Review: Shrek The Musical (Eventim Apollo)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️

A green-faced musical theatre favourite has moved into Hammersmith for the summer. No, not Elphaba – she’s still a few tube stops away in Victoria. It is of course the welcome return to London of Shrek The Musical which pitches up at Eventim Apollo for a summer season, following an extensive UK and Ireland tour. Would this return of a well-loved character prove to be a shrektacular success or is this one show that should have gone back to the swamp?

Based on the 2001 movie, the musical adaptation of Shrek premiered on Broadway in 2008, hitting the West End in 2011. Two UK tours have since followed but this marks the first time the show has returned to London for its own season since the original West End run closed in 2013. Recreating the story from the first movie, it sees the titular ogre set off on a quest to rescue Princess Fiona, first from a dragon and then from Lord Farquad. Can the surprising friendships he builds along the way lead to a happily ever after for his band of fairytale misfits?

David Lindsay-Abaire’s book manages to recreate the heart of the movie in satisfying ways, updating the story and finding the best way to make it translate to the stage. It may not be the strongest in the world, but it is pleasant enough and ties in fantastically to Jeanine Tesori’s music to create a pleasant if not groundbreaking musical that is usually an easy crowd-pleaser. However, while the musical in itself is fine, this production is filled with flaws that only highlight the weaknesses elsewhere in the musical.

Though it would be unrealistic to expect Shrek to recreate its West End stage for this UK tour production, they have gone too far in the other direction and brought to the stage a bare-bones and basic set which I imagine struggles to fill the stage on venues up and down the country, let alone the vastness that is the Eventim Apollo stage in Hammersmith. While the initial sight of the stage leads you to expect big things, this fails to materialise with a severe lack of props, shoddy use of the few they have, and an over-reliance on video design ensuring the whole thing never feels good enough for any major stage in the country, let alone one of this size. It struggles to fill the space in every sense and can be best described by paraphrasing a lyric from ‘Morning Person’ and that is “cheap cheap cheap cheap”.

While that may sound harsh, if you are putting on a show of this scale for a summer residency at one of London’s biggest stages, there needs to be more of a sense of grandeur. The result is a show that just isn’t good enough, especially for the price of tickets audiences are expected to pay. A show such as Shrek needs to be a visual spectacular and the dull and lifeless design elements, extending to stage and costumes, impacted the enjoyment of the audience at the performance I went to, with children failing to be transported to the world and in turn never experiencing the true magic theatre can achieve.

This is the biggest problem with this production of Shrek. There is a real lack of connection to the text which leaves the whole thing feeling rather cold. Any humour from the original script has been lost on translation somewhere along the way with few moments raising anything more than an obligatory smile. There is the sense that more could have been done for this production, especially given the London venue it was moving into, as it just isn’t up to the job. One exception to these design flaws is in Ben Cracknell’s lighting, beautifully elevating the production in a way no other elements manage to match.

The huge problems the production faces impact the cast, though they do the most to get around this and prove themselves for the talented bunch they are. Antony Lawrence dons the green mask to take on the legendary title character. While his Shrek is fun and he gets some great moments to showcase his gorgeous vocals, he often finds himself eclipsed by his co-stars, threatening to fade into the background in his own show.

Joanne Clifton is a joy to behold as Princess Fiona, holding the focus whenever she appears. James Gillan is deliciously camp as Lord Farquad and Todrick Hall delights in his larger-than-life portrayal of Donkey, borrowing more from the movie than any of the other characters. A standout among the cast is Cherece Richards who brings the house down in her severely underused role as the Dragon, getting the musical highlight ‘Forever’. While the cast all shine in their own right, there is a distinct lack of chemistry between them with a lack of believability in their roles and relationships.

Shrek boasts some great musical numbers but ,sadly, these aren’t performed to their full potential. ‘I Think I Got You Beat’ should be a showstopper of a number but falls flatter than the flatulence that ends the song, performed in a whispered hush with no care for the words. This leads to a huge disconnect failing to let the comedy shine through. The greatest musical moment in this production falls to ‘Freak Flag’ where the stage explodes with life, featuring the best use of Nick Winston’s choreography in a real crowd-pleasing moment with a surprisingly serious message many of us can relate to.

This tour certainly had its limitations of what it could do in the spaces it visited - however, it seems to have gone far beyond that in a way that feels almost lazy. More could have been done to bring this story to life. Instead, all the magic from the original has been lost. At times it felt like I was watching a school pantomime – not something you want to think in a venue of this size and stature. The fantastic cast in Shrek deserves better as do the audiences that want to recreate a story they already love. A huge disappointment and one that could have been easily remedied had more care and consideration been taken in putting on this production. I was willing to be lost in this story, as were many in the hopeful audience - sadly, I came out of there unable to say I'm a believer.

Shrek The Musical plays at Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith until 31st August.

Tickets available here