View from the Green Room: From ogres to princesses and all fairytale heroes in between
A scene from Theatre Box's production of Shrek The Musical. Photo: Colin Shanahan - DigiCol Photography
Just imagine that you filled a stage with every major fairytale figure known to man and then filled the Theatre Royal with grandparents, parents and kids. Well you can draw your own conclusions.
The Mall was just hopping with excitement as every talented fairytale hero emerged – a tortured Gingerbread Man (Anna Kenneally/Niamh Butler), Pinocchio (the excellent Aoife Daly/Ben Dingley), uber-cool Big Bad Wolf (Oscar McBarron), three fine porky Little Pigs (Aoife Duggan, Aoibhe McMonagle, Juno Baeza-Lynch), a timid White Rabbit (Amy Cassin/Anna Fox/Shona Pidgeon), a resplendent Fairy Godmother (Grace Doherty/Olivia Kenny), a shy Peter Pan (Norah Crowe/Pippa Gallagher), a feisty Wicked Witch (Eve O’Donnell/Emma Gahan), a plumy Sugar Plum Fairy (Sarah Dixon/Holly Connolly), an apologetic Ugly Duckling (Deryn McDonnell/Albhe Ní Dhubda), three adorable Bears (Tristan Doyle, Robin Clooney, Chloe Weldon, Eve Mackey, Aédín Byrne), a happy Mad Hatter (Holly Phelan/Ellie Kate McDonnell), a humpy Humpty Dumpty (Charles Ware, Ferdia Cooke), a shy elf (Lilly Mae Cummins, Clodagh Walsh), King Harold ( Dara/Joe), a dimwitted executioner Thelonius (Aoife Ryan Foley/Oisin McCarthy), a pair of cruel Ogre parents (Eli Lacey, Seren Breen) with baby Ogre Little Shrek (Noah Lacey/George Malone) and a perky Pied Piper (Bobby Crowley/Harvey Crowley).
AND they’re all pretty annoyed with a wonderful baddy in Lord Farquaad (the hilarious and diminutive Patrick White/Cian Kennedy) for banishing them to a swamp owned by the unsociable Shrek (Dara McCarthy/Joe Shanahan) in their big ballad “Story of my Life”.
Unfortunately, I don’t get to see all TheatreBox’s performers as the school is so rich with talent that they’re in a position to rotate performers and, like the other stage schools, it’s a policy that I’m delighted with.
Shrek remains unsociable, that is, until he meets the Princess Fiona – the soon to be love of his life. Well… there’s actually eight Fionas.
Young Fiona is played by Lucy Brennan, Leila Frisby and Phoebe Cummins on alternate performances and all are amazing young talents.
We’ve got three excellent singers in Teen Fionas, as well with Romey Carroll, Elodie Dooley, Saoirse Penkert and Ella Raftice in their coming-of-age “I Know it’s today” where years pass by in an instant as teen romantic fantasy takes over.
Fred Kennedy (today’s performance) and James Lyons Power (who performs later on alternate nights) both share the role of the all-singing, all-dancing, jive-talkin’ smartass loveable donkey who can never manage to shut up – even when it might be advisable to do so. Donkey’s duets and trios with Shrek and Fiona are a hoot and his “Don’t Let Me Go” solo is a real tell all. Fred’s Donkey is a real show-stealer – rich, funny and a musical treat.
The excellent Olivia Walsh rotates with Mary Duggan who is tonight’s Princess Fiona. Mary’s performance as the feisty, modern, ambitious Fiona, who can switch from coy coquette to assertive damsel-in-demand-mode in an instant, is a delight. Mary’s got a fine belt-soprano and her “Morning Duet” with a barely onstage bluebird as she reaches up the octaves is a comic treat.
The character of Shrek dominates the show. Green Room Award winner Joe Shanahan’s large frame towers over the show. Joe’s Shrek moves from outcast to angry ogre to a kind and sensitive, marginalised young person in search of love and company. Joe switches easily between musical comedy and straight drama, and his rich panto experience shines through in the performance. His belching and botty-banging duet “I think I got you beat” with Princess Fiona has the young audience screaming with laughter.
Issues of inclusion, homelessness, deprivation and bullying from the Shrek script carry subtle and quite moving undertones of enforced exclusion that elicits strong sympathy with the young audience.
Costumes and make-ups are colourful and clever and the digital Dragon that towers menacingly over the villagers as he breathes fire over all and sundry is a wonderful special effect.
Liam Butler’s direction and Paula Weldon’s choreography combine to keep a witty and quirky plotline cracking along, and Patrick Kerwick’s projections and special effects work a treat.
Well done TheatreBox.
