Kids in London – Shrek the Musical

My daughter is a big fan of Amanda Holden – partly because of Britain’s Got Talent but also because of Cutting it, which she still watches on DVD. So I gave in to her hopeful hints and booked tickets to see “Shrek the Musical” even though I’m not a great lover of musicals as I had quite enjoyed the comical and original Shrek films.

I had managed to choose a Saturday that coincided with the Gay Pride march so we popped over to Regent Street to experience some of the fun and atmosphere there and then fought our way through the Covent Garden crowds to get a coffee before the matinee started.

I noticed that there were some distraught parents (and kids) – apparently kids have to be over four years old to be admitted – so be warned. We went up the majestic carpeted stairs to the Upper Circle, ordering interval drinks on the way and taking a peak at the merchandise (sorry, but £8 for a small Donkey was a bit steep). The tickets had cost £45 each so I was disappointed that we had so little leg room that we couldn’t sit straight, but the view of the stage was good. There were lots of diddly kids all around us and a fair few groups of people, clearly enjoying themselves.

The show opens with Shrek and Princess Fiona against a huge book shelf explaining their difficult childhoods – it could only have been about three minutes before they burst into song. That’s what you get with a musical I guess. I was disappointed as the lively pop tunes from the films (Bonnie Tyler’s “I need a hero” being one of the most memorable) that had made it more fun were not present in the musical. At least Shrek had a Scottish accent, although I wasn’t sure why Amanda Holden as Fiona tried to appear American.

Then we were off to the fairy tale creatures who have been ordered to take up residence in Shrek’s swamp. Pinocchio’s nose was excellent. Then, to the delight of the kids, we are treated to the first of one of Shrek’s impressive roars. And then Donkey literally drops in. Many squeals of delight from the audience. And then we get our first sighting of Lord Farqaad – an ingenious costume where the actor kneels and his skinny little legs cause a lot of laughter. One of my favourite scenes follows – where the Gingerbread man and the Prince do “the muffin man” exchange. It’s still funny. Another favourite scene follows shortly after – where Donkey and Shrek have their “onion boy” exchange. Sadly, the only mention of Puss in Boots is a small puppet sliding along the horizon in the background – along with a cheeky reference to the Lion King stage show.

The highlight of the show was the dragon – a fantastic huge puppet with a great soul singer. It was a spectacle to behold. The scenery throughout the show was impressive – and frequently changed (it must have cost a fortune) but the bridge over the lava before the castle was seriously good – such a shame it was only on view for a few short minutes. There was a song here that sounded very similar to Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” (although obviously with different words) but maybe I was trying too hard to find some familiarity in the score.

Fiona was played well, although both me and my daughter were surprised at her apparent lack of singing ability. No one seemed to mind though and she did all the ogre-gags with good spirit – exploding birds, burps and farts – to the delight of the audience. I particularly liked her tap dancing number with rats which kicked off the second half – she can certainly dance. At the final wedding scene there were more surprises with flying dragons and finally a recognisable song “I’m a believer”.

Ok. I’m not a musicals fan and this certainly wasn’t the best I’d seen. My teenage daughter enjoyed the show, but admitted she had enjoyed Legally Blonde much more. However, the numerous small people around us had been utterly entranced by the whole thing and were clearly very happy with the production. One for the serious young Shrek fans I think.