‘Shrek: The Musical’ theatre review

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024Leave a comment

On Thursday 7th March 2024, me and my best friend Robyn hopped on the train to go see ‘Shrek: The Musical’ at Hull New Theatre, the matinee performance. She very kindly bought my ticket as a birthday treat, as my birthday falls on the end of this month… The show was absolutely spectacular! 😄😄

Shrek (2001) is iconic as an animated Dreamworks comedy fantasy film. The grumpy stinky ogre Shrek is content in his solitary swamp life, isolated and alone. So he will do anything, such as go on a far travelled quest, with an annoying steed, to rescue a beautiful fair princess, cruelly imprisoned in a huge dragon guarded castle, to win back his beloved swamp, peace and quiet. Some fairy tale folk had inhabited Shrek’s land you see, but Lord Farquaad had promised to get rid, so long as he gets the girl, aka Princess Fiona 😛😛

William Steig (the writer) did a fantastic job introducing such brilliant characters – Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Lord Farquaad, alongside other familiar fairy tale creatures. In terms of ogres, over the centuries there have been different imaginations; big heads, fat bellies – green, brown, red or even orange – ugly, smelly! With extra toes and fingers, horns and claws! They are usually depicted as villians, hence why William Steig’s reimagining is deemed so progressive, and a welcome change in storytelling

What stood out greatly to me in the stage production was the incredible singing voices of the cast, especially Cherece Richards as the dragon. She was just phenomenal. The dragon was played by her but additionally there was a gigantic red dragon puppet controlled by puppeteers holding strings. Very aesthetically impressive!

Shrek’s Scottish accent was on point – his mardy demeanour well executed – Donkey both pesky and lovable, Princess Fiona sweet and super sassy, Lord Farquaad flamboyant and ever so pompous

There were many comical aspects, especially with Donkey’s exuberance. And a bit of… flatulence! “Better out than in!”

The array of fairytale characters; the three bears, sugar plum fairy, the big bad wolf, the three little pigs, pinocchio, fairy godmother, the ugly duckling, Peter pan and the white rabbit, etc, really brought the production to life (no, sorry pinocchio, you still aren’t a real boy, haha) 🤣

The choreography was so creative and the scenery/props to be admired

The final song ‘I’m a believer’ (as in the film also) – everyone in the audience were up on their feet, singing and dancing, a standing ovation! Incredible!

For my next blog post, it may be a pub painting as classes resume in April. I also have a ‘Stitch’ and a sunset diamond art to start 🎨 💎

Thank you as ever for reading/viewing. Lots of love, Lauren xx

‘Charlie and the chocolate factory’ theatre review

September 18, 2023September 18, 2023Leave a comment

SPOILER ALERT

On Thursday 7th September, me and my best friend Robyn went to see ‘Charlie and the chocolate factory’, at Hull New Theatre

Before the show started, we were moved to actually better stalls seats, because a massive group of school children all desired to sit together. We sat in our new stall D seats with our snacks and drinks, highly anticipating the performance

This stage version actually started it’s journey at Leeds playhouse, a reinvention of the Broadway/West end productions. We were delighted with memorable songs, such as ‘The Candy Man’ and ‘Pure Imagination’ from the original 1970s Gene Wilder film

Roald Dahl is indisputably a genius of Children’s fiction. A young, impovished boy living with his poverty stricken family, his dreams and hopes. 5 golden tickets, the opportunity of a lifetime – to go where no child has before, inside the magical world of Willy Wonka and his fantastical chocolate factory

The set was spectacular, amazing aesthetics, video design and brilliant costumes

I particularly enjoyed Augustus Gloop getting stuck in the tubular pipe, having scoffed his face with liquid chocolate from the forbidden fountain, just like in the film… or, Violet Beauregarde’s dress expanding until she practically becomes an enormous blueberry! A huge blue/purple ball then rolling on the stage, with a fake scarecrow like head, that was very comical! Also, Willy Wonka and Charlie ascending the glass elevator, that was cool

A shock, and how I felt the production deviated the most from expectation were the oompah-loompas. I was expecting little dwarfs with bright orange faces and green curly hair, haha 😄 Instead, they actually looked rather mechanical, and very steampunk. A little frightening perhaps for very small children

Gareth Snook who played Willy Wonka was flamboyant and quirky, Isaac Surgen who played Charlie Bucket cheerful and likeable and I actually thought Michael D’Cruze who played Grandpa Joe, extremely animated and full of zest, for an oldie 😛

It was funny Veruca Salt determined a ‘bad nut’ and exterminated in the trash by a giant squirrel, and Mike Teavee pixelating on TV

