Woodbridge School Prep Perform ‘Shrek the Musical’
Lucky audiences were treated to fabulous performances of Shrek JR by Years 5 and 6 from our Prep School this week in our Seckford Theatre; the story of Shrek, the swamp and his adventures along the way.
On turning seven years old our hero Shrek (Year 6’s George) is told by his parents, in the nicest possible way, to “Go away!” and find a swamp to live in, preferably as far away from anyone with pitchforks as possible. Happily settled and living in his dank, dark swamp he is one day, to his horror, deluged by visitors in the form of fairy-tale ‘freaks’ that the ruling Lord Farquaad (Year 6’s Lewis) has banished from his kingdom. Unhappy with these unwanted new swamp mates he agrees to head to Duloc to negotiate with Lord Farquaad himself to get his swamp back.
He sets off, and along the way meets Donkey (Year 6’s Zik), a keener friend than Shrek would like, but one that brings great comedy and fun to the journey.
Meanwhile in Duloc, the diminutive and arrogant Lord Farquaad is on the search for a Queen so he can officially become King. Having tortured poor Gingy (Year 6’s Clem) Lord Farquaad discovers the location of a potential Queen, Princess Fiona (Year 6’s Imogen), but she needs rescuing and obviously he won’t do it! In walks Shrek, just at the right moment, and they strike a deal. In return for rescuing Princess Fiona from a tower surrounded by lava and a guarding dragon (Year 6’s India), Shrek can be named on the deeds for the swamp.
Shrek heads off on an adventure to slay the dragon and bring Princess Fiona back to Duloc. Ably accompanied by Donkey who keeps spirits high and with beautiful backdrops of sunflower filled fields and deep dark forests, the duo make their way to the tower where Princess Fiona is desperately counting down the days to her fairy-tale rescue.
The rescue goes smoothly thanks to Donkey unwittingly winning the heart of the dragon guarding her, although an ogre it is not quite what Princess Fiona was expecting as her handsome prince. On the way back to Duloc, Shrek and Princess Fiona fall in love, but one is an ogre and one is a princess – or are they?
What Shrek doesn’t know is that Princess Fiona has been cursed by a witch to live as a princess by day and an ogre by night; only a kiss from her true love will see her return to a full-time princess. Such is the weight of the curse on Princess Fiona that even on eventually meeting the disappointingly small Lord Farquaad, she still agrees to marry him in the hope that the curse will be lifted.
Accepting his fate, Shrek returns to his swamp where he finds the sad band of fairy-tale ‘freaks’ who have now been evicted and really have nowhere to go. He’s not in the mood to be sociable but they eventually manage to convince him that he needs to face his feelings and stop pushing them away.
With huge encouragement from Donkey and the support of his new found friends, Shrek manages to stop the wedding of Princess Fiona to Lord Farquaad in its tracks, disposing of him with the help of the now tamed dragon.
As she kisses Shrek for the first time, Princess Fiona is disappointed to find that she remains an ogre – but Shrek loves her just the way she is. The wonderful anthem of Let your Freak Flag Fly accompanied the scene, reinforcing the message that you should just be proud of who you are, despite what you are, how you look and what anyone else thinks of you.
It was a wonderful end to an absolutely brilliant performance by our Prep School children. The Year 5 chorus did themselves proud supporting all the Year 6 actors and actresses on stage. Congratulations to the cast, chorus, crew and amazing staff who delivered this production so successfully. The story of Shrek and Princess Fiona will now forever remind us that no matter our differences, we should all celebrate them and be incredibly proud of ourselves.
So many layers to a great production – just like onions and ogres!
