Shrek, The Musical

Not a serious musical, but seriously entertaining

By Louw Mulder

 

Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of today’s life, it is just refreshingly entertaining to sit back, relax, and let the magic of a feel-good, almost panto-style musical take over. And that is a little understatement of how much I enjoyed Shrek, The Musical, which opened last night at the Lyric theatre in Gold Reef city.

Telling this very famous tale of Shrek, Donkey and Fiona on stage, on the back of a very successful and well known animation film, can seem to be a daunting task, but KickstArt Productions did very well doing just that. Normally I would start a review by praising the cast, but before doing so, I believe it will be most appropriate to lead this write-up with the amazing job the creative team did.

Lead by director Steven Stead, the South African production, based on the original Broadway show in New York was staged in just as a colourful and energetic fashion, as the overseas original. I must make special mention of the costumes, originally designed by Tim Hately, which was perfectly brought to life by South Africa’s Shanthi Naidoo. With freaks from all genres of different fairy tales, it was a perfected task, fitting all these roles into character.

Award-winning Choreographer, Janine Bennewith, stepped up to the party in a fabulous way. The dancing was simply spectacular, bearing in mind her work had to take into consideration the limitations in movements, brought on by the identifiable costumes and the prosthetics. The costumes and choreography, which never lost any of its energy, was without a doubt the winning combination that brought life into the story, played out on the Shrektacular Music, composed by Jeanine Tesori. The score is being conducted to the right sounds in this South African production by Naledi Winning MD, Rowan Bakker.

The reason why I referred to this musical in my introductory paragraph as almost panto-style, was by no means condescending, but in fact a crucial component of this experience. Even the farting-fight and burping-battle between Shrek and Fiona, got that beautiful sounds of children’s’ laughter to fill the auditorium. As Stead explained in his radio interview before the show; visually, it is for the kids, but if you as an adult let yourself go and follow the dialogue, it is just as much a show for the adults, as for the little people.

The puppets’ contribution to the holistic enjoyment of the fantasy, was executed in the most fascinating way, and hats off to the puppeteers who were responsible for doing so. From exploding singing birds, cheerful little mice, to even the larger-than-life purple dragon, played their part in making this production so worthwhile for the kids, but also surprisingly pleasant for the grown-ups. Well done to designer Greg King, one of KickstArt Productions’ founding members, and former Puppet master at the Playhouse Puppet Company. This work was magical to watch.

So, with all the creative sides done, only one aspect of this musical still remains. That will be the voices, feet and faces on stage telling the story – the cast. Applause to the very young and talented company, which was built up with sheer delight within their core. From Lyle Buxton as Shrek, Rory Booth as the beloved Donkey, Jessica Sole as Fiona, to even Graeme Wicks and Shani Mclea as Pinnochio and young Fiona respectively, every actor owned their character, and the complete dedication was noticeable.

But the performance of the night, and I am sure will be throughout their season, is that of Jacobus van Heerden, in the role of Lord Farqaad. Lord Farqaad is the corrupt, very short and arrogant prince, who need to marry a princess in order to become king. With the stunning costume design, van Heerden played his part on his knees, and managed to do so quite convincingly. His dedication to his role, the choreography while acting on your knees, and the sheer mastery of his acting talents, were all put together to create one of the most enjoyable villains I have ever seen on stage. There is still much to be spoken about van Heerden’s talent, but it is best experienced live on stage.

Names in the ensemble include Megan Restall, Luciano Zuppa, Senna Moreira, Ashleigh Harvey, Devon Flemmer, Senzesihle Radebe, Haylea Heyns, as well as talented stage stars such as JP Rossouw, Adam Dorè, Samuel Hyde and Tumelo Tokgwi to name but a few of the 30-member cast. Well done to all of you, and you are not freaks.

Shreck is not a serious musical, so please do not go and expect such. Go there to be entertained as much as I was. If you let your inner youth out, and just sit back to take it all in, you might find yourself seriously entertained. If I could, this musical would have received 7 Curtain Calls from us.

Shrek and the team from his Swamp will still adore audiences at the Lyric theatre, Gold Reef City until the 17^th of July 2016.

 

Photos by Mariola Biela