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the musical, and are so pleased we decided to go. We are all booked up for ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in February next year, at Sheffield Lyceum

Thank you so much for taking the time to read 😄 Many thanks, Lauren xx

(All information taken from bought programs)

‘We Will Rock You’ – Musical Theatre Description / Review

February 24, 2020Leave a comment

Earlier this year, on Thursday 16th January, myself, my mum, my boyfriend, dad, gran and auntie all went to Hull New Theatre to see the matinee performance of ‘We Will Rock You’; the hit musical by Ben Elton, celebrating the amazing music of one of the best bands ever in rock history, the one and only, Queen… Please continue reading for a description / review of the performance, with accompanying photography, hope you enjoy! 🙂 🙂

‘We Will Rock You’ smashed London’s Dominion Theatre for a whopping 12 years, (dazzling a record breaking 6.5 million people!) until 31st May 2014. The epic musical, written by Ben Elton, has rocked and toured in 28 countries all around the world, reaching over 16 million viewers in total! [Official WWRY UK and Ireland 2019-2020 programme]. The show has been an absolute triumph in popularity, winning numerous top awards, including Best New Musical in the Theatregoers Choice awards in 2003 and the prestigious Olivier Audience Award in 2011. Now, the 2019-20 touring production showcases a stunning and striking celebration of Queen and their undeniable musical legacy, luckily for us, bringing the exceptional performance to Hull New Theatre in January 2020.

SPOILER ALERT. The basic concept of the story is that ‘Galileo’ and ‘Scaramouche’ (‘Galileo’ being the main protagonist) live in a futuristic cyber world, where musical instruments are forbidden and live rock ‘n’ roll is all but forgotten. ‘Galileo’ is praised by a bunch of rebel Bohemians in a bleak conformist dystopian reality as ‘The Dreamer’ – as he dreams the lyrics of Queen songs! He holds the key to reigniting the rock flame, as the Bohemians fight for the freedom of individuality; to express themselves, to freely exchange fashion and thought – and to feel the exhilaration of listening to live music, to break free – to love, and to love rock, with a champion passion! 🙂 🙂

The musical features, to be expected, all the iconic hit Queen songs, including; ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘I Want to Break Free’, ‘Somebody to Love’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘A Kind of Magic’, ‘I Want it All’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ in Act One, and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, and so on, in the second half of the performance. I must say, we were immensely impressed with the vocals of the cast, in particular, Elena Skye, who played ‘Scaramouche’, has an absolutely superb voice in my opinion; she absolutely belted out the high notes, incredible, a very talented young lady. Ian McIntosh, who played the main protagonist ‘Galileo’, brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the role, we were equally as enthralled by his portrayal. Jenny O’Leary, playing ‘Killer Queen’, brought the attitude and sass to the adaptation, accompanied by Michael McKell, as the eccentric and charismatic, cheeky Bohemian, ‘Buddy’; delighting us with playful puns and humour.

SPOILER ALERT: Just as we thought the final curtain was to close, ‘Galileo’ raised the roof once more with his wonderful rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, resulting in a very well deserved standing ovation from the audience! 🙂 🙂

Please keep a look out for my next blog post, a description of mine and my boyfriend’s trip to Manchester to see ‘Thriller Live!’, with accompanying photography… Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time! Haha 😛 😛

Thank you as ever for taking the time to read/view, much appreciated.

Peace and love, Lauren xx

Hull / ‘Kinky Boots’ November 2019

November 26, 2019Leave a comment

Earlier this November, me and my beautiful mum Debbie had a weekend break away to Hull to go see ‘Kinky Boots’, the musical, at Hull New Theatre. Please see below a description of our travels, with accompanying photography. Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

Friday 15th November

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the train station to travel to Hull, we soon realised that our train had been cancelled due to the flooding in South Yorkshire! 😦 Oh no, not a great start to our trip. My dad, who is a taxi driver, drove us instead. Nevertheless, when we finally arrived at our Ibis city centre Hotel, we were pleased to be in Hull and excited to go and explore the city.

We found a lovely quaint little fish and chip shop on Savile Street, and tucked into delicious grub and ice cream sundae, yum yum.

We took some nice photographs of Hull City Hall, the Maritime Museum, and Queen Victoria Statue in Queen Victoria Square, before visiting Ferens Art Gallery.

We very much (me especially) enjoyed viewing the various collections Ferens offers in different galleries, in particular we appreciated the ‘Renaissance’ and ‘Modern and Contemporary’ art.

