Since its holidays, young and old will be delighted by the work of producers of Little Shop of Horrors, Cabaret and more recently Sweeney Todd, KickstArt that brings Jozi audiences the musical stage adaptation of DreamWork’s global movie phenomenon Shrek!
It comprises of 28 characters and it’s the first of many major productions to be staged at Gold Reef City following the completion of the recent multi-million Rand redevelopment.
The story revolves around a benign ogre named Shrek who lives contentedly alone in a swamp.
However, his solitude is disrupted when a band of disgruntled fairytale creatures show up on his property after having been banished from the Kingdom of Duloc, on pain of death, by the evil Lord Farquaad.
Irritated by having to share his swamp, Shrek journeys to see Farquaad with the intention of regaining his privacy. On the road, he rescues a talkative donkey who insists on tagging along to show him the way.
Shrek and Donkey arrive in Duloc where Farquaad demands that Shrek rescue his intended, Princess Fiona. The two unlikely friends set off to save Fiona. After a quest involving a fire-breathing lady dragon, Princess Fiona is “rescued” from the tower by Shrek. On the way back to Duloc, Shrek and Princess Fiona get better acquainted and Donkey tries, unsuccessfully, to match-make them.
As Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad are about to be married, there is an uprising from the fairytale characters, and Princess Fiona realises that Lord Farqaad is perhaps not her champion after all.
And in the tradition of all good fairy stories, the villain is vanquished, the hero finds true love, and they all live happily ever after.
Shrek runs until July 17. No less than 4 years allowed.
Tickets range from R150 – R290 at Computicket outlets.
The show runs for 2 hours 10 minutes with a 20-minute interval.
