Holiday Actors' Shrek the Musical scheduled for the Lighthouse Theatre this Saturday

Holiday Actors' Shrek the Musical starring Mortlake's Taine De Manser and Warrnambool's Caitlin Garner is scheduled to arrive at the Lighthouse Theatre on Saturday evening.

Director Tyler Hess said the cast was excited to finally bring the production to audiences following a year of COVID challenges.

"Doing a show in a normal year is always really challenging, this year there have been COVID challenges which have provided ample hurdles and we're continually finding solutions to make sure we arrive at the final destination," he said.

"We're excited to see people back in the theatre and we're excited to give them a reason as to why to come back."

Mr Hess said the main themes of the production couldn't be more applicable to the current climate.

"They're coming to see something of an exceptional calibre and this year we've had the entire gamut of challenges that are continuous but ultimately one of the reasons why we chose Shrek as the production for this year was because it celebrated the idea of community and belonging and that's exactly what we're doing in theatre," he said.

"Whether you're a performer a member of our design team or crew - we come together. All these skill sets work together, lots of relationships are formed in that community and that's the core of what Shrek is about.

"It's about Shrek finding himself and understanding relationships and connections are important in life and that's something we've slowly realised through COVID - that connection is important to have.

"That's it personified. Our little green man is our beacon for hope."

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If COVID postponements weren't troublesome enough, Mr Hess said the production's creative approach presented further challenges.

"This is an exceptionally demanding production on paper, it has a lot of requirements because of it needing us to create a fantasy world," he said.

"This is all about theatrical escapism. Everything from the preset state to the grand finale of the show is heightened and super real. The costuming, the lighting - everything is highly animated but design-wise we've gone with a unique approach to this show.

"We've gone down the avenue of taking it back to the 16th century making it more like Elizabethan or Danish fairytales rather than being like the cartoon film.

"The audience is going to see elements and hallmarks of that film but it's going to be a lot more like contemporary children's theatre like Frozen and (The) Lion King. There'll be lots of puppetry and prosthetics, it's really exciting."

Shrek the Musical is set to run from Saturday to January 15.

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