Thursday 2 April 2015

Native Monster Shrek Review

It was Shrek Tour press night at the Birmingham Hippodrome yesterday and the 5 star reviews have been flooding in.

I didn't know which to feature first because they're all so good and everyone absolutely loved Faye's portrayal of Princess Fiona.

In the end I narrowed it down to 2 and tossed a coin. I will of course be featuring the other reviews soon anyway.

First up is the review below written by Lisa Wright for the 'Native Monster' entertainment website run by the Midlands local newspaper the 'Express & Star':

REVIEW: Shrek The Musical

Birmingham Hippodrome

If you’d think a stage version of the much-loved classic Shrek would offer nothing new and refreshing to the film, think again.

Because Shrek The Musical takes it to a whole new level with a fantastically funny and magical show
The hit musical is currently at Birmingham Hippodrome for a month-long run and those who have already snapped up tickets will not be disappointed.

While the stage show has all of our favourite main characters from the film, they’ve been injected with even more attitude. Throw in some of the most famous fairytale characters and some show-stopping songs and you’ve got the recipe for a fantastic family night.

Make no bones about it, Shrek The Musical is unashamedly, flamboyantly fabulous.

While youngsters will love the bright colours, loud music and dancing, older viewers will be in stitches with the number of adult-only jokes and innuendo that will simply fly over the little ones’ heads.

Dean Chisnall was fantastic as the loveable ogre who sets off on his quest to rescue Princess Fiona. Dean captured the different moods of the ogre perfectly, from his grumpy beginnings, to his friendship with Donkey and his vulnerability as he falls in love with Princess Fiona. 

Meanwhile, Faye Brookes was a fantastically feisty and funny Fiona, with great comedy timing and a belter of a voice on songs including I Know It’s Today and Morning Person.

Idriss Kargbo was superb as Shrek’s sidekick Donkey, with an assured performance that was well above his 19 years, but the standout performance of the night came from Gerard Carey, who was simply superb as the hilariously villainous Lord Farquaad.

It can’t be easy to spend a whole performance on your knees, but as he captured the vertically challenged villain he had the audience in fits of laughter with his brilliant facial expressions, movements and portrayal of a truly memorable role which was just wonderful to watch.

Other highlights included the huge interactive puppet dragon and a stellar supporting cast, while the songs were top class and the show-stopping I’m A Believer finale will have you enthusiastically clapping along.

A special mention must also go to the fantastic wigs, wardrobe and make-up departments for the attention to detail that go into bringing Shrek and co to life.

Shrek The Musical will delight audiences young and old. The perfect Easter treat.

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