G Live's annual Summer Youth Project staged Shrek the Musical with 106 young performers aged 8-18, impressing audiences with a modern morality tale about prejudice and teamwork. The production, which ran for three performances last week, featured a live band, professional costume and make-up teams, choreographers, and a dazzling lighting plot, all brought together within two weeks.
A Breath-Taking Achievement for Young Performers
The cast ages ranged from 8 to 18 years, making the scale and ambition of the enterprise particularly notable. According to the review, the show is a surprisingly modern morality tale about prejudice, appearances, and the danger of judging people by what they seem rather than who they are, beneath its razzmatazz and fairy-tale glamour.
The first night audience was primed by the overture when the show was suddenly paused. The national warning from HM Government about fire safety had over-loaded internal communications, and a production restart was necessary. This did not phase the opening cast members, according to the report.
Behind the Spectacle: Teamwork and Confidence
Behind the spectacle was something rather more important: over 100 young people enjoying the opportunity to discover the adventure of theatre, its demands, the disciplines required, the teamwork necessary, the summoning of confidence and concentration, but above all the exciting feeling of belonging to something much bigger than oneself. The review noted that this can offer memories for a lifetime.
The leading players brought to the stage energy and panache. The role of Lord Farquaad demands a very particular comic confidence, and Jessie Scothern attacked the part with relish, creating an enjoyably ridiculous villain. Donkey was an irresistible opportunity for Naru Sivanganeshamoorthy to maintain the good-natured, self-deprecating elements the part requires plus the energy to keep it fizzing.
Standout Performances and Community Support
The script asks a lot from the role of Fiona, but Olivia-Mai Stevens revealed both the character's exuberance and its more tender moments. She commanded the stage effortlessly. A lot of responsibility for a successful production falls to whoever portrays Shrek, and in G Live it was Ethan Kethero, bringing to the role an underlying vulnerability to the green ogre exterior. It was a 'big ask' but Kethero carried it with assurance and a convincing sense of the character's developing self-belief.
The chorus of fairytale characters, pages, footmen and soldiers were well disciplined, and their several entrances into the auditorium offered an immersive and novel experience. Many in the first-night audience were family members of the cast, and the review noted one father vigorously waving encouragement to someone on stage, adding that behind every young performer there is someone who has likely endured the rehearsal highs and lows and who was going to cheer whatever happened.
Supporting the substantial cast was a large body of 'Behind the Scenes' personnel, sorting costumes, creating make-up, along with chaperones, band members, stage and venue staff led by show director Lisa Millar. Shrek has now closed, but opportunities will be available for next year's new production. Information can soon be obtained directly from G Live.
Barricade Boys Kick Off Guildford Fringe 2026
The Guildford Fringe 2026 opens on September 4, offering a variety of events including free Fringe events. The review described watching a Fringe 'curtain raiser' on Saturday evening, where the Barricade Boys performed in Guildford High Street beneath the Guildhall clock. The Barricade Boys are four West End performers brought together by Les Misérables, but their musical territory stretches considerably further: musical theatre, Motown, pop, rhythm and blues, rock and swing.
The High Street around the Guildhall was packed with a good natured crowd, estimated at above three and maybe closer to four hundred people, sitting, squatting, standing, picnicking, singing and dancing along to the music. The Fringe will run between September 4 and 19.
