Shrek The Musical Jr – the one about the grumpy ogre who sets out to clear his swamp of refugees (BSPA)

Shrek Jr cuts down the popular musical (based on the even more popular films) to a shorter and tighter plot and runtime, while retaining favourite characters and moments.

During the show’s opening number – Big Bright Beautiful World – the BSPA cast quickly establish that they’re great ensemble singers and can dance as a group while staying in character. Shrek’s quiet swamp home has been disturbed by the arrival of a large number of internally displaced fairytale figures, forced to move out of the Kingdom of Duloc by Lord Farquaad. In order to restore calm, Shrek agrees to travel to Duloc and challenge the wannabe king to restore calm to his formerly peaceful abode.

Grumpy Shrek and Princess Fiona are confidently played with a lot of charm and vocal clarity by Nicole Craigan and Daisy Hamilton. Meghan McSorley injects excitability and enormous quantities of sass into Donkey, with a great solo and apt mimicry of Shrek near the end. And Aaron Fisher has the measure of the towering colossus Lord Farquaad, playing the role for laughs throughout. Throw in a dragon puppet, the host of fairytale creatures, and a pack of little rats, and you have a production that captures the joy and energy of the Dreamworks film on stage.

As an amateur production, it’s a joy to have the focus on great performances rather than a flashy hired-in set. That said, there is some great detailing in the props, like the straw, wood and heavy brick briefcases carried by the three little pigs. It’s the little things that can add polish and warmth to a production.

Director Nik Parks along with choreographer Sean O’Neill and musical director Ryan Greer have got a lot out of their seventy-strong cast in a short period. While the show is aimed at younger audiences, the themes of displacement, duplicitous governments, and hiding your true self (the song Freak Flag is very contemporary) should certainly ring true with older audiences. If Lord Farquaad had had a hotel barge to hand, Shrek might never had become a human fairytale rights advocate!

BSPA’s short run of Shrek Jr finished at the weekend. The theatre school’s next show will be the school edition of Les Misérables with a nearly sold out run at The MAC between 24 and 26 August. (Limited availability at time of posting for the Friday 25 matinee.)

Photo credit: Khali and Me Photography

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