London's oldest theatre still in use. The first theatre on this site was built in 1662 and opened as the Theatre Royal in 1663. Destroyed by fire in 1672 and re-designed by Sir Christopher Wren re-opening in 1674. Forced to close in 1676 as Dorset Garden was more popular. By 1682 London could only support one theatre and a combined company re-occupied Drury Lane. In 1791 the theatre closed and was re-built to a design by Holland, re-opening in 1794. It burned down in 1809. A new theatre opened in 1812 designed by Wyatt and closed in 1878 (bankruptcy). The theatre re-opened in 1879 and has been open ever since, it closed briefly in 1939 but re-opened as the HQ of ENSA, despite being bombed in 1940. The theatre has a lot of history! One odd tradition, on Twelfth Night each year a large cake is given to the actors at the theatre courtesy of a Robert Baddeley, who died in 1794 … 1996 marked the 200th anniversary. 2245 seats. Backstage Tours are available (approx 90 minutes), information on 020 7240 5357. Prior to the opening of The Witches of Eastwick, the auditorium of the Theatre Royal will be architecturally remodelled, giving it a new seating configuration. The current capacity of 2,245 seats will be reduced to 1,650 to maximise intimacy. Society of London Theatre member.
Join everyone’s favourite green ogre Shrek and his loyal steed Donkey, as they set off on an adventure to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona from her tower, guarded by a fire breathing love-sick dragon.
Add a wannabe King with a height complex, a bunch of fairytale superstars, and a biscuit with attitude, and you've got this year's must see new show, Shrek The Musical!
With all new songs, and an old favourite in I'm a Believer, Shrek The Musical brings to life the film's cast of characters and the accompanying subversive fun.
This new stage musical is based on the story and characters from the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter in the much loved series of irreverent fairy tales.
Richard Blackwood made his West End debut in the Whatsonstage.com Award winning production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, starring alongside James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad. After rising to fame as a presenter, he has notched up a range of TV credits including Britannia High and Dani’s House as well as his own show on Channel 4. .
Nigel Lindsay's numerous stage credits include his Whatsonstage.com Award winning performance in Broken Glass at the Tricycle as well as Sucker Punch, Dealer's Choice, The Real Thing and The Pillowman, as well as Michael Grandage's multi award-winning revival of Guys and Dolls.
Best known to TV fans from EastEnders and Hotel Babylon, Nigel Harman's numerous theatre credits include Three Days of Rain, Guys and Dolls, The Caretaker, The Exonerated and The Common Pursuit.
Whatsonstage.com have some great Shrek The Musical tickets so click above for one of the hottest new London shows.
Nigel Lindsay, Richard Blackwood & Amanda Holden in Shrek
Date: 15 June 2011
Shrek The Musical received its London premiere last night (14 June, previews from 6 May 2011) with Jason Moore and Rob Ashford's production enjoying a star-studded opening night at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Brought to the stage by Sam Mendes' Neal Street Productions and the theatrical debut of Hollywood studio Dreamworks Animations, the musical follows the plot of the 2001 Oscar-winning animated feature with Shrek finding happiness and conquering a fearsome dragon with the help of a wise-cracking donkey and a tough-talking Princess.
"Deftly adapted by Rabbit Hole playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and Caroline, or Change composer Jeanine Tesori from the first Shrek movie and the original 1990 story by William Steig ... The charm and concentration of the movie is dispersed in some lumbering musical theatre elaborations, and the scaly, bat-winged dragon – at first wielded by four puppeteers, then flying through the auditorium like a giant plastic pterodactyl from a cereal packet – is no rival to War Horse. But the bluesy, old-fashioned score and well-turned lyrics are fair enough, and both Nigels are terrific in different ways: Lindsay’s... niceness seeping through every green latex pore, while Harman is both funny and creepy ... The indisputable star... is Amanda Holden as Princess Fiona ... Whether tap-dancing with the Pied Piper’s rats... or claiming her destiny with her own infant and teenage re-incarnations... Holden performs with perfect poise, true vocal technique and an appealing, steely edge ... Tim Hatley’s colourful design... recreates the visual language and perspectives of the movie with some theatrical ingenuity. But, at the end of the day, it all feels a bit, well, small and childish in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, this famous bastion of the greatest musical theatre of our time, especially with a tacked-on feelgood finale (as in the movie) of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer”, which, in live performance, exerts a karaoke effect to finish the night."
