Review: SHREK THE MUSICAL, Eventim Apollo

“This is our story”

Shrek the Musical, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, has arrived in London. This adaptation of the iconic 2001 movie stars Antony Lawrence as Shrek, a lonely ogre who ends up falling in love with the unusual Princess Fiona (Joanna Clifton). Since first opening on Broadway in 2008, the show has gone through many changes, and this version is no exception. 

The story of Shrek the Musical is quite simple. Shrek, an ogre, is happy living on his own in his swamp, but this changes when Lord Faquaad (James Gillan) banishes all of the fairy tale creatures from Duloc, leading to them camping out on his land. In order to get the deed to his swamp, Shrek must rescue Princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon (Cherece Richards) and bring her to Farquaad so they can marry. Along the way, he is joined by Donkey (Todrick Hall), a talking donkey who doesn’t seem to mind Shrek’s appearance or general annoyance at Donkey’s existence. 

As one might expect, there are quite a few changes from the original movie. The songs are all new, excluding the “Welcome to Duloc” song sung by puppets in the movie, an iconic moment that simply couldn’t be left out. As there are no dragons for hire, one must use their imagination to see the giant creature towering over the other characters. The dragon puppet, designed by Jimmy Grimes and puppeteered by Anya Ferdinand, Davina Manuel-Mokwenye and Tamara Tare, pays loving tribute to the original with its cartoonish design, flying behind Richards as she gives the best performances of the show in “Forever.” 

Unfortunately, even with a longer runtime than the movie, the whole show feels very rushed, which takes away from the magic of the show a bit. There is little to no character development in the show so the emotional moments never really feel earned, making for an emptier show.

Most of the set relies on video projection, designed by Nina Dunn for Pixellux, which quite often appears distorted with some poor graphics making the scenes less believable compared to a physical set (designed by Philip Witcomb), again, adding to the emptiness.

There are also some sound issues in such a large theatre, and, while the singers are talented, it is sometimes difficult to hear their voices over the music. The flys are also quite low, leading to awkward moments when those close to the stage can see racks of skulls dangling from the ceiling as Shrek and Fiona sing sweet love songs. 

A few of the more fun aspects of the original stage musical are also removed in this version. Farquaad is no longer walking on his knees, a gag that has one of the later reveals in the show make much more sense. Pinnochio (Dylan Collymore) doesn’t have the high-pitched voice and also doesn’t have a growing nose, one of the main characteristics of the young puppet.

There also appears to be recorded tap dancing during Fiona’s big number, “Morning Person,” as, even sitting close to the stage, I was unable to hear anything actually coming from the shoes of the performers. There are also many dated modern references in the show including selfie sticks, “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”, Deliveroo and even a bizarre throwaway line about Baby Reindeer that could have been updated for this particular run. 

While I tend not to comment on the theatre itself, there were several moments in which latecomers were simply sent in the general direction of their seats, not knowing where to go, which led to more interruption than if they had been escorted by a member of FOH. During the final number, there were performers dancing in the aisles and audience members still trying to leave their seats, nearly getting hit by flying arms and legs in the process. 

Ultimately, Shrek the Musical is a decent musical but struggles to live up to, not only the movie it’s based on, but also the original production of the show. The performers are all very talented but it feels as though they have been let down by this particular production’s creative choices, leading to most of the fun being taken out of the world of fairytales.

Shrek cannot seem to decide if it wants to be childish or mature, leading to a strange dance in between the two that neither children nor adults can fully enjoy.

Shrek the Musical runs until 31 August at Eventim Apollo.

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith