It’s half past ten and we’ve just got home from an amazing night of singing and laughter thanks to Orbit Theatre Shrek the Musical. We received tickets to the show in return for this post but all opinions are our own and honest.
If you are a fan of the film Shrek then you will definitely be a fan of the musical version. It follows Shrek on his mission to save his swamp from the hoards of fairytale ‘freaks’ that were sent there by Lord Farquaad. He makes a deal, finds a friend, battles a dragon and falls in love all along the way (but you knew that already).
Orbit Theatre is Cardiff’s No. 1 amateur theatre company and with the scale of the show and the talent of the cast and crew you would be fooled into thinking you were watching a West End show. There was the odd slip up during the show, mics not working and the odd prop falling off but the cast took it in their stride and even used it to get a few extra laughs. The addition of screens filling the stage made the story move along without the need of too many props.
There were a few stand out bits for me, I enjoyed when the three blind mice walk across stage. Unfortunately someone felt the need to wolf whistle… If you’re the type of person who thinks you need to wolf whistle at anyone, let alone three girls performing a show on stage then you need to rethink your actions. I also enjoyed the addition of musical numbers and they were performed really well. My favourites were ‘I knew it was today’ by Princess Fiona and ‘Story of my life’ by the Fairytale Characters.
MM thought the show was a little pantomime (without the ‘he’s behind you’) and I would agree. There’s something that translates a little weirdly from animation to stage that makes it seem a bit dress up.
Showing until the 2nd of June the show would be the perfect treat for you and your little ones this half term. Check availability, get your tickets and find out more about the show and cast from the New Theatre website.
Who is your favourite character from Shrek?
I guess you could say musicals are like onions. (MM’s addition, he thinks he’s hilarious)
Until the next post,
Are and Pops.
Check out the other theatre shows we’ve seen.