"Once upon a time musicals drew their inspiration from books, plays or even real life; now they seem to be based on animated movies. But, although Shrek stems from the 2001 DreamWorks film, it is genuinely theatrical, generous-spirited and mercifully free of the sensory bombardment that afflicts some of its rivals. What it lacks is memorable tunes ... The show heightens the role of the undersized Lord Farquaad ... It retains the movie's humour ... Jeanine Tesori has come up with some perfectly serviceable numbers ... But it says a lot that the climactic song designed to send everyone out on a high is "I'm a Believer" ... We get sets that open up like the pages of a children's storybook, tap-dancing rats and a scaly dragon Nigel Harman... runs off with the show as Farquaad.Nigel Lindsay makes the tartan-trewed Shrek a lovable outcast. Richard Blackwood is tartly funny as his faithful donkey-friend... and Amanda Holden is a spirited Fiona. It's an amiable, well-crafted show that puts you in a pleasant frame of mind and that will fill a gap in the family market. But I was still left pining for that moment of ecstasy that is the musical's chief justification."
"Fairytale meets panto meets Monty Python ... It has double entendres laced with absurdist sarcasm and striking stage effects ... I suspect 20-somethings will extract the most fun from this show. It is cheeky, colourful, camp, shafted by Simpsons-style irony. Children under 10 may gawp at the spectacle with all its primary colours and plasticky sets ... Big thumbs-up immediately for Nigel Lindsay as Shrek. His accent is a bit wobbly... but he makes Shrek thoroughly amiable ... Nigel Harman nearly steals the show as the vertically-challenged Farquaad ... A well-drilled company sings witty lyrics with precision, even though the the score is in places no richer than reach-for-the-skies transatlantic filler. The artistry never threatens to outshine the pacy razzamatazz. Amanda Holden’s voice is little stronger than a single gin and tonic but she has an attractive zest for the enterprise ... Sentiment, beauty and haunting melody are absent. But Shrek is energetically amusing."
"At a time when it seems to be de rigueur for every new stage musical to be based on a movie, it is no surprise to find Shrek being given the tune-and-toe-show treatment. It is, however, a surprise to find it in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane ... Brash, noisy and full of fart jokes though it is, Shrek will undoubtedly appeal to adults as well as children ... David Lindsay-Abaire’s book and lyrics have a welcome sense of mischief about them. At its best Jeanine Tesori’s score recalls the great soul music of the 1960s and ends with the bubblegum bliss of the Monkees ... Tim Hatley’s lurid designs are often spectacular ... Amanda Holden is a touch too hard-faced and soullessly professional as Princess Fiona, while Richard Blackwood doesn’t come close to matching the comic attack of Eddie Murphy’s voicing of the talking Donkey in the movie. Great lines constantly fall flat in Blackwood’s strangely detached, unfocused delivery. Nigel Lindsay,…captures the poignancy and gallows humour of Shrek and is genuinely touching in his search for love. And there is a smashing comic turn from Nigel Harman…as the vertically challenged, unbearably self-regarding Lord Farquaad. Shrek certainly doesn’t rank among the musical greats, but it offers an engaging couple of hours of family fun."
"Shrek has been reworked since it shut up shop early on Broadway but, while the London version isn’t interminably bad, it’s still lumbering enough to make you wonder when it’ll be over. In turning DreamWorks’ animated film into a musical, the producers have misplaced much of the cartoon’s frisky wit ... The production has traces of charm, largely thanks to Amanda Holden’s gutsy Fiona ... But there’s not much romance here and not a whole lot of comedy, either, though tap-dancing rats liven things up and it’s fleetingly funny when Shrek and Fiona burp and fart at each other as a form of courtship. The show’s tone is alternately perky and schmaltzy: it never roots around in the story’s dark side. Richard Blackwood has a shaky American accent as Donkey, Shrek’s wisecracking sidekick. Tim Hatley’s plasticky sets couldn’t be less enchanting and Jeanine Tesori’s power ballad-style musical numbers do little to buoy the action."
