Report

Author: Craig Inglis-McDonald

First thing to mention in this report is how impressive the show programme was.  The hard work, design quality and cleverness of setting the programme as an ELLE magazine is genius.  It was also a nice touch to see it being used as a prop in the scene where the Delta Nu’s bring Elle her ELLE magazine.  Very well done and a big congratulations to the LMS team for this.

Now onto the show.  The energy from the full cast was electric as you could tell they were living their best lives performing each and every role on the stage.  All the way through from the leading characters to the ensemble supporting roles the attention to detail, character reactions, vocals and movement was executed fantastically. Abbie McLelland was a strong Elle with a powerful singing voice, excellent comedic timing and flawless dance moves allowing her to shine in the role.

Abbie was supported by a powerful cast. Elle’s Greek Chorus of Tea Payne (Serena), Connie McCrone (Margot) and Katie Beattie (Pilar) who all interacted well together and kept high energy throughout all their scenes.  Emmett Forrest, the nerdy studious law scholar who helps Elle was played superbly by John McGill and he gave a laidback, likeable character with impressive vocals in his feature song “Chip on my Shoulder”. Rachel Howat created a loveable kooky character in Paulette with her comic timing in song and the scenes on point.  Stephen McIlwraith was the confident and suave Warner and in particular his first scene and song with Elle “Serious” was well executed.  Stephen also stepped into the ensemble numbers and his moves in “What you Want” were great.  Lynsey Campbell gave a powerhouse performance with her characterisation, vocals, and impressive dancing in “Whipped into Shape”.  She embodied every inch of the character with confidence.  Jessica Sharp nicely captured both Vivienne’s initial coldness and eventual warmth brilliantly with really strong vocals in the “Legally Blonde Remix”.  Andrew Chapman as Callahan commanded the stage as the in-control professor and this strength was continued throughout which worked well especially in the scene with Elle near the end.  The supporting cast in this show contains numerous featured roles and all worked exceptionally hard to keep the pace of the story up and the show progressing.  I would like to highlight Rachel McDermott as Enid who in every scene embodied her character with excellent choreography, vocals, and character work.  Also, Calum Peter who had the audience in the palm of his hand as the charming Kyle B O’Boyle. He worked well with Rachel and the supporting doggo cast, and the shorts didn’t hurt either!  A clever and effective set and great lighting created the perfect setting for this uplifting and feel-good show which can’t help but put a smile on your face.

Report

Author: Craig Inglis-McDonald

Shrek is an “ogre sized” show for a club to put on, and Loudoun took this challenge on and delivered a great result. One of the things I loved was that they used simple and clever scenery in a smaller stage setting to bring the magic of the show to life. The set matched with fantastic costumes and makeup allowed the audience to recognise their favourite fictional characters on appearance alone and not disappoint in the expectation from any professional production.

The story of Shrek, based on the well-loved film has become a family favourite with all the characters well-known so taking these roles on is no easy feat. Shrek played by Douglas Wardrop, was rarely offstage, and handled this with skilful ease and filled the stage with his presence, some beautiful scenes, showing off his multi talents and excellent vocals. An excellent performance with a great accent which was maintained throughout making it a joy to watch his character develop. Princess Fiona played by Lynsey Campbell was excellent in her comedy scenes, used her impressive voice to tackle the many songs she sang, all with great feeling. She also let us see her fiery temper when pushed to contrast with her softer princess side. Lynsey’s facial expressions in particular were a joy and helped to capture the comedy of the character well. Stephen McIlwraith’s Donkey had great characterisation. With this being a physically demanding part, his body movements and facial reactions were entertaining. His strong vocals brought the songs to life and his relationship and scenes with Shrek were very amusing, having the audience in stiches.

Comedy was continued in the cast line up with Lord Farquaad played by John McGill. John created a wonderfully funny “baddie” character that you loved to hate. Every mannerism, from hand gestures, facial expressions to a simple walk was just outstanding. His control of his accent was at times giving me Moira Rose vibes from Schitt’s Creek, making me chuckle every time he simply said “Fiona”. This character was very cleverly thought out and executed.

Dragon played by Rebecca Scott-Ramsay was fantastic. Her singing voice and characterisation was amazing, and I enjoyed the way she interacted with the Dragon puppet bringing this character on stage for a change to other productions. All songs were outstandingly good, and she tackled them with ease. I was getting proper Effie White vibes at the end of the main number for sure and although the character isn’t featured in many scenes, she definitely made an impact.

There are too many characters to highlight all in this report, but the story allows each character to shine and in the Fairy-tale ensemble each role was executed exceptionally well. The Three Pigs were certainly crowd pleasers for sure.

The direction and choreography from Neil and Katie were of a high standard, evident in all scenes throughout the show and the orchestra, under the leadership of MD Darren gave the impressive ensemble vocals you know to expect from a Loudoun show the perfect backing.

I also wanted to mention the amazing artwork of the poster and programme. Very creative giving a unique take on the Shrek theme.

Congratulations to the club, cast and committee on another success.