Three Billy Goats Gruff Musical Review
So children's are boring affairs with slow boring performances... not!
So I recently went with my wife and kid to watch the Three Billy Goats Gruff, performed by The Singapore Repertory Theatre:
https://www.srt.com.sg/show/three-billy-goats-gruff-2025/
This is based on a simple children's book and you might be forgiven for thinking it will be a slow rather dull affair and a painful way to sit through an hour with your kid and you fear the kid will get bored from the show.
However nothing could be further from the truth....
Firstly, do sit either close to the stage, eg the first or second row if you like to get up close and personal, or at the circle seats if you prefer a more macro view and say your child has issues with loud noises.
I got the former and it suited us fine.
The story is simple and deliberately so for younger audiences to follow. There are elements of the Three Little Pigs, mixed in with a little Bo Peep and but there is a moral behind it, and surprisingly, plenty of funny moments that made even the adults in the audience chuckle.
Like a good movie, the key ingredients of a good movie are the plot, the kinetic energy and the chemistry between the cast.
Here the plot is quite predictable, yet entertaining, and carries an easy to understand message. The cast are effusive and the synergy is wonderfully tight, with a connection that keeps this simply performance engaging. The props are simply yet well made and appropriate, with stage hands that seamlessly manipulate them into place.
2025 may be remember as the year that MTV finally closed after decades of entertaining us. Does it spell the end of the combination of audio visual musical entertainment?
If this musical is anything to go by, then any prediction of the death of music and dance in entertainment is premature, as the cast move like agile goats on a cliff, belt out songs with great aplomb and dance with such frenetic energy whilst continuing to sing in tempo. Forget those cycling or taibo workouts, try performing in a musical, singing so elegantly whilst moving in step, tapping dancing, K pop movements and more whilst giving such an entertaining performance, I only saw kids who were glued to the stage, and no bored or sleepy faces throughout the roughly one hour performance.
As for the cast, some of them would have made it on Broadway, and they should take this performance to the Sydney opera house for example. Janice Seah aka the baby goat has a crystal clear voice, with crisp tap dancing abilities, whilst Liew Ai Wen could belt it out and keep in sync beautifully, and Marcus was doing justice as the middle Big Goat with many funny actions.
Not to be outdone was Irsyad Dawood, the father as well as the troll, there was a moment in the musical when he was called upon to hit a high note and he steadied himself, then proceeded to hit that note with great relish and you would not have doubted his ability to do the same at the West End.
Lets not forget the little Shepard Girl Rebecca Dass, who I was imagining could give Madonna a run for her money on Vogue if they remade that MTV.
The show was smooth, the audio was clear - you might notice they taped their mikes to their foreheads, and the lighting was nicely done.
Singapore Repertory Theatre has outdone itself in showing me and hopefully many more that they can perform at very high levels, for what was 'supposed' to be a children's performance, proving that good quality musicals is not mere child' play.
Recommended.
The tickets aren't cheap, but theatre isn't and do support them if you can. Also if you donate to the SRT, you can get tax credits and free tickets. Win win indeed.
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