"It now seems to be almost compulsory for new West End musicals to be based on hit films. There's plenty to savour in this jaunty story about the soft-heartedness of a bile-green ogre. The spirit is largely that of pantomime, with an extra layer of good-natured knowingness. David Lindsay-Abaire provides a solid book and cheering lyrics. Yet several of the film's best jokes are gone. Jeanine Tesori's score is unmemorable ... Nigel Lindsay's Shrek is affable, which makes it easy to understand how he gathers a huge retinue of followers ... As Princess Fiona, Amanda Holden shows considerable pluck as she copes with an inflatable deer, a prosthetic nose and a chorus of rats. Her poise is undeniable but her performance lacks a certain soul, while Richard Blackwood's Donkey has none of the charisma of Eddie Murphy's in the film. However, Nigel Harman is glorious as villainous dwarf Lord Farquaad. Jason Moore and Rob Ashford direct with aplomb. Tim Hatley's sets are ingenious and the dragon... is delightful. Yet I can't see children being enchanted by this. It's all a bit brash, and the assertively feelgood finale doesn't stir as it should. Though there's warmth and wit here, it's not a monster hit"
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"Nigel Lindsay... exudes a benign Falstaffian loveability. An inserted back-story and a few plot tweaks help, too… Shrek (is) thrown out into a world that hates him is underscored by his parents’ jolly song promising 'A big bright beautiful world' where every dream comes true 'but not for you'. Princess Fiona, too, was abandoned... for all her tomboy bravado, Amanda Holden actually manages to convey the pain of that ... Say what you like about glitzy Broadway feelgood shows, they do the job. Importantly, this show’s magic lies in wit, character and story rather than technology. The sets are storybook cutouts and the vast female dragon is visibly worked by a gang of puppeteers. As for the choreography, again wit rules: Nigel Harman as… Lord Farquaad dances elaborate routines while visibly on his knees, tiny false legs out. Under Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, the directors, the show preserves the film’s best jokes but adds a lot ... The new format permits jokes on other musicals, too … You go to the theatre to have your prejudices overturned, even if they are only about Amanda Holden. I entirely forgave her for being annoying on Britain’s Got Talent. Whether dancing with an inflatable deer or doing a tap routine with a rat chorus, she may not be a top musical-theatre voice, but she makes up for it in energy, physical wit and an heroic willingness to engage in an explicit belch-and-fart competition with Shrek. She’s no lady, and I loved her for it."
“Let your freak flag fly” is the message in Shrek The Musical, deftly adapted by Rabbit Hole playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (book and lyrics) and Caroline, or Change composer Jeanine Tesori from the first Shrek movie and the original 1990 story by William Steig.
Inside what is, in effect, a pretty routine pantomime with elements of kids’ show, satirical fairy tale and downright crudity – a farting and belching duet (“better out than in”) for Shrek and the bipolar princess is a low point – there lurks an ineffable message for anyone who feels down about themselves in the mirror.
Poor old ogre Shrek (Nigel Lindsay), with a face like a cabbage, a shape like a barrel, and a pair of stumpy lug-holes, finds his swamp invaded by a cast of fairy tale creatures as a result of an ethnic cleansing campaign by the ironically dwarfish Prince Farquaad (Nigel Harman).
To regain his territory, he must rescue the Princess Fiona (Amanda Holden) and deliver her to Farquaad as his bride. With the help of a jumpy donkey (Richard Blackwood), Shrek journeys into the unknown, negotiates a bridge across a lake of steaming lava and faces down a fire-breathing dragon, thus translating Farquaad’s death sentence into a triumphant medieval mission.
Love is in the air, and the good guys win out. Even the princess has a horrible secret that makes no difference. The charm and concentration of the movie is dispersed in some lumbering musical theatre elaborations, and the scaly, bat-winged dragon – at first wielded by four puppeteers, then flying through the auditorium like a giant plastic pterodactyl from a cereal packet – is no rival to War Horse.
But the bluesy, old-fashioned score and well-turned lyrics are fair enough, and both Nigels are terrific in different ways: Lindsay’s ogre is a Scottish-accented gentle giant, harmless niceness seeping through every green latex pore, while Harman is both funny and creepy, somehow remaining in a crouch position all night with his little yellow legs dangling in front of his shroud-like cloak.
Whether tap-dancing with the Pied Piper’s rats (who start as ground-level puppets and bring up the curtain as fully-fledged hoofers) or claiming her destiny with her own infant and teenage re-incarnations (“I Know It’s Today”), Holden performs with perfect poise, true vocal technique and an appealing, steely edge.
Little ones will enjoy spotting Pinocchio (“I’m wood, I’m good; get used to it”), the Gingerbread Man voiced by a raucous pink fairy, the Three Pigs, the White Rabbit and a cavorting Peter Pan. And there is much to approve in Tim Hatley’s colourful design, which recreates the visual language and perspectives of the movie with some theatrical ingenuity.
But, at the end of the day, it all feels a bit, well, small and childish in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, this famous bastion of the greatest musical theatre of our time, especially with a tacked-on feelgood finale (as in the movie) of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer”, which, in live performance, exerts a karaoke effect to finish the night.
