Shrek the Musical

Theatre Royal Drury Lane
4 June 2011

It may have been too much sherry or a momentary lapse of grumpiness, but last Christmas I found myself online booking tickets to see Shrek the Musical – a big blockbuster show coming to the West End summer 2011. The type of show myself and my wallet normally try and avoid.

So as the day of the show approaches I begin to feel slightly awkward. Can I really sit through this? Shouldn’t I be talking about Chekov, Woyzek or whatever’s on as part of the Nottingham European Theatre Festival.

The result is that we had a great family night out. There are no real surprises with this show. It hasn’t had a major theatrical re-imagining as Julie Taymor did with The Lion King. Instead it’s a fairly faithful reproduction of the original Shrek film, with a load of new songs thrown in.

The mickey (mouse!)-taking of the Disneyfication of classic fairy-tales, which made the film stand out is still in evidence. Princess Fiona sings about her bi-polar disorder and Shrek’s parents when they cast him out aged 7 sing proudly “when you’re grotesque, life’s Kafkaesque”

The show looks amazing, which of course it should with a shed-load of Dreamworks money behind it. The Dragon is particularly stunning as it fills nearly the whole Drury Lane stage and flies over the audience heads.

However, for me the show belongs to Nigel Harmon as King Farquar. I have never seen anyone look as if they are having so much fun on stage for a long time. And he does it all on his knees, wearing a gloriously silly costume, which has Farquar’s little legs attached, swinging away at the front. The effect is quite brilliant, even for the dance sequences where Harmon demonstrates some nifty knee-work.

It’s a shame that one can’t talk so positively about Richard Blackwood’s Donkey. He looked awkward on stage and comic delivery was weak. If only this part could have been given to someone with a stronger sense of physicality and movement for the role.

So, no surprises here, but a lot of fun and of course everyone’s up on their feet for the ‘I’m a Believer’ finale.

Finally, my first visit to Drury Lane. An astonishingly beautiful theatre with a history that seems to seep out of its wood-panelled walls.