Last night I was lucky enough to attend the press night for Shrek The Musicals UK tour at my local theatre which I was so, so happy about as it's on my list of must see musicals. We were invited on a backstage tour before the show started so I have some fun details and pictures for you all, we got to look at how the production team work as well as have a peak inside the wardrobe, hair and make-up (so exciting)!
The costumes are incredible, so colourful and bright. Obviously as lots of fairytale creatures feature in Shrek there was all of their costumes there too, along with wigs and accessories. Interesting fact: the Shrek cast and crew spray vodka on the wigs as apparently it's the best way of securing it and keeping it all in place... There was so, so many costumes and I can't even begin to imagine how busy the small space at the side of stage must be during the performance due to how many costume changes the actors have to make. The company manager told us they hire in eight local people just to help with costume changes alone!
We didn't get to see much of the actual character of Shrek as the company manager didn't want to 'spoil the magic' which I'm grateful for because when he walked on stage at the start of the show we were taken back with how brilliant his costume and make-up was - no wonder it takes two and a half hours to complete his make-up alone. His costume is so thick and heavy that during the performance actor Dean Chisnall drinks six litres of water without needing a toilet break as he sweats it all out!
The actual show was breathtaking, one of the best shows I've seen. I was not expecting the vocals to be of such a standard but they were incredible, totally captivating you with every note. Bronte Barbe who played Princess Fiona and and Candace Furbert, Dragon's voice were especially brilliant.
Donkey played by Idriss Kargbo and Lord Farquaad played by Gerard Carey absolutely stole the show. Lord Farquaad is not a hugely humorous character in the film, however Gerard Carey took his role and went with it - creating a Lord Farquaad you couldn't help but love, he was so witty creating such a funny character and God bless the poor man performing on his knees the whole way through! Donkey too lived up to expectations - one of the iconic characters from Shrek, he definitely did not disappoint the audience at last nights show who were certainly loving his performance.
And shall we just talk about the dragon for a second? Oh my.. wow. If you've seen War Horse then the way Shrek used Dragon was similar to the horses in the theatre production of War Horse. It was huge, and really made the scenes of rescuing the princess great. As it's so big there is no place to store it backstage so they have to tie it up and store it from the ceiling.. which is a bit scary when you first walk off stage!
Shrek is such a fun-loving film, a grumpy ogre who has to rescue a princess - whats not to love? And the adaption to a stage performance did not disappoint. It's the kind of musical which can be appreciated by all ages, a real family show. Children will love the fairytale story and the famous characters who appear, but adults will also enjoy the performance just as much, if not more, as they can appreciate the humour. The show creates a real feel-good factor, I guarantee you will leave the theatre smiling.
Have any of you seen Shrek either at a local theatre or in the West End? What did you think?
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