Theatre Review

Shrek The Musical | The Belgrade Theatre | AD Gifted Experience

Saffron BakerLeave a comment

“Shrek The Musical,” where the movie we have all grown up with and love is adapted for the stage!

Now I have seen Shrek The Musical before, around 12 years ago in London West End when Amanda Holden was Fiona, I have to admit, the performance I experienced at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry was just as amazing!


The talented cast effortlessly immerses the audience in the fairy-tale universe, with brilliant set changes creating an atmosphere that is both visually stunning and emotionally engaging for all the family. There were so many different characters, details, and personalities to get to know, each wearing amazing thought-out costumes adding an extra layer of magic to the overall experience, making every scene engaging and spectacular.

“Shrek The Musical” has a diverse cast and an amazing mix of fairy-tale characters my little lad loved spotting the classics like Pinocchio and Peter Pan, each with their quirks and charm. Shrek, the lovable ogre with a heart of gold played by Antony Lawrence, takes centre stage alongside his hilarious companion Donkey played by the extremely talented Brandon Lee Sears, and the fierce Princess Fiona played by Strictly Come Dancing Pro Joanne Clifton. The magical interactions between these characters provide a delightful blend of humour, adventure, and heartfelt moments.


One of the standout features of “Shrek The Musical” is its incredible musical talent. Hearing new and classic songs played throughout with insane vocals! A special mention to Cherece Richards who played the dragon, she’s incredibly talented. I could listen to her voice all day. Also, Georgie Buckland who played Ginge (The gingerbread man) amongst other characters, her vocal range is insane and blew us all away with her talents. Of course, the band was on point!

The choreography and dance sequences were flawless, I loved there was a Tap number! There was energy from the start right until the curtain fell, the stage was non-stop drama, entertainment, and excitement.

“Im a Believer! “

A must-see!! if you’re looking for a night of laughter, heart-warming moments, and a dash of fairy-tale magic,

“Shrek The Musical” is one for your theatre bucket list.

Book tickets here – showing from Tuesday 30th January – Sunday 4th February


* Thank you The Belgrade & AnrPR for inviting me down to review. Gifted Experience*

Cinderella Panto | The Belgrade Theatre | AD Gifted Experience

Saffron BakerLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again, would it be Christmas without a trip to the Belgrade Theatre? This year we were in for a treat with Cinderella as their theme!

We took our two boys E who is 11, and L who is 8 and as you can imagine they were both so excited about going after enjoying the previous years, it’s not becoming a fun tradition.

Some of you who have followed for years will know that we have a child who is SEN and we normally attend The Belgrade’s “Relax Performances” but this year with him being 11 we thought we would try for the Press Night.

If you are a family with SEN or other disabilities please read a past blog here where we talk about what a relaxed performance is.

I have said it before and I will say it again, every year Iain manages to top the last show, it was truly brilliant from start to finish, super engaging for the children and they absolutely loved it. They have been speaking about it nonstop, singing the songs, and talking about the characters. Liam’s lucky, he gets to go again with his school soon!

Proper belly laughs!

As always there are loads of jokes for the adults, myself and husband enjoyed it just as much as the kids for our reasons.

Now, the set? Transformations were on point with such stunning vibrant backdrops, and amazing elements that were engaging and surprised us adding fun engaging aspects to the show.

This year’s special effects and magic were absolutely amazing, there were a couple of moments where I was like how did that happen? There was one point in the show where they did a tongue twister without saying too much it was… well, amazing!

So, the cast? Absolute gems. Cinderella’s journey from scruffy to fabulous was spot-on, and the wicked stepfamily? Hilarious doesn’t even cut it—these guys had us belly laughing, gasping, and looking at one another “Did they really say that”

We had two dames too which was so fun! Ian Lauchlan plays Flatula & Andy Hockley plays Aroma. We of course had Craig Hollingsworth as Buttons!

The Costumes were so well thought out and absolutely beautiful or outrageously acentric!

