BWW Reviews: SHREK, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, June 15 2011

When I went to New York two years ago, I didn't particularly want to see Shrek. (I've still not seen the movie, by the way.) 

I got dragged along anyway, and found myself charmed by the two leads, Brian d'Arcy James (who I saw again on Broadway last year as a wonderful Dan in Next to Normal) and Sutton Foster (who alone is good enough reason to fly to New York when you're claustrophobic and have a fear of heights).

I bought the cast recording; I loved their vocals; I obsessed over the harmonies and arrangements in Who I'd Be.

And then a London transfer was announced! Not with the Broadway cast, we're not that lucky. But even so, a big starry company in big starry Drury Lane - it's bound to be epic, right?

Well, there's no doubt about it - this will be a hit. When you've got kids dancing in the aisles and queuing up for replica Shrek ears, there's no way you're going to be struggling to sell tickets any time soon. The adults in the audience were having a whale of a time too, whooping, cheering and booing in all the right places (and sniggering at a couple of jokes that went way over the littl'uns' heads).

Kudos to the company - a range of fantastic voices on show among the fairytale creatures, particularly (and I know everyone is going to say this) Landi Oshinowo as the Dragon (brilliantly puppeteered, as well - much better than the Broadway version); I was also very taken with Ross Dawes as a feisty transvestite Wolf.

Amanda Holden, Olivier-nominated for her role in Thoroughly Modern Millie eight years ago, returns to the West End and is pretty as a picture, but lacks the necessary toughness to convey a convincing princess-ogre. 

Nigel Lindsay, our titular hero, puts in an entertaining turn, with some great comic timing; his chemistry with the Donkey, played by Richard Blackwood (who takes time to warm up into his character), is beginning to grow.

Nigel Harman, as Lord Farquaad, is the star of the show. He's funny, he's engaging, he commands your attention, he has great physicality in his vaudeville turn, and perhaps most noticeably among the four leads he can actually sing.

That's not to say that Lindsay, Holden and Blackwood are tuneless - on the contrary, they're melodic - but the contrast between their vocal power and Harman's is notable. Holden in particular needs some work on her belt - much of Fiona's vocal line seems to have been written right on her break and the constant switching was distracting...

...well, that's if you were listening for it. I was - I'm familiar with the score and I'm finickety about vocal performance in musical theatre. The hundreds of others in the theatre were just happy to see the fairytale played out on stage, and happily cheered our hero and heroine as they followed their quest to true love, delighting in the encore of I'm A Believer. And that kind of joy is what makes musical theatre special.

To post a comment, you must register and login.