As a bona-fide Shrek superfan, I was overjoyed to find out that the top-secret musical being put on by SUPAS and SUTCo was in fact Shrek: The Musical. This piece is especially near and dear to me as one of the first musicals I was introduced to; I’ll never forget watching School for Stars (a potentially niche CBBC reference) and seeing an Italia Conte student make it onto the West End as one of the Young Fionas; I loved seeing the behind-the-scenes of both the casting process and the musical itself, the evolution of Fiona in ‘I Know It’s Today’ is still my favourite part of the show. Both Fionas in this production (played by Eve Catanach and Bethany Collins respectively) were brilliant, capturing Fiona’s confident, fiery spirit while speaking to the layers of isolation and self-consciousness within.
Given the production’s extremely fast turnaround, I was impressed by the use of the space; a backdrop of five painted panels were cleverly utilised to reflect different settings within the musical such as the forest or Farquard’s castle, these panels spun to form a multitude of landscapes. There was also an inspired use of lighting, capturing the sunrise/sets which dramatically mark the transformations of Fiona, often aided by a green light upon Catanach. Of course there were a few mishaps, such as forgetting lines, technical issues with mics, etc. but these were played in jest and added to the comedy of the piece as well as speaking to the earnest project that is the twenty-four hour musical.
As the titular character, SUPAS veteran Alfie Cowgill shines, providing a hilarious performance in which Shrek refuses to learn the song lyrics! I jest, with the most lines and songs in a time crunch, Cowgill excelled, making moments of forgetfulness into comedic character beats which were really in line with the character of Shrek. Equally, Alicia Adeleye as Donkey provides exceptional comic relief while Abby Lever as the Dragon stunned me with great vocals! Evan Donninger as Lord Farquard is another stand-out performer, especially given he had to spend his time ‘on-stage’ on his knees to reflect the character’s stature, Donninger dashing around to meet certain marks was hilarious to watch and he matched Farquard’s energy to a tee.
Of course, the pinnacle of the show was the infamous ‘I’m a Believer’ scene which the whole cast fully committed to. As the most well-known aspect of both film and musical adaptation, it was a triumphant ending to a deeply fun and wholesome night. I wholeheartedly endorse the concept of the twenty-four hour musical as it unites societies and audiences alike, I hope to see another very soon!
