Due to its outstanding history and reputation COS Musical Theatre has been granted the exclusive rights to be the only amateur group in the South East to perform Shrek the Musical in 2019 and, within moments of the curtain going up it is obvious why.
The set is huge, the costumes and make up show and incredible attention to detail, the sound from the 13 piece orchestra is sumptuous and the, near capacity, opening night audience cannot wait to see the familiar story unfold before their eyes.
Based on the Oscar-winning animation, Shrek The Musical is a Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure that brings all of the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage and, in scene two, most of them appear when Shrek’s happy isolation in an ugly green swamp is compromised by a gang of homeless fairy-tale characters, led by Pinocchio and featuring the Three Bears, Humpty Dumpty, The Mad Hatter and White Rabbit, The Three Pigs and a “not so bad” Big Bad Wolf – plus many others.
They have been banished from Duloc by the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad (Jonny Jones) and manage to convince Shrek (Tom Paine) to go and strike a deal with Farquaad to get their homes back. But when Shrek and Farquaad meet, a different deal is struck. He’ll give the fairy-tale characters their homes back, if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Kirsty Franks) from her tower prison.
Of course, Shrek doesn’t go alone, he takes his new found friend, Donkey (Dean Garnham) along with him and, after bypassing the huge Dragon (Voiced by Bethany Landskroner), rescues Fiona and prepares to return her to Duloc so that she can marry Farquaad, the fairytale characters can go home and Shrek can return to peaceful isolation. Just in case there is one person on the planet who hasn’t seen the original film, I won’t spoil the ending but let’s just say that’s not how it works out.
The full cast, which numbers well over three dozen in total, all work tremendously hard to cover all the roles in the show, with costume, and scene, changes all performed quickly and seamlessly, ensuring that the storyline moves along at a fair pace. Special mention also goes to the four “Dragon handlers” (Nancy Sproston, Katie Payne, Susan Perry and Charlotte Cosh) who ensure that the wings flap, the mouth opens and closes, and the huge creature moves about the stage very well.
Although Alex Hopkins, as Pinocchio – complete with extending nose – comes a very close fifth, the night belongs to the four leads who all take the ball and smash it right out of the park. Tom Paine and Kirsty Franks, as Shrek and Fiona, have tremendous on stage chemistry (especially in the “windy” scene!) with Jonny Jones as Farquaad looking amazing in his array of costumes and Dean Garnham as Donkey being every inch as good as Eddie Murphy (from the film) and Richard Blackwood (from the West End production).
The finale, featuring the sing-along favourite I’m a Believer, gives the cast a real chance to enjoy the last few minutes before curtain down, and they do. They can relax knowing that they have delivered yet another stunning production to add to their, already impressive, back catalogue and can rest easy knowing that their outstanding history and reputation is stronger than ever.
**** Four Stars