(AD – PRESS NIGHT) SHREK THE MUSICAL HULL REVIEW
HULL NEW THEATRE
TUESDAY 5TH MARCH 2024 @ 7.30PM
***** 5/5
This week, I headed back to Hull New Theatre to see another new-to-me musical! It’s exciting to see productions that I’m less familiar with as I go into it with a completely blank canvas. Here’s a look at my Shrek the Musical Hull review.
PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS
This was yet another show where I was going in blind. Of course, I’ve seen the film a couple of times but it’s never been one of my favourites. I know, I’m in the minority here! I’ve heard a couple of the songs in the past but couldn’t recall them that much. In fairness, I was expecting to not enjoy it that much!
THE CAST
The main reason that I enjoyed the show so much was the out-of-this-world cast! We’ll start with Antony Lawrence as Shrek, who was very commanding whenever he was on stage. I thought his Scottish accent was very convincing and his performance was filled with personality as well as his beautiful voice. Joanne Clifton as Princess Fiona was a standout too. I’m glad that she’s smashing it as a musical theatre leading lady after a stellar dance career because she’s exceptional. I particularly love the gorgeous harmonies in I Know It’s Today, Prince Fiona’s introductory number with Young Fiona (Natasha Cayabyab) and Teen Fiona (Bethany Kate).
Brandon Lee Sears as Donkey was probably my favourite performance of the night. I loved him as Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls the other year and I was so glad to see him in a bigger role. Whilst he’s obviously there for the comedy element, it doesn’t detract from his insane vocals and dance movies!
My favourite vocals of the night were Cherece Richards as Dragon/the Wicked Witch. Her vocals during Donkey Pot Pie were through the roof and I genuinely had my mind blown! Georgie Buckland as Gingy (amongst other roles) had the highest vocal range of the night and was definitely a crowd favourite.
Rounding off was James Gillan as Lord Farqaad, who brought the campy side of the character to life! I do have to mention the exceptional ensemble though, serious triple threats!
THE PRODUCTION
This is one production that has not spared any expenses across the board: costumes, lighting, scenery, and sound. One thing that I loved was the use of screens throughout so the team could move scenery behind without the audience seeing anything. In lots of tours especially, the actors move the props during/before a scene and it can cause a show to lose flow. With Shrek, everything kept running smoothly because they’d bring a curtain down with performers at the front of the stage still before lifting it for the next scene. It makes more sense if you’ve seen the show, trust me!
FINAL THOUGHTS
To say that I knew very little about the show beforehand apart from the basic story, I left singing the songs and would definitely see it again. Hats off to the cast though because they’re what makes this production into the powerhouse that it is! There was such a long standing ovation at the end too and the audience of kids and adults loved it!
Shrek the Musical is on tour until the end of April and will be in London for the summer too! If you enjoyed my Shrek the Musical Hull review, you can read my other theatre reviews here. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok too.