And the music? Oh, it was a party. With catchy tunes, and amazing dance moves the boys have been asking to play the songs they heard on repeat. The vocal talent this year was brilliant with excellent choreography!

Cinderella at the Belgrade will leave you feeling all the festive feels, if you get the chance, get tickets ASAP. Trust me; it’s a magical experience for the whole family.

Get you tickets for this years panto here

I would love to know what you’re doing this year to get yourself in the festive spirit I would love to know!

Saff xo

Thank you to The Belgrade & ANR.PR for the tickets & drinks in exchange for a review

All Production photos credit to Nicola Young

Billionaire Boy | Belgrade Theatre Coventry | AD- Gifted Experience

Saffron BakerLeave a comment

We were kindly gifted tickets to see Billionaire Boy as a family at The Belgrade Theatre Coventry.

Apart from the panto, the boys haven’t seen a musical style performance so I was really looking forward to seeing how the boys found sitting still and quiet through a performance that isn’t as engaging as the panto. The boys are 6 and 9.

See our review on Beauty & The Beast here.

I was lucky enough to see Billionaire Boy 3 years ago at The Belgrade also a Gifted experience, so I have the two to compare too.

Firstly we are a big fan of David Walliams and have a good selection of his books we are working our way through. We haven’t gotten to Billionaire boy yet so the story was completely new to the children.


They loved the slack stick comedy from start to finish, it made them laugh out loud! Especially being typical boys they talk abouts Bums! There were some great songs that they have been singing at home, they had a good boogie in their seats too but the performance wasn’t overwhelming with songs for them to lose interest.

With most children aimed performances there were a couple of adult jokes which were funny and helped keep parents engaged.

They loved the characters especially shopkeeper Raj as we have read about him in previous stories.

The set was super simple and had little changes and cute hidden bits within the set that the boys commented on and liked. The costumes were great and engaging for the children. The boys loved the props…

SPOILER ALERT
The boys lost their minds over the helicopter scene and couldn’t believe a “real helicopter” was on the stage, in Es words “this is so incredibly awesome”

I do however have a negative about the show, as a parent I didn’t like the mention of Bodyweight and the overuse of calling people fat and comparing body weights. I felt that wasn’t needed and not something that should be brought to children’s minds. A little more diversity in the cast too would have been ace!

There was a great twist at the end that the children didn’t see coming, it had them on the edges of their seats literally.

They both got a little teary-eyed at the end and said “I feel like im going to cry” which for me was a massive winner! When a show takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and engages with you that much you connect with the characters it’s such an amazing experience.

The moral of the story was lovely and showed the children how to value friends, money doesn’t bring you happiness and that material items are not important.

Overall it was a lovely show. Different to the one that came a few years back so well worth a visit even if you have seen it before!

Book your tickets to see Billionaire Boy here
Do you like David Walliams Books? Have you any plans to book in at The Belgrade soon? I would love to know?
Saff xo

*A special thanks to The Belgrade Coventry for gifting this experience to us in exchange for a review

Photo Credit The Belgrade

Billionaire Boy Live on Stage written by David Walliams at Birmingham Stage Company CAST Joe -Matthew Gordon Dad – Jason Furnival Raj – Aosaf Afzal Mrs Trafe – Emma Matthews Jayden – Bernard Mensah Sapphire – Rosie Coles Bob – Davy Bell Understudy – Joe Sangha Understudy – Mared Lewis CREATIVE TEAM Adapter and Director – Neal Foster Designer – Jackie Trousdale Lighting Designer – Jason Taylor Composer – Jak Poore Sound Designer – Nick Sagar Choreographers – Paul Chantry & Rae Piper of Chantry Dance Company Assistant to the Director – Alison Fitzjohn Design Assistant/s – Millie Else & Maisie Jackaman Casting – Kay Magson Production Manager – Adrian Littlejohns Photo by Mark Douet