FOR those looking for an all-action, singing and dancing spectacle of a show suitable for the whole family, Shrek the Musical is certainly for you.

On its second UK tour, originally produced in Broadway by DreamWorks Theatricals, and directed by ex-EastEnders heart-throb Nigel Harman, the rip-roaring adventure follows the storyline of the first film. Ogre Shrek and his loyal steed Donkey embark on a quest to free Princess Fiona from a love-sick dragon with a whole heap of fairy tale characters, Lord Farquaad and a biscuit with attitude thrown in for good measure.

The action kicks off with Shrek’s solo Big Bright Beautiful World, which showed off impressive vocals from Michael Carolan, who played the role on the night we saw this show, and set the scene for the talented cast to show off their skills.

We are introduced to Princess Fiona, who admits to being “slightly bi-polar” and certainly comes across as a more unhinged version than on film, played ably by Celebrity Big Brother and X Factor runner-up, 23-year-old Amelia Lily.

A particularly favourite duet between her and Shrek involved a lot of, shall we say, wind, which went down a treat with the younger members of the audience.

I Think I Got You Beat, another duet with Shrek, had distinctly rocky undertones, which was not surprising when I discovered Amelia Lily has appeared in Green Day’s punk rock musical American Idiot.

Donkey, played by Marcus Ayton, was an absolute triumph, certainly our favourite character, Eddie Murphy multiplied by ten.

I wondered quite how he managed so many high kicks and energetic dance routines in such a large, furry costume with hooves. Top marks for achieving that flawlessly and never seeming out of breath.

We were introduced to the 14-foot, bright pink dragon puppet, whose presence filled the stage and whose huge voice, that of Lucinda Shaw, reached the rafters.

The Duloc dancers in Part 1 were a feast for the eyes, in their blue and red outfits and perfectly choreographed routines.

Lord Farquaad, played by Samuel Holmes, had the audience in absolute hysterics. His tiny legs scuttling across the stage made for pure comic joy, his diminutive nature giving rise to plenty of ‘lower your expectations’-type jokes.

His scene working out in the gym, with its bawdy humour and dubious exercises saw ladies of a certain age collapsing into fits of giggles.

Stand-out moments for us included Fiona tap dancing with rats, and the exceptional numbers with the many fairy tale characters, including a cross-dressing wolf and a horse called Brexit - Whoa there! There was also the more bizarre, including an inflatable deer, and a horse named Brexit, leading to the quip, “Whoa Brexit”. Enough said there.It was an incredibly polished performance, played to an almost full house, by a cast who never put a foot wrong. We were sent out with the infectious classic I’m a Believer echoing in our ears, satisfied that we had had a thoroughly good night.ALISON GROVER