Shrek spectacular set to take to the stage at Buckie High School
A SLICE of the big screen will be coming to Buckie Community High School (BCHS) when the curtain goes up on Shrek Jnr the Musical.
Months of hard work will come to fruition over Tuesday and Wednesday June 25-26 at Highfield Hall when the production - based on the Dreamworks animated film and book by William Steig - takes to the stage before an audience drawn from the public, family and friends.
It marks a welcome return to BCHS of stage productions after an absence of a number of years. A total cast of around 30 kids - backed by about the same number of support team - have been working hard since the initial auditions in January to bring the story to life. They’ve been rehearsing four times a week to perfect the show.
The production will follow the plot of the original film and West End production pretty closely, albeit a bit shorter. Audiences will be treated to the tale of grumpy ogre Shrek (Sam McLean) who goes on a quest to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona (Zoe Leslie) with the help of his loveable Donkey (Marley Esson) and win back the deed to his swamp from scheming Lord Farquaad.
One of those looking forward to the shows is drama teacher Amanda Craib.
She said: “We’ve wanted to do a show for a while and we wanted to do something that was fun and nothing too serious so we thought Shrek was ideal.
“The pupils have come together specially to do this production, they’re drawn from across the school and some have already left school after finishing their exams. It’s been a great commitment from them. Many teachers have also been putting in a lot of effort to help out, including with the scenery and the costumes, which we’re all doing in-house.
“We’ve been rehearsing four times a week and at the moment we’re doing more than that with more lunchtime ones.
“It’s been really nice, it’s pulled everyone together and everyone’s working together towards the same thing.
Ms Craib added that she hoped Shrek Jnr the Musical would lay the foundations for a permanent return of stage productions at BCHS, probably on a biennial or triennial basis.
Tickets cost £8 for adults and £5 for concessions and are available from BCHS reception.
