Shrek The Musical – family-friendly musical theatre hits high notes in stylish new production (Grand Opera House until Saturday 6 April)

As musical theatre adapted from children’s/family-orientated films goes, Shrek The Musical is at the top of my list. There’s nothing dumbed down or phoned in about the production values or the performances. The heart and soul of the full cast feels like it’s poured into the story’s theme of stereotyping, tolerance, friendship, diversity and inclusion. And there are plenty of references to other films and naughty nods to unspoken/understated innuendos to amuse the adults.

The green ogre wants to drain his swamp of internally displaced people and build a wall around it to protect himself is back in the Grand Opera House. While Shrek The Musical has become popular with amateur companies – who generally do a good job with the full or junior versions – this is the first UK touring production to reach Belfast since 2018.

Co-directors Nick Winston and Samuel Holmes (who played Lord Farquaad in the previous UK tour) have totally revamped the set, costumes and choreography in this new version. Farquaad (played this time by James Gillan) no longer walks around on his knees: we can finally concentrate our laughs at his personality deficiencies without cheap jokes about his height. The freedom to move expands the king’s role and removes the one-dimensional feel of his character. A couple of layers of video projection and screens bring scenes to life and replace traditional painted backdrops. They’re very tightly cued and enhance rather than distract from the live action. That said, some lovely elements that you might expect have been dropped like the exploding bird and Pinocchio’s telescopic nose.

As the curtain rises, we are introduced to the tradition of sending ogres out to fend for themselves in the swamp at the tender age of seven. The Scottish Rs are rolling, though that attention to detail sometimes slips from accents later on in the show. “When you are grotesque, life is Kafkaesque” is an example of David Lindsay-Abaire’s masterful lyrics in the opening Big Bright Beautiful World. Jeanine Tesori’s score works in a pleasing mix of musical styles during the first act.

Antony Lawrence towers above most of the rest of the cast as the titular ogre. The hyperactive and scene-stealing Donkey benefits from Brandon Lee Sears’ incredibly soulful voice and street dance moves. Joanne Clifton brings a great theatrical vocal quality to the caffeinated and sassy Princess Fiona, introduced as the eldest of a trio of princesses who sing I Know It’s Today.

After the interval, the element of crisis comes from Shrek misconstruing the meaning of a partially overheard conversation between Fiona and Donkey. This production chooses to play that moment for disappointment rather than outright hurt. Soon after, the trio reach Duloc, and it’s time for a wedding, a pot of regicide, and a resetting of Shrek’s understanding of friendship.

The dressing rooms must be busy with the ensemble switching between fairy tale characters, guards, knights and puppeteer costumes. The spectacular movements of the large-scale dragon are matched by Cherece Richards’ voice for This Is How A Dream Comes True. Special mention for Gingy’s stratospheric top notes by high soprano Gerorgie Buckland who also gives the edible snack lots of lip and stage presence.

This version of Shrek The Musical has a lot of moving parts and technology powering the production. With a seven-piece band playing live in the pit and countless fart sound effects to weave into the dialogue, hats off to Nim Green for delivering a great audio mix on her first night as Head of Sound for the tour.

With the modern-day context of Freak Flag pretty obvious, and one fairy tale character’s casual admission that he’s “a crossdressing wolf” ringing in our ears, there’s an emotional edge to the final celebratory number I’m a Believer which hammers home the show’s message about playing well with everyone in whatever swamp we find ourselves in.

The kids around me seemed to love the show. Most of the adults seemed to be glad they’d had the excuse to attend the performance too. And the merchandise stall was doing a hot trade in Gingy hand puppets. But aside from the hype, there’s an ambitious piece of theatre unfolding on the stage and it’s delivering two and a half hours of high quality, family-friendly entertainment.

Shrek The Musical is in the Grand Opera House until Saturday 6 April and after a week in Birmingham will be back on this side of the Irish Sea for a week in the Millennium Forum from 16-21 April.

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