Shrek The Musical

Of all the creatures of myth, legend and even fairy tales, the ogre stands out as the one to be most feared. Shrek is such an ogre. However, as we follow this part of his life we learn about many traits relevant to ourselves – acceptance, trust, love and belief. Thus, Shrek, with the help of good friend Donkey gains so much as he seeks to rescue the princess from the dragon for Lord Farquaad to marry. Of course, he also finds love.

Director Suzanne Murphy has assembled a large cast of thirty performers to cover all the characters and she has directed the action very well indeed. On this relatively small stage, she has been able to have fluent action in seemingly so many locations with good singing and dancing. The crew responsible must also take credit.  Outstanding to me was the costuming of everyone from Shrek and Donkey to the many fairytale characters.

Nathan Parmenter was a very good Shrek who looked the monster ogre but  displayed the necessary emotional development to carry the story. Lord   Farquaad, a midget, was really a piece of goods as played by Joshua Moore – on his knees no less. The highlight of the acting was the performance of Natalie Mead as donkey. She was great in all aspects from voice through to movement and maintained the standards throughout. Unfortunately some of the lesser characters lacked clarity and projection. The singing was good but the music volume could be lowered a little.

Even if a little long, it was a good night at the theatre. Fancy, a musical about a monster.

William Davies