A couple of weeks ago, both me and Jamie went to see Shrek The Musical at the Alhambra Bradford, and after having a fantastic time, I thought that I would tell you all about it.

Here’s what Shrek The Musical say about themselves.

Get ready to leave your troubles Far Far Away and embark on an unforgettable adventure filled with laughter, love, and ogre-sized fun.
Join Shrek and his trusty sidekick Donkey as they set out on a quest to defeat the fearsome Dragon and rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona. With a heartwarming story and a cast of unforgettable characters, this Musical Extravaganza is a journey you won’t want to miss.
The Show is set to a toe-tapping Soundtrack featuring fabulous songs like ‘I’m A Believer’, ‘Big Bright Beautiful World’ and ‘I Know It’s Today’. These Tunes will have you humming all the way Home. It’s the perfect Night Out for the whole Family, offering an award-winning Show that promises a Musical Spectacular for Big Kids and Little Kids alike.
Our stellar Cast is led by theatre legend Antony Lawrence as Shrek, whose ‘powerful Voice fills the Theatre and makes him instantly lovable’, Twit Celeb Gossip. His previous credits include: The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Matilda the Musical, and We Will Rock You. Strictly Come Dancing Star and leading lady Joanne Clifton is ‘An absolute revelation as Princess Fiona’, Cheshire Live,. Previous credits include: Strictly Come Dancing, and The Addams Family. Olivier-Award nominated James Gillan is ‘As magnificent a Villain as you could hope for’, Great British Life, as the evil Lord Farquaad. His previous credits include: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Wicked, and Taboo! Theatre favourite Brandon Lee Sears ‘exuberant performance does Eddie Murphy proud’, Love Dublin, as the loveable Donkey. His previous credits include: Dreamgirls, Come From Away, and Motown.
Book your Tickets today and get ready for an unforgettable journey with Shrek and his Friends – because in this Kingdom, everyone is a part of the adventure!

What happened when I went to see Shrek The Musical at the Alhambra Bradford.

Once we had finally arrived in Bradford, and had done a little bit of Shopping, we eventually headed to the Alhambra Bradford, which is located next door to Bradford Live on Morely Street in Bradford City Centre.

Then once we had walked into the beautiful Foyer, we looked around for a couple of minutes before Jamie eventually found a sign that said Stalls on it with a very long queue in front of it. Then after about ten or so minutes of us queuing, we finally reached the front where a really nice Woman said hi and took our Tickets. We said hi back and asked if it would be possible for someone to show us to our Seats as neither of us can see very well in the dark, and after handing us our Tickets back, she said that would be fine and that there should be an attendant at the end of the corridor to help us. We then said thanks and headed down the very long corridor to try and find the attendant. Then once we had reached the bottom of the corridor, a really nice Man said hi and asked us if he could help us. We said hi back, and asked him if he could help us to find our Seats, and after he had looked at our Tickets, he showed us to some really comfy Seats that were opposite the Stage.

Then after we had gotten comfy and had been chatting for about ten or so minutes, a really loud recording of a Man with a very thick American accent welcomed us to the show and reminded us to turn our Phones off before the show eventually started.,

What I thought of the show.

It’s opening.

I really liked that they opened the Show with the Narrator introducing us to Shrek’s Mum and Dad and them performing an outstanding performance of Big Bright Beautiful World, before also introducing us to some of the Fairytale Characters that Lord Farquaad had evicted and them performing a very catchy performance of That’s The Story Of My Life, as I thought that it instantly set the scene and introduced us to some of the main characters that we would see throughout the first act.

Everyone’s performances.

I really liked everyone’s performances, as I thought that they all embodied the mix of people that you would probably find living in a Fairytale Village, from the very deluded Pinocchio who thinks he’s a real Boy, to the very power-hungry Lord Farquaad who just wants to become King at any price, to Shrek who just wants to get his beloved Swamp back, to Princess Fiona who’s been locked up in a Tower for twenty years, to Donkey who just wants a Friend, and even the very camp Three Little Pigs who just want to find a new Home.

I also really liked the chemistry between everyone, as I really believed that Shrek despised all of the Fairytale Creatures for moving into his Swamp, that Shrek and Donkey eventually grew to be the best of friends, that Princess Fiona was grateful to both Shrek and Donkey for rescuing her from her Tower, and that all of the Fairytale Creatures despised Lord Farquaad for kicking them out of their Homes.

I also really liked everyone’s accents, as with Shrek being Scottish he obviously had to talk in a very thick Scottish accent, but I really liked that Lord Farquaad sounded very camp, that all of the Three Little Pigs had a German accent, and that Donkey sounded pretty much like he did in the Movie.

The songs.

I absolutely loved all of the songs, as I thought that they were all performed beautifully, especially some of my favourites including I Know It’s Today, I Think I Got You Beat and Freak Flag, but some of the ones that stuck in my mind definitely had to be This Is How A Dream Comes True and Morning Person, as they were incredibly haunting and showed just how brilliantly Joanne Clifton can sing.

The story.

I really liked the story of Shrek going on a Quest to get his Swamp back, Princess Fiona trying to break her own Curse, Donkey trying to find where he belongs, Lord Farquaad trying to turn his little Town into a Kingdom by any means necessary, and the Fairytale Creatures binding together to get their Homes and their Village back.
I really liked that they had included some of the story from the Movie but had also added quite a bit to it so that you didn’t feel like you were just watching a carbon copy of the Movie, including seeing what the Fairytale Creatures were up to and seeing why Lord Farquaad was so evil.
Even though it was called a Comedy, it did have a few sad parts in it, including Shrek’s Mum and Dad kicking him out, Shrek thinking Fiona found him repulsive, and Fiona saying goodbye to Shrek and Donkey when she was handed over to Lord Farquaad on her Wedding Day.

My overall thoughts.

Overall I would have to rate Shrek The Musical a nine out of ten. I absolutely loved it and thought that it was a fantastic show that had some dramatic, some funny, and some sad parts to it that was performed brilliantly. The only thing that I didn’t particularly like about it though was that it contained quite a fair bit of visual only sequences, which with me being Visually Impaired kind of passed me by. But other than that, I thought that it was a brilliant show that I highly recommend everyone go see whilst they still can.
If you would like to find out more about Shrek The Musical, including where you can buy your Tickets from, then you can find them online here.
Then once the show had finally finished, wee grabbed our Bags and headed off back into Bradford to grab some Food.
Have you seen Shrek The Musical yet? What did you think of it? What’s some of your favourite Fairytale Characters? Please let me know down below.

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Luke x

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