Reviews

NODA Review

Shrek The Musical

Author: Paul Douglass

With a cast of 42 this production was a sure fire hit for Trinity Players.

Tom Wells played Shrek and, with a Scottish accent, held the show together, remaining calm through all the adversity thrown his way, displaying a quiet humour. Ravin Thakrar as the Donkey was inexhaustible, bounding around and chatting non-stop but in the end turning into a true friend. Rebecca Perry played the part of Princess Fiona with assurance, moving between excitement, frustration, despair and finally happiness. As for Dan McCloskey as Lord Farquaad, to strut about on his knees for the whole show must have been excruciating. He was endlessly funny.

The costumes couldn't be faulted. Obviously the main characters, Shrek, Donkey, Farquaad, and the Dragon, were easily recognisable from the book and stage play and their costumes were brilliant. The fairytale creatures were very colourful and the rats added to the lively mix.

I felt that the three Fiona's sang well together as did Sammi Kelly-Griggs as the dragon. The entire company worked well together and you could tell that they were enjoying theirselves, as did the sell out audience.

The directorial team delivered a truly fantastic show under the direction of Richard McNally-Reilly.

Theatre Whippet Review

Shrek The Musical

Sutton Coldfield's Town Hall is transformed into the fairytale kingdom of Duloc in Trinity Players' latest production: a high-energy staging of 'Shrek the Musical'.

Despite being over 20 years old now (the DreamWorks Animation film on which the show is based came out in 2001) this story of an outcast ogre and his quest for love has become a firm favourite with family audiences. The central message of acceptance has lost none of its relevance. Jeanine Tesori's music might not be the most memorable ('I'm a Believer' by the Monkees is the song that sticks) but combined with David Lindsay-Abaire's witty book and lyrics it makes for a hugely enjoyable evening's theatre.

Under Richard McNally-Reill's direction, this winning production sees a host of fairytale characters brought lovingly to life. The cast is considerable and, thanks to impressive costuming, instantly recognisable. Parodying a range of traditional fairytales, we meet a delightfully unusual mixture of freakish folk from Pinocchio and Goldilocks to Peter Pan, the Queen of Hearts and three hilarious blind mice complete with white sticks. It's a real ensemble piece and they are in fine voice for the ambitiously choreographed big musical numbers.

The simplicity of the premise is a big part of the show's winning formula: Shrek is a swamp-dwelling ogre who has learned from an early age that he does not belong and is better off alone. His view that 'being liked is overrated' is entirely understandable: nobody has ever got close enough to teach him otherwise. When a gaggle of fairytale characters are banished from Duloc by the villainous Lord Farquaad it sets in motion a quest story with a difference: the ogre is our hero. It's a neat inversion and we are on 'Team Green' from the outset.

Tom Wells is excellent in the title role, combining a rich voice with the acting talent to nail both comic and poignant moments. 'When Words Fail' is a tender highlight in which, ironically, Shrek sings beautifully about the difficulty of expressing what we feel. There's great chemistry with Ravin Thakrar's wonderfully wacky Donkey, Shrek's unlikely motormouth sidekick, and as their friendship develops so do the laughs. 'Travel Song' is a comic highlight as an exasperated Shrek wonders 'Why me?'

Rebecca Perry combines feistiness and warmth in the role of Fiona, the beautiful princess with a secret rescued by Shrek. As they discover that they have far more in common than they first thought a real tenderness between them develops. 'I Think I Got You Beat' is a joyfully childish fart-fuelled duet which is sure to be a hit with younger audience members.

Putting in a delightfully camp performance as Lord Farquaad, Dan McCloskey is pint-sized perfection as the tiny tyrant. A neat visual trick emphasising his diminutive stature is hilariously convincing. Sammi Kelly-Griggs puts in an effortless vocal performance as an amorous dragon who falls for Donkey, hitting the high notes with fiery precision. And there's excellent work from Robyn Klein-Christoffels and Charlotte Askew as a tortured gingerbread man and a high-pitched Pinocchio.

It all adds up to an uplifting celebration of diversity: something musical theatre does so well. 'Freak Flag' is an anthem to otherness which continues to resonate in a world of division and fear. A big, bright, beautiful production not to be missed.

What's On In Sutton Coldfield Review

Shrek The Musical

Author: Nigel Gambles

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.

Young Shrek is nicely played by Lexi Roberts and Young Fiona is beautifully played by Eliza Bullock who has terrific vocals (Nicole Bradbury also plays this role in other performances). Also, little shout out to Erin Freeman & Isobel Clinton as Teen Fiona (in different performances) who prove that there’s no such thing as a small part.

The Trinity Players ensemble really comes into its own with the portrayal of fabulous fairytale characters with Pinocchio, Gingy, the Three Little Pigs and the Three Blind Mice (Charlotte Askew, Robyn Klein-Cristoffels, Rachel Tucker, James Thomas,Tina Romano, Leigh-Ann James, Amy Homer, Deanne Brown) all making their mark and huge credit must go to the Make Up Artists who have done such great work here. The set looks great and costumes all look spellbindingly wonderful. 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.

Shrek, of course, is the larger than life star of the show and Tom Wells completely owns this part. His sidekick, Donkey, is probably best known from the film version of Shrek for the voice talents of Eddie Murphy and Ravin Thakrar gives as good as he gets from his portrayal of the annoyingly hyper-active, pain-in-the-butt travel companion. Rebecca Perry 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 Sammi Kelly-Griggs was a super sassy, sexy and soulful sensation as Dragon, however, scene stealer of the night has to go to Dan McCloskey who completely embodies the part of vain and arrogant, Lord Farquaad. In a brilliant display of character acting, Dan 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.

Finally full credit must be giving to the production team (Director Richard McNally-Reilly, Producer Lewis Wescott, Choreographer Leigh-Ann James and Musical Director Peter Bushby) who have definitely worked their magic to make this such a professional and enjoyable show.