By Jasmine Burke, Epigram Wellbeing Editor
Meld Take Me Out with Busted, and you've got PantoSoc's Shrek. Jasmine Burke reviews this much-needed ★★★★★ revision break, stuffed with gags, puns, and good times.
Where do you find Darth Vader, Snape, Gaston and a dominatrix in the same place? In PantoSoc’s Shrek, of course!
When imagining a pantomime, the classic fairy-tales tend to spring to mind. I have seen various reimaginings of Cinderellas and Snow Whites and Aladdins, but Shrek? A bold choice by PantoSoc. One that, as a massive Shrek supporter, I was intrigued by.
Told as a story recounted by a Grandad to his sick grandson, it is immediately clear that this is not the Dreamworks Shrek that we are used to watching. Our tale begins shortly after the second movie (as the third and fourth have been so rightly forgotten), where we learn that Shrek and Fiona did not, as we once thought, get their happily ever after. The story follows a single Shrek and his trusty sidekicks Donkey, Puss and Peter as they aim to save Fiona from the evil, disguised Lord Farquaad. The humour ranges from subtle, clever puns and fourth-wall breaks to more obvious, slapstick moments, allowing something for everyone.
PantoSoc / Amber Saunders
The show is inventive, taking a story like Shrek – which already meddles with the classic fairy-tales that we know and love – and twisting the tale even further. We were transported inside a lonely-hearts club meeting featuring some of our favourite movie villains, treated to an episode of Take Me Out filled with princess bachelorettes and provided with a new retelling of the Wizard of Oz, all while following Shrek and Fiona’s story. If one were to list every character and reference that the show managed to squeeze in, it would appear impossible to do so much and still keep the story clear. But it worked. We had a clear narrative, making it easy for us to follow Shrek and his friends on their adventure.
One thing I particularly loved was how happy the cast seemed as they were performing
Of course, like any good pantomime, Shrek was rife with pop culture references. We had nods to Star Wars and plenty of musical parodies that had you tapping your feet from your seat. The singing was, on a whole, to a good standard and though the dancing may not have always been in sync, it didn’t matter, because the lyric changes and general energy from the cast was enough to win the audience’s heart. My personal favourite parody happened to be the lively rendition of Busted’s ‘Crashed the Wedding’ that served as the happy finale to their tale.
PantoSoc / Amber Saunders
One thing I particularly loved was how happy the cast seemed as they were performing. This was a show that did not take itself too seriously, and their smiles and laughs on stage pushed the audience to smile and laugh along with them. Though, at times, characters were broken, this only added to the fun, campy feel of the pantomime, and altogether felt incredibly fitting of its genre.
PantoSoc’s Shrek had everything you could look for in a good Pantomime: a wacky story, a compelling villain - the Fairy Godmother did an absolutely fantastic job - and plenty of opportunities for the audience to get involved. With the term so close to being over, it is the perfect breath of fresh air that you need to escape from the sea of deadlines and exam revision.
★★★★★
(Featured image credits: PantoSoc / Amber Saunders)
Have you seen Shrek the Pantomime? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.
