Shrek The Musical

New Theatre Oxford, until November 23

See www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-theatre-oxford/ for tickets

“THAT was mega awesome!” said my seven-year-old nephew as the curtain went down on the toe-tapping, hand-clapping final number of Shrek The Musical. And let’s face it, any review I could write of the show can’t really top that.

Little monsters will love the tale of the little monster who grows up to become the most lovable ogre in the Kingdom of Far, Far Away, but it’s not all kids stuff in this touring production of the West End smash. Some of the biggest laughs come from the adult-only innuendo underlying the scenes and songs, jokes which thankfully slip straight over the heads of the spellbound little ones.

For those who’ve never seen the 2001 computer animated film (anyone?), Shrek is a swamp monster destined for a life of solitude, until he is driven out of his murky world and into a mission to rescue Princess Fiona from her tower, accompanied by his new BFF Donkey. The plan is for Fiona to marry the lowdown (very lowdown) and dirty Lord Farquaad, but the princess is not all she seems and, in true fairytale style, her ‘one true love’ turns out to be our bogey-coloured hero.

There are some physically demanding roles in this high-energy show, not least for Dean Chisnall in the title role, who handles the challenge of wearing a fat suit and prosthetics with impressive ease.

Idriss Kargbo as Donkey somehow manages to bust some serious moves despite having hooves for hands and wearing top-to-toe fur.

But the prize for most demanding role has to go to Gerard Carey as the vertically-challenged Farquaad, who spends 99% of his stage time waddling around on his knees... to hilarious effect. So clever is his costume that the children (and some of the adults I overheard) were left wondering whether his ‘funny legs’ were real.

Personally, I also loved Faye Brookes as Fiona; a powerful voice and great comic timing... and I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty princess dress. How she transforms so quickly into Fiona the ogre remains a mystery to me and I don’t want to spoil any of the fairytale sparkle by finding out.

Shrek The Musical is at the New Theatre until November 23. MICHELLE TOMPKINS