Shrek the Musical!

March 3rd marked the opening night of our annual TY musical. This year’s production saw Shrek The Musical taking the stage of the St David’s Sports Hall, to the excitement of both cast and audience. The TY team have been working constantly for months on end to prepare for the long-awaited four nights. The countless hours of practice proved to be well worth it as the entire team put on an outstanding show.

The musical is started off by “Big Bright Beautiful World” where we see young Shrek, played by Dylan Goodwin, being sent off into the big world by his parents. In parallel, we see young Fiona, plpayed by Maeve Aylmer, being sent off by her parents, just like Shrek, but to a dragon-guarded castle rather than a desolate swamp.

The cast impeccably told the story of the grumpy ogre Shrek, played by James Ward, who must rescue princess Fiona, played by the fantastic Doireann Purcell, in order to reclaim his swamp from the fairytale creatures - including Pinocchio, Gingey, Fairy Godmother, The Three Little Pigs, and many many more - banished by Lord Farquaad. Donkey, performed by the hilarious Sam McDermott, enters the stage and sings "Don't Let Me Go” to Shrek, as he is on his journey to Duloc. This is our first insight to the iconic duo of Shrek and Donkey, both of whom light up the stage throughout the performance.

The scene is then shifted back to Fiona for the song “I Know It's Today” which portrays baby, teen, and adult Fiona as she longs for her undisclosed rescuer and true love to break her spell and rescue her from her lifetime of confined loneliness inside the stone walls she calls “home”, guarded by the fire breathing dragon, the outstanding Mae Browner.

We are then introduced to the skillful Duloc Dancers, and the infamous Lord Farquaad, displayed by the iconic Conor Church, who, quite ironically, rose to his role as a comedic and arrogant lord in search of a queen. This is when we hear the song “What’s Up,Duloc?”, an earworm that we'll all be humming for weeks to come.

To close off Act One, the scene was set with Shrek, Donkey and Fiona at camp, waiting until morning to go to Duloc to marry Fiona with Lord Farquaad. This is the first time we are introduced to Fiona's inner battle with her alternative self that is a result of the setting sun, which can only be saved by a true love's kiss. We hear “Who I’d Be” to close off the first act.

In Act Two, we were treated to the captivating song “Freak Flag”, sung by the Fairytale Creatures, before they stormed Farquaad and Fiona's wedding ceremony. This was a pivotal moment of empowerment and acceptance where Gingey inspired the Fairytale Creatures to not be ashamed of their differences, embrace their unique selves and stand up, or should we say, crouch, to Lord Farquaad. This leads to Farquaad being banished from his short-lived role as ruler of Duloc.

Fiona shares a true love kiss with Shrek and she turns into a permanent ogress. We then see Lord Farquaad being destroyed by the dragon. We then see the closing number “I’m a Believer”, a high energy piece where the fairytale creatures embrace their quirks and express their inner selves.

A huge well done to the cast who delivered excellent performances. Although a familiar story, the re-imagining of Shrek in musical form will live long in the memory thanks in large part to the remarkable talent on display, from the impeccable singing, pin-point choreography and genuinely entertaining acting. Alongside this, the stunning set and fantastical staging ensured audience members were treated to a visual feast in every scene.

We’d like to express a sincere thanks to our wonderful choreographer, Alan Mcgrath, our Director and Assistant Director, Ms Cronly and Ms Aylmer, our Production Design and Stage Manager Ms Carey, as well as Programme Coordinator Mr Douglas, Business gurus Mr Brady and Mr Crowe and of course our facilitator and principal Mr Carey. Finally thank you to sponsors Evad and JustEat and our main sponsor, Holohan's Supervalu Greystones.

Shrek the Musical will definitely be a musical to remember!

Reporters: Katie Roche & Hazel Prendergast

Photographer: Lexie Tighe & Rory Coyle