Big, Mean, Green and extremely entertaining!! - St. Agnes Choral Society presents Shrek the Musical!

Let’s be frank….you don’t need me to tell you the story of Shrek, unless you have been living under a rock for the last 20 years and not seen its reruns on TV at times like Christmas etc!

But for those that do live under a rock here's a quick summary:

An Ogre, an imprisoned princess with a secret needing rescuing, a talking donkey, a vertically challenged Lord wanting to be king, a Dragon and every fairy tale character under the sun.

Having seen the Westend spectacular production of Shrek the Musical I went with relatively low expectations of the local St. Agnes Choral Society on being able to match the standard set by the Westend…..How wrong was I……this all singing, all dancing production could have been lifted straight on the Westend stage and slam dunked into the Grand Opera House! The staging, the characters, the costumes, the pure acting and singing talent, the adult innuendo (just like the films)…..it was all there and more!

Normally I try to give a shout out to one or two stand out cast members but with this production I really struggled as everyone from the lead cast members down to the very chorus were phenomenal. So what I’ve decided to do is a summary of each of the leads and key chorus characters:

Shrek - Played by Fergal White - looked and sounded the part of the musical's lead / named character and has a great rapport with his other lead characters on both dramatically and vocally levels.

Princess Fiona - Played by Blathnaid Scullion - brought Fiona to life with sass and amazing vocals including an incredible growl that wouldn’t be out of place in Wicked.

Donkey - Played by Gareth McGreevy - has definitely done his homework when it comes to taking on his character, his comic timing, singing, dancing and mannerisms really did steal the show on a number of occasions.

Lord Farquaad - Played by Tony Young - camp, perfectly played and had the audience in the palm of his tiny gloved hands! As for performing the majority of the role on his knees I tip my hat to him and I’ll see him on the orthopaedic surgery waiting list! If and when May McFetridge retires I could honestly see him taking the massive space of the much loved Grand Opera House character.

Pinocchio - Played by Aideen Fox - she had everything about this character to a perfection from her voice - which if you closed your eyes you could easily think you were listening to the movie, costume and even Pinocchio's nose that grows every time she lies.

Young Fiona - Played by Sophie Lennon - this young star could definitely hold her own against even the most seasoned Westend star - definitely a local talent ready for the international stage.

You don't want to miss St. Agnes Choral Society’s Shrek the Musical, playing at The Grand Opera House Belfast until Saturday 19th March - get tickets via this link - Shrek The Musical - Grand Opera House (goh.co.uk)

photography: Joe Carberry