Review: Shrek The Musical at The Bristol Hippodrome

Review: Shrek The Musical at The Bristol Hippodrome

Posted on: 24 Aug 2023

"When I asked the kids for their reviews after the show, they gave it a solid 10/10 and a 'please can we buy a gingerbread man'"

We had a brilliant time watching Shrek the Musical at The Bristol Hippodrome. I attended with my 5 and 7 year old children and my 15 year old sister. Everyone had a great time, even the 5 year old!

 

We’ve seen other theatre performances in the past and the trick with the younger kids is to keep the stimulation high - Shrek did not disappoint. There were musical numbers throughout to keep them entertained, and the adults too!

 

The children had seen the movie before so had a rough idea of the storyline which was good as the script followed almost identically. They loved hearing the classic lines and the silly humour. They found it hilarious how Shrek was introduced, I won’t spoil it for you but I’m sure you can guess... the set even had a realistic looking out house!

 

Speaking about the set, I can’t ignore how flawlessly it flowed, everything was spot on and ran without a hitch. The children were constantly engaged watching the projected curtain as they speedily transitioned between scenes. Lord Farquaad’s guards displayed extraordinary dancing prowess, which also helped to keep the younger ones in check!

Our favourite scene was the iconic Gingerbread man in the dungeon, “Do you know the Muffinman!?” scene. We all had a good laugh and the cast were hilarious throughout, particularly James Gillan as Lord Farquaad who put his own spin on the character, bringing him to life. Throughout, the cast genuinely looked to be having fun, bringing their respective roles to life with enthusiasm and vigour. We loved Fiona, the dragon, Shrek and all the classic characters but Donkey was the real star of the show.

 

Donkey was perfectly cast and Eddie Murphy himself would have been proud as the actor, in our opinion, nailed the role, delivering an outstanding performance. The timeless line: “My mouth was open and everything!” was delivered with perfect comic timing by Brandon Lee Sears - you know what’s coming but you still laugh! I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the future. 

 

The man of the moment Shrek (played by Antony Lawrence) was also fantastic, he nailed the accent and had the perfect stature for one of the most well known animated characters of all time. Oh, and he’s got a fantastic voice too, bellowing out a good few numbers along with Fiona (Joanne Clifton) who was my daughter's favourite. She was particularly taken by a scene inside the tower where we see Fiona’s of various ages singing. It was done really really well!

 

The final sing song really deserved the standing ovation it recieved with the classic 'I'm a Believer' performed by the full cast alongside, of course, audience participation succeeding in getting the whole of the Hippodrome on their feet and singing!

 

 

When I asked the kids for their reviews after the show, they gave it a solid 10/10 and a “please can we buy a gingerbread man”. Overall, my sister, my children and I had a fantastic evening watching Shrek the Musical. We laughed, sang and tapped our feet throughout the full two hours. Highly recommended. We may go see it again when it comes to Cardiff later this year.

Article by:

Craig Thomas

Craig is the co-founder of Twimp, the company that's bringing outdoor adventures and education to the green spaces of Bristol.