Emerald green lights bathed the stage at Hyde’s festival theatre for the Tameside Youth Drama Group’s production of Shrek.

The first scene began and introduced the audience to Shrek as a seven-year-old, being sent off out into the world.

The iconic character of Shrek was played by Aiden Grantham, who subconsciously painted smiles on the audience’s faces with his green Shrek mask and ogre attire.

After a humorous dialogue between Shrek and his sidekick, Donkey (played by Ava Evans), we were introduced to all of the other characters including the three pigs, Pinocchio, Puss in Boots and an audience favourite, Gingy (played by Evelyn Earnshaw).

Gingy’s frantic yet comedic attitude was infectious with the audience laughing along. There were plenty of songs in this show which instantly got
the audience tapping their feet along to catchy beats. A rainbow of lights flooded the stage for the first number, along with dry ice, helping to
create a fun and party like atmosphere at Hyde Festival Theatre.

Another audience favourite who graced the stage was the antagonist, Lord Farquaad (played by Ned Evans) whose costume immediately caused a
wave of laughter. 

This timeless fairy-tale of course has its trials and tribulations within the plot, but like all good stories, there’s a happy ever after.
In this musical Shrek marries his true love Princess Fiona (played by Macy Jo Callaghan). Fiona sang a plethora of songs, including ones about being stuck in the tower as a princess.There wasn’t just one Fiona though, with a “young Fiona” (portrayed by Bella RoseTaylor) and a ‘teenage Fiona’ (played by Macyie Northend). Three generations of the Princess added an ounce of complexity to the play as it encouraged the audience to feel empathy towards the character of Fiona, especially when the three Fionas sang a heartfelt ballad together.

If I had to describe the play with one word, I would use the adjective “heart-warming”. It was lovely to see all the children’s hard work pay off, especially as they had been working on the play for around six months.

Every character, no matter how big or small their part, played a key role in making this one hour and-a-half an enjoyable show for people of all ages.
The effort from everyone involved including the cast, production team and costumes was so inspiring to see. I can't wait to watch their winter production of Snow White!