What a gorgeous theatre Crewe's Lyceum is! A beautiful Victorian auditorium with a stage that has - I have been reliably inoformed - the steepest rake in the country. And with friendly and helpful FOH staff, what more could you want... oh, yes, a restaurant. That's what's missing. We arrived early in order to dine at the theatre before the show only to find that the restaurant is no longer there, and with no other restaurants in walking distance from the theatre, they are surely missing a trick by not having one.... however... to the show....!
This is not the first time I have seen a show presented by the talented company that is Curtain Call Productions, and so I had rather high expectations before the curtain opened. This is a company that has extremely high production values, and treats the show and the cast as a professional set-up. And it shows. Expectations were met and more besides. Costumes, sound, lighting, set, make-up etc were all of the highest standard - despite some rather clunky first night technical hitches (these can all easily be rectified before the next show) - this was a true spectacle and all helped to create the right mood and atmosphere for the skilled cast members to bring to life their characters and the story.
It is of course no surprise to read in the programme the long list of professional credits to our leading lady's name. Natasha Barnes's interpretation of the role of Princess Fiona was spot on, with a lovely singing voice and charismatic personality and a very easy stage presence. Her on-stage chemistry with Joel Montague's Shrek was also excellent. Montague too had a great stage presence and Shrek was a truly sympathetic and real character in his proficient hands, whilst his sturdy light baritone vocals gave depth further nuancing his characterisation.
Steven Coles hammed up the role of Donkey for all it was worth, and this paid dividend, realising from the off that this was the comedy character, but never was it too much, never OTT. Excellently placed and the dialogue nicely paced too, again working well with Montague. Adam Goode drew the short straw (no pun intended!).... as he has to spend majority of the show walking on his knees as Lord Farquaad, and on the Crewe's rake, that could not have been easy. A fully-rounded and secure characterisation with good vocals.
These four were aided and ameliorated by some 35 more performers playing supporting / cameo / and ensemble roles throughout. The direction was secure and imaginative, and I appreciated the few little personal touches added here and there which truly made the script sparkle; the singing - especially the chorus numbers - was excellent throughout; whilst the choreography was also of a high standard and worked well. The stage isn't terribly big once you have a set, a large and unwieldy dragon puppet, and 30 cast members on it, and so quite rightly minimalism executed to perfection was the order of the day.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening in the hands of the accomplished Curtain Call!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 12.10.22
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