"Shrek The Musical" by Gatepost Theatre Company.

May Hall. Trent College, Long Eaton.

"Shrek", as possibly everybody now knows, is the story of the swamp-dwelling Scottish ogre who, in a faraway kingdom, embarks on a life-changing adventure in order to reclaim the deed to his land.

Joined by a wise-cracking donkey who won't shut up, this unlikely hero - not a handsome prince - fights a fearsome dragon, rescues the feisty Princess Fiona and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales.

It doesn't matter how many times I see this musical because it's such a feel good vibe every time and you never leave any theatre doing this show without a lovely warm feeling in your stomach and a spring in your step, and I 100% believe that; you could say that I'm a believer!

Gatepost have taken this musical and looked at staging it in a very different way; a completely immersive, in the round production of the likes that I have never seen this show done before, and especially at May Hall.

For regular patrons to May Hall, you'll know the entrance to the auditorium, well this time around, the seating is in two sides with Duloc Castle and the Swamp being at opposite ends, where normally the entrance and the stage are, straight away creating a very different environment. Your seats will either be in the "Once Upon A Time" block or the "Happily Ever After" seating block, as shown on your tickets. The actors, in character, show you to your seats and provide banter in character with their roles.

Simon Owen is Shrek and completely embodies the Scottish green ogre. With being in the round you get to be so much closer to the actors and get to  experience a more intimate appreciation of the actor's work. Simon is a fabulous comedy character actor and that is what shone for me with this role. Shrek doesn't always realise how "funny ha ha" he is and it's that self ignorance of how comical he is that Simon seems to have captured.

Every actor who plays any popular role in a play or musical gives their own portrayal of any character, a little bit of their own personality naturally seeps into a character and performance, and that is one reason why I never feel that, by seeing the same show by a different theatre group, you get to see exactly the same thing; there's always something slightly different, and Simon injects a wee bit of himself in this character.

Vocal wise Simon is on that too. It's never easy singing with an accent and keeping that accent constant, but you can see, and hear that he has worked on this. The ballad "Who I'd Be" especially highlights this, and that warmer side of the ogre.

Shrek's make up and prosthetics are created by Tessa Raum.

Jake Bavin plays Young Shrek, and by this little cameo part, I think that you can tell that he is destined to be good in comedy situations, especially from the "sunflower" scene at the start.

Donkey is played by Christopher Collington. For anyone who knows Chris and/or has seen him perform on stage previously knows what a very special performer he is. He has naturally funny bones and has a flair for an ad lib; both talents shown within this musical. Chris's portrayal of this wonderful comic role is the closest that I have seen to the Eddie Murphy style, and there are parts that even sound like Murphy. The comedy chemistry between Donkey and Shrek is apparent, making that connection between both a special part of this production. Chris has a talent for physical comedy and this is the perfect vehicle for this physical style.

Lottie Lodge is Princess Fiona. Feisty, bordering on bossy and deeply independent, Fiona is her own woman/ogre and is not afraid to let both Shrek and Donkey know. Lottie is another actor that I have had the pleasure of seeing over quite a few years, and she never fails to give value for money with her characters. Fiona is great fun, and it takes a fun person to bring that out of the characters that they play. Lottie is a fabulous vocalist, both solo, as in "Morning Person" and also with the other two younger Fionas - or should that be Fionii? - in "I Know It's Today", but one of my highlights is the battle song, "I Think I Got You Beat".

Grace Smith is Teen Fiona and Isla Farrell plays Young Fiona.

Playing Lord Farquaad is Luke Grainger. Like many of the Gatepost faithful, Luke is one of those actors who completely embodies their characters. Luke is a brilliant comedy actor, both in the physicality of a role but also, and this is where this immersive environment plays to his strengths,  in the close up visual comedy talents. His facial acting has been brilliantly honed with either an expression, a raise of the eyebrow or a gleeful grin.

Farquaad is one of my favourite characters in this show, apart from Shrek, Donkey, Fiona etc.. maybe because of that pantomime character appeal. The absurdity of acting on your knees and the quick shuffling across the floor just puts a smile on your face instantly. Farquaad is a physically demanding role but the energy levels never slow down with Luke.

Luke also has a very good singing voice and while being able to bring the comedy out of the character, he also shows that as a serious singer, he has that in the bag as well with some strong and controlled long notes and slight vibrato. Just an absolute all rounder really and one of the nicest blokes in local theatre.

Ben Gray is the Duloc Greeter and is not instantly recognisable because of that giant head that the Duloc Greeter has. This in itself brings a level of comedy to the role. It's also quite a physical role as we see Ben throwing himself on the floor in comic style in parts.

Gary Heap is the Captain of the Guards and delivers  an air of duty and importance.

Phoebe Owen doubles up as The Sugar Plum Fairy as well as Gingy, the opinionated Ginger Biscuit. This requires, not only puppetry but also a certain vocal technique.

The Three Little Pigs are played by Carrie Anne-Corner, Jordan Neary and Tessa Raum.

Shannon Elmore plays The Dragon, which sweeps in to the auditorium. looking even more frightening when this close to you. Another very strong vocalist who also makes an appearance from over the battlements of Castle Duloc, and then again to take her final bows with her own wings. The Dragon's song is a big, BIG power-ballad called "Forever" which, as I have noted in reviews before is very similar to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from "Dreamgirls", especially that end section. What drama!!