On King Edward Street a gorgeous sparkly Christmas gingerbread house really put us in the festive spirit 🙂

Next, we walked to Queen’s Gardens. Unfortunately, it lacked impressive flower displays, due to the time of year, however it was nice to see the water fountains. Nearby, fun fair attractions lit up the streets. Strolling leisurely around Princes Quay, we rested in a cafe, indulging in Rocky Road chocolate/marshmallows and frothy coffees, yummy. Later filling our bellies with toasties in Cafe Nero, we then set off on a slow walk towards Hull New Theatre, admiring the city in stunning twilight.

We unexpectedly came across rehearsals for a BBC Children in Need concert, so stayed a while and happily danced along to popular songs.

Kinky Boots is an incredible 2016 ‘Best New Musical’ Olivier winner, with songs by Tony and Grammy winning pop sensation Cyndi Lauper. It tells the story of Charlie Price, living in Northampton, who inherits his father’s drab and dull shoe shop. The business is struggling enormously with sales and orders until Charlie meets the glamorous drag queen Lola, and together they decide to re-brand and design sexy glittery knee-length stiletto heels! 🙂 It’s a very entertaining, funny, uplifting, yet moving story – belting out a powerful message; the importance to accept and love ourselves and others. As Kinky Boots has ended it’s dazzling 3 years in the West End, I was extremely keen to go see a performance on the UK/Ireland tour, and… We absolutely loved it! Fabulous darling!

We got chatting to a great couple, massive fans of Kinky Boots, who have seen multiple performances of the show. At our Hull New Theatre performance they had front row tickets, were the first, we noticed, to stand up cheering during the (well deserved) standing ovation and, as you can see above, made a huge effort to dress up for the occasion, haha! Amazing! 🙂 🙂

Saturday 16th November

We started off Saturday morning with a scrumptious English breakfast at our Ibis city centre hotel, as part of our bed and breakfast deal. The first place on our itinerary for the day was Hull Minster, situated in Old Town. There was a craft fair on inside which was very enjoyable to walk around, I bought mum a pretty blue and turquoise brooch for her coat, as a souvenir.

The next port of call was the harbour of Humber Dock Marina, where we took some selfies with the plentiful pleasure boats.

The pier making our way to nearby The Deep was breezy and blustery, so we walked more briskly as the rain poured.

The Deep aquarium was brilliant fun. We loved exploring all the exhibits, such as ‘Awakening Seas’ – learning the four billion years history of the ocean, ‘Lagoon of Light’ – gazing upon colourful cute tropical fish; gaping at the turtles, rays and sharks in ‘Endless Ocean’, becoming mesmerised by jellyfish in ‘Cool Seas’, and my personal favourite, we were delighted to peep at the gorgeous Gentoo penguins as they played and swam in ‘Kingdom of Ice’. Another highlight was venturing through the underwater viewing tunnel! Slightly scary but stunning. I bought mum a teddy turtle as a gift also, awwww 🙂

Afterwards, we ate pizza and indulged in vanilla milkshakes with whipped cream at an Italian restaurant, close by to the aquarium. The Minster looked beautiful lit up as we journeyed back towards our Ibis hotel.

Saturday evening, we got cosy in our hotel room watching Saturday night television and drinking complimentary tea/coffee. Wild, haha! Another tasty full English / continental breakfast the next Sunday morning, and we were on our travels back home. Luckily, the train was running on our return journey, yey!

Summary

As mum is becoming more and more poorly with her Alzheimer’s dementia, I really do cherish these moments and trips away together. We had such an incredible time; discovering all Hull has to offer, eating out, being bedazzled by Kinky Boots the musical, and being in awe of and appreciating all the amazing diverse underwater sea creatures at The Deep. I personally have visited Hull once or twice before, but it was nice to have the opportunity to see more of the 2017 ‘City of Culture’. I would definitely go again, for sure.

Thank you so much, as always, for taking the time to read / view! 🙂 🙂

Keep a lookout for my next blog post, pencil portraits of two Springador dogs! Woof, woof, hehe! 🙂 🙂

Much love, Lauren xx

(Please visit my Facebook page ‘UnicornPostbox’ to ‘like’ and ‘follow’)

Further information:

https://www.thedeep.co.uk [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://www.thedeep.co.uk/plan-your-visit/deep-tour [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://bwml.co.uk/hull-marina/ [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/ferens [Accessed 24th November 2019]

https://www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/ferens/galleries-ferens-art-gallery [Accessed 24th November 2019]

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/research/research-guides/history-hull-docks.aspx [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://hullminster.org/ [Accessed 25th November 2019]