The Shrek film franchise was so successful thanks to some cracking adventure stories, cherishable characters and an abundance of sly and subversive wit to keep parents fully entertained even on repeated viewings on DVD. Sadly the stage musical fails to match those achievements in almost every case. The story of Shrek rescuing and falling in love with Princess Fiona is adequately told but none of the songs stand out apart from the inevitable gospel belter for the dragon. The satirical comedy, mostly at the expense of Disney, has vanished almost completely to be replaced by some references to long-running stage musicals , although I did like the fairy-tale charcaters recreation of the students' scene from Les Mis, complete with a waving green flag. Nigel Lindsay is an amiable Shrek but certainly didn't inspire the audience (packed with young children) and Richard Blackwood is unforgiveably unfunny as Donkey. Kimberley Walsh was better than I expected as Fiona given her almost total lack of relevant experience, but in a cartoonish sort of way which suggests that this will not be the start of a distinguished career in musical theatre. The show is saved from mediocrity by a genuinely brilliant and very funny performance from Nigel Harman as Lord Farquaad, given a new and hysterical back-story. Farquaad is clearly based on Richard III and presumably Harman also shares a chiropractor with Kevin Spacey as he spends most of his time on his knees, including some extraordinary choreography. Harman apart, Shrek pales in comparison to Matilda which shows just how to bring a much-loved story to the stage. - David Baxter
29 Dec 11
Left at the interval. Worst west end show we have seen. Cast either hung over or simply could not be bothered. Quite shocking. Complete waste of a lot of money. - Peaches
28 Nov 11
A couple of hours of my life that I will never get back, was looking forward to this as the films were charming. Just a terrible amateur production. - Shirley
14 Nov 11
This show is not good! The music is dreadful and is acted no better that a school play. Richard Blackwood's donkey is beyond appalling. I had great expectations of this but it really is a very weak west end show. Nigel Harman steals it but he does have the best material to work with. - James. London
23 Aug 11
We arranged a trip to london around going to see shrek. we had an e-mail one week before to inform us that the show had been cancelled due to the cast promoting the show on a popular television programme ie, britains got talent. the money we had paid was reimbursed to us but no offer to see the show on another night. We had to spend an extra night in london which cost us nearly 2 hundred pounds more and had to take extra annual leave. We originally had seats 4 rows from thr front but ended up with a very poor view towards the back of the theatre.
After all this the show was like a glorified pantomine and a very weak performance all round ( except for lord farqhat). It was a very disappointing experience all round. We have written to the theatre company but basically they dont want to know. I have seen many west end shows and this is by far the poorest! - chris
21 Aug 11
Left at the interval! The principals couldn`t sing, there were no tunes and it was an insult to kids who deserve something more intelligent than this bilge. `Into The Woods` it ain`t, although it desperately wanted to be.The dragon was good though. - Trevor Collins
24 Jul 11
'Holden performs with perfect poise, true vocal technique and an appealing, steely edge'. Coveney - don't talk about vocal technique when you clearly know nothing about it. Holden can just about the show but has absolutely no technique to speak of. A 'shouty' belt range and a good top end of her voice does not make for a good Princess Fiona, nor does it indicate good vocal technique. This style of show needs someone with a strong mix voice to cope with the constant Cs and Ds in the score. Go and look at Sutton Foster nailing 'I Know It's Today' on Broadway to see what the role requires. Someone funny, spiky, quirky and loveable is needed. Not someone who can't even move their eyebrows due to the amount of Botox they have had. The show is great, fun and likeable, but the producers should be ashamed of themselves for putting celebrities who cannot cope with the roles on stage just to pull in the punters. Have the courage of your convictions for once. The Americans would be appalled if they saw the 'talent' that is headlining this show. - Bella
11 Jul 11
A very enjoyable show and I agree that it is a larger sort of pantomime Musical but very entertaining. I took my 10 year old grand-daughter to see it and she loved it and made me anjoy it more as it is definitely geared for the young audience. Still it was good and Imaginative sets and all lively and colourful. Nigel Lindsay and Amanda Holden were very good and Richard Blackwood evn better BUT the very best performance for me was Nigel harman who stole almost every scene he was in and sure next year at the awards he will get a nod as Best supporting actor in a musical. - Joe Spiteri
18 Jun 11
Saw the show at final preview. It provides a couple of hours of harmless fun but is not a great show. all the main stars are good, particularly Nigel Harmen. It should run but Dury Lane is a big theatre so a respectable run but I doubt if Shrek will be making his home at Dury Lane for years to come - Chris
17 Jun 11
We all enjoyed this show. Amanda Holden is very good as Princess Fiona, so is Nigel Lindsay as Shrek, Richard Blackwood not so good as Donkey but the star of this show is Nigel Harman as Lord Farquard who does it all on his knees. Loved the little legs and the dance numbers. On the whole a good production but a little dissapointed with the dragon as I saw one fly around without seeing the people working it underneath at Southampton a couple of years ago. A fun night out and enjoyed the finale. - ils
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