Jess Hin is Pinocchio the puppet - sorry a normal boy - watch out for that nose. Pinocchio is very vocal and stands up for himself as well as the other fairy tale characters who get evicted to the Swamp. Loved "Story Of My Life", which is headed up by Pinocchio, which means we get to hear Jess's vocals, followed up by "The Goodbye Song". The fairytale characters also shine in "Freak Flag" in the second act, complete with audience participation with their flag flying.

Kiah Smith (Bluebird), Steph Dennett (The Mad Hatter), Jessica Collis-Milward (Mama Bear), Josie Cunnington (Papa Bear), Jude Cliffman (Humpty Dumpty), Bella Radford (The Ugly Duckling), Christie O'Connor (The Wicked Witch), Kate Russell (Peter Pan), Kasia Cichocka (The Fairy Godmother), Ellie Coulthard (The White Rabbit) and Sam Bunting (The Big Bad Wolf) make up the fairytale characters, Duloc guards, Happy Villagers and all other ensemble members along with Arfaa Butt, Gracie Smith, Isla Farrell, Jake Bavin and Jessie McEvoy.

Directed by Chris Collington, and there's nothing that this man doesn't know about bringing out the best performances from a cast, as well as delivering entertaining performances. With this show being an immersive experience, there's obviously so much more scope for the performance area, and Chris utilises every bit of performance space available. I know that Chris always looks to pushing theatrical boundaries to give a bigger theatre experience to Gatepost's audience, and this is why their fanbase is always expanding and always look forward to the next theatrical extravaganza.

Choreographed by Lottie Lodge. With this being as immersive as it is, the choreography has to reflect this so the choreography is spread over a vast area, but what you get is the opportunity to see a master choreographer and her team of actors at close range. This also puts just that bit extra pressure of the actors due to the closeness of their audience. Everybody stepped up to the mark and the challenge, especially in that big tap dance scene, and I love a big tap section, which was choreographed by Jordan Neary and Harrison Ince beautifully and stylishly.

Set design is by Mark Green and Mark Russell. This I also take to include the scenery even before you get to the auditorium. You immediately see the normal entrance changed into the castle walls and you enter the theatre itself through an arched entrance way, greeted and welcomed by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Once inside there's the exterior of the castle and the swamp area as well as the castle tower where Princess Fiona has been kept prisoner. During the show a three piece bridge is moved into place by the stage crew, who also just happen to be the two Marks, Russell and Green.

Musical Director is Josie Cunnington. This soundtrack is not the easiest but everyone involved give their everything, but saying that, Josie has a wonderfully talented vocal group to work with. It's taken hard work but that work has really paid off when you hear these results.

The costumes needed to make this show the success it is are by Hollie Smith. Another gigantic task, but boy, do they all look fabulous and vivacious.

Lighting is by Stephen Greatorex. There's quite a range of lighting effects which go from the darker, almost depressive feel of Shrek's swamp, to the twilight effects to signal Fiona's reclusive behaviour for when she changes from a Princess to the ogress, through to the kaleidoscopic effects that accompany some of the joyous upbeat numbers like "Freak Flag".

Sound is by Mascd Audio. This was the only fly in the swampy ointment for me because while the recorded backing tracks were crystal clear and nice and bouncy, the problems soon became apparent with the mic packs. Now, I can't lay the blame on the sound department because anyone who knows a bit about this area will know just how fragile mic packs can be. This is a very energetic show and that means that the packs have to be robust enough to put up with the rigour created by the dancers and actors. Costumes are quickly removed and replaced and, as you'd imagine, a certain amount of sweat is involved. all of these things will have an effect on a delicate mic pack and cause pops and crackles, that made a few audience members jump. That is something that a sound man has no control over.

There were a couple of times though that trigger happiness occurred and we were treated to very loud fart noises prior to that famous scene with Fiona and Shrek. All kudos to the actors though as these unexpected noises and sound effects did not phase them at all.

Most readers of my reviews and sound operators know what I am like with getting sound cues right, and I am the first to admit that this job is not an easy one, and again I will drag out the simile I use that a sound operator is like an octopus because they need at least eight hands to operate all the sound cues, especially in a cast of this size. So, while I may seem to be constantly critical of this area of production, I also acknowledge the hard task these operators have.

Anyway, I have expressed my love for this musical and the comedy that is brought forth by the talented and hard working local theatre actors, who we must never forget have normal lives with family, and work, and children, and mortgages and bills to pay, alongside everything that they choose to do for the community theatre scene.

What I also loved about this immersive production was that every show this week is going to be a different experience. I was taken completely by surprise for instance, to hear my name mentioned as part of the script, and also Alfie who just happened to be sat in the front row and utilised comically by Donkey within a couple of scenes. Just as well Alfie is used to the world of drama and went along with everything that was asked of him. 

If you think that you've seen one production of "Shrek", come and see this one because it is different to any other production. As good as any other production, but with some excellent novel touches.

"Shrek The Musical" is at May Hall, Trent College, Long Eaton until Saturday 19 April.