Shrek the Musical – New Wimbledon Theatre and Touring

Gerard Carey in Shrek the Musical at New Wimbledon Theatre, London and Touring. Picture: Helen Maybanks

Shrek the Musical continues at the New Wimbledon Theatre, London until 31 January, then tours until 20 February.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

Following a successful run both on Broadway and in the West End, the musical version of Dreamworks’ Shrek set out on a UK tour in 2014. Two years later the show still has the rosy glow of a high-end pantomime albeit some of the polish is looking a little dull. If you have no knowledge of the 2001 animated movie, which features the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow, then the musical might be a little hard work.

The production pitches itself to imitate the look of the movie so closely that Tim Hatley’s designs almost inhibit the actors’ freedom of movement. This said, Hatley has gone to great pains to create a show that’s accessible for its target audience. Shrek the ogre is large and green, Princess Fiona switches colour overnight and Lord Farquaad. is very, very short. There is little subtlety in the cardboard cut-out set and even less in a story that relishes a good fart joke.

Despite these eccentricities, Shrek is pretty decent family fun with lots of silly visual jokes for the kids, a quirky love story, and for the grown-ups, there’s Gerard Carey’s Lord Farquaad. It must be a hellish role to tackle physically – for most of the performance Carey is on his knees with short prosthetic legs – but the his performance is far and away the best bit of the show. Featuring in no less than three big production numbers, Carey’s timing is meticulous as he embraces the sheer villainy of the Lord with the overwhelming Napoleon complex.

Central to the charm of this particular production is the chemistry between Dean Chisnall’s Shrek and Bronté Barbé’s Princess Fiona, which really comes to a head with the witty – and explosive – ‘I Think I Got You Beat’. Chisnall, who played the role in the West End, manages to generate empathy beneath the layers of green paint and latex, and the number ‘Big Bright Beautiful World’ ties the story up with just the right level of good will. Barbé makes for a spunky Princess Fiona, matching Chisnall for humour but capturing genuine heartache with her story ‘I Know It’s Today’.

The real donkey work here – aside from Idriss Kargbo’s fun turn as the actual Donkey – is performed by the extremely versatile company. All save the four leads switch in and out of costumes to create the mad-cap characters of Duloc with boundless energy, and the fairy tale characters such as Will Haswell’s Pinnochio and Nikki Bentley’s Gingy help flesh out the thin story,

Director Nigel Harman, who played Farquaad to great acclaim in the West End, directs with a deft touch, although there are a few sight-line problems in the closing scene that could be re-jigged. The final extravaganza of ‘I’m a Believer’ may raise the roof and lift the heart but it does serve as a reminder that David Lindsay-Abaire’s lyrics and Jeanine Tesori’s music pale a little in comparison.

Paul Vale

Tickets (with discounts) for Shrek the Musical at the New Wimbledon Theatre are available HERE