couple of Packemin Productions’ shows and each time I am impressed not just by the singing, acting and dancing, but the creative detail that goes into each production.

Their latest show, Shrek The Musical is no different. Based on the smash hit DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek is a Tony Award winning fairy tale adventure, featuring all new songs and bringing the beloved characters from the movie to the stage.

Jay Laga’aia as Shrek and Nat Jobe as Donkey both gave commendable performances, however Luke Joslin as Lord Farquaad was definitely a standout. As the character is short in stature, Luke spends his time on stage walking around on his knees. Any actor who can then perform a chorus line while kneeling deserves recognition! There was also something endearing about Mikayla Williams’ portrayal of the feisty and slightly crazy (well you would be too if you’d been locked in a tower for 8,423 days) Princess Fiona.

While the leads were great, the ensemble really lifted this show. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the score for this musical. I like to walk away with the songs still in my head, but the music in Shrek doesn’t really grab me, however that is not the fault of the performers who breathed life into the score. The ensemble was cohesive with their choreography, had amazing volume (not sure how many of them had mics) and I was drawn to the animated facial expressions on every performer’s face.

The creative and technical skill of the production team also stood out with the impressive sets making clever use of perspective to add extra height to the stage and the bright, colourful costumes and props. I still can’t quite work out how Pinocchio’s nose grew every time he lied!

While the creative concept for the dragon was inventive, it didn’t quite work for me. I wondered how much creative licence the production team had with the design of the dragon, but after looking at photos of other productions, there seems to be a fair bit of scope. In Packemin’s production, the dragon had about five people dressed in red, shiny material to look like the scales on its body. They each operated a separate part of the dragon with one holding the tail, two holding the wings and one holding the head. Nikole Music who provides the dragon’s powerful voice, then stood in front underneath its head. While there was a lot of detail in the costumes and makeup, having the dragon in separate parts made it feel disconnected. Somehow it didn’t seem grand or imposing and I would have liked to have seen it as one connected piece. My eight year old also commented that she thought the dragon would have been bigger.

Overall, an entertaining show with quick, witty lines for the adults and humour for the kids (farting and burping always appeals!). Maybe leave any young children at home as this is a very long show at 2 hours and 45 minutes (including intermission). While my five year old thought the show was fun, he got pretty restless by the second act.

I loved that the show ends with a lively encore that will have you dancing in the aisles!

Shannon O’Connell