The Summer Youth Project at White Rock has become one of the highlights of my theatrical year. I am always amazed by what can be achieved in just two weeks with a group of enthusiastic, committed and talented children and young people, supported by their adult production and creative team. This year’s production of Shrek the Musical was no exception.

This time, I was joined by two young budding reviewers, Una, aged eight, and Effie, aged six, who were watching the show with their grandparents. Their verdict is an important part of this review.

The production itself was quite a feat. With around 100 young performers involved, there were moments when the stage was packed, yet the whole enterprise was impressively managed. There were numerous songs, plenty of dialogue and a great deal to learn in a very short rehearsal period, but everyone seemed to know exactly where they were meant to be and what they were meant to say. Above all, there was a real sense of enthusiasm from the cast.

Josh Stevens and Amerleigh Peacock made an engaging central pair as Shrek and Princess Fiona. Both held their characters and accents well throughout, while Amerleigh brought a particularly strong Disney-princess quality to Fiona, combining confident acting with lovely singing.

Una’s favourite was Donkey, played by Jordan Phillips. “He was very funny,” she said, particularly enjoying his take on Eddie Murphy’s distinctive accent. His performance had plenty of energy and warmth and was clearly a hit with the younger members of our reviewing panel.

The familiar world of fairy tales was brought to life with an effective video backdrop, some lovely costumes and, of course, a dragon puppet. Una and Effie particularly enjoyed spotting all the well-known nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters, including Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs and the Gingerbread Man. Thankfully, the dragon was judged exciting rather than too scary.

The show’s message – that it is okay to be different and that appearances are not everything – came through strongly and seemed to resonate with this young audience.

For Una and Effie, the best moments were the scenes between Shrek and Fiona. They loved the duet I Think I Got You Beat, the burping contest, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, all the fart jokes. Sometimes you simply cannot compete with that level of comedy when you’re six and eight.

Watching through their eyes was a reminder of exactly what the Summer Youth Project does so well: it gives young people the chance to take on a huge challenge, work together and create something that brings real enjoyment to audiences of all ages.

I wonder what the team have up their sleeve for next year? Whatever it is, I’m already looking forward to finding out.

Ben Cornwell watched the opening night.

I know Roald Dahl’s Matilda like the back of my hand. It is a story I spent countless nights reading as a child, and I still consider it one of his best. However, while I may be in the first quarter of my life, those days were still more than a decade ago. Watching the opening night at the White Rock Theatre on Thursday, made all those memories come flooding back.

CREDIT: Peter Mould

The preparation for the main event must have been difficult, with many of the acting classes and workshops being on Zoom and national restrictions resulting in socially distanced rehearsals. Director Ben Watson, who is returning for his fourth summer youth project, and his team should be proud of what they have produced. From the casting to the choreography and costumes, the show helped to display the incredible talent that Hastings and more specifically the White Rock Theatre summer youth group has to offer.

Matilda the Musical Jr is adapted from the full length West End musical and follows the story of an intelligent little girl who along with dealing with cruel parents captures the attention of kind teacher Miss Honey. nfortunately, for Matilda, not all teachers are like Miss Honey, as the school is ruled by the children-hating headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

The cast transitioned instantly from a group of children playing a game of ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ onstage before the show, to a collective of trained actors and dancers. From the first minute until the final curtain, the entire cast and crew worked together like a well-oiled machine to put on a brilliant show for the audience. Among the group of performers, there were several standout performances.

CREDIT: Peter Mould

Poppy Stratford impressively adopted the role of the mean Miss Trunchbull, and clearly, the audience agrees as her villainous performance was met by playful boos at the end, and was a polar opposite of the sweet Miss Honey flawlessly portrayed by Kiera Post. The special bond between Miss Honey and Matilda (played by the talented Cicely Clayton-Jones) was captured throughout. Their duet in the musical number ‘When I grow up’ highlighted the pair’s chemistry and also showcased their remarkable vocals. The Wormwood family’s comedic timing was spot on during the show, although the largest laugh of the night undoubtedly came from witnessing Luke Charlesworth’s portrayal of Mrs Wormwood’s overly flamboyant dance partner Rudolpho.

I have not had the chance to see the West End version yet. But, if their cast is any bit as talented as this local theatre group, I will be bumping Matilda up to the top of my wish list.