It’s a tale of ‘Happily Ever After’ for UON students as they deliver swamp-worthy looks ahead of local stage production

In a town (not so) Far Far Away, two students from the University of Northampton have donned their make-up brushes and colour palettes to deliver show-stopping stage looks to promote for a local on-stage performance of a children’s film classic.

Third-year students of Hair, Makeup and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen, Amy Spencer and Mollie Goodger have secured the role of Show Makeup Designers for the upcoming production of Shrek The Musical from Rutland Musical Theatre, after delivering the promotional make-up looks for the title characters.

On the process of peeling back the onion layers to the characters of Shrek, Donkey and Fiona, Amy reflected on their joint creative processes: “As these characters are so recognisable, there’s only so many creative liberties you can take – so my focus for Shrek was on bringing to life the ogre everyone knows and loves. As well as using prosthetics, it’s been quite fun whipping the green makeup out to get the actor stage ready.”

“The makeup looks for the characters of Donkey and Fiona drew inspiration from the original Broadway production,” adds Mollie. “I knew it wasn’t going to be full-on glam, it needed to be whimsical and fit for a princess with Fiona. We went with a warm toned shadow in the crease of the eye then a sparkling green glitter on the lid to bring the look together.

“When it came to Donkey, I worked hard to elongate the face with a long band of white and rosy cheeks to Donkey’s face which pulled the entire look together. I worked with the talented Lewis Shaw and Katy McNaughtan-Brown to bring their characters to life, and they both did such a brilliant job!”

Amy and Mollie’s professional delivery of the promotional looks has successfully landed them full-time roles delivering the on-stage looks for each performance throughout Shrek The Musical’s run in April 2025.

Programme Leader for Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen, Laura Cotterill celebrated the students’ success: “We’re incredibly proud of Amy and Mollie for the work they’ve already delivered in such an articulate, professional and striking way. We already can’t wait to see the looks debut on stage next April.

“Their involvement with this local stage production is just one of many industry experiences we offer to our students to equip them with the professional skills and confidence to ‘make it’ in the industry. Most recently, we’ve had students deliver faultless looks for the title actors on The Royal and Derngate’s Kinky Boots production as well as Rutland Musical Theatre’s on-stage adaptation of The Addams Family, which both leant on priceless advice and coaching delivered by multi-award winning artist, Ve Neill who visited UON’s Waterside Campus.”

When Rutland Musical Theatre brings their epic run of the smash-hit Shrek The Musical to Corby Cube next year, Amy and Mollie will be waiting in the wings to deliver the onstage looks after delivering the smashing looks as part of the show’s promotional content (pictured below).

“I think the work me and Mollie have already delivered went a long way to securing our roles for the show,” reflected Amy. “I will be Show Lead for Makeup and Prosthetics while Mollie will be Show Lead for Wigs. It’ll be the biggest production both me and Mollie have ever worked on, taking place across two weeks with a cast of nearly 40 people.

“Looking back, I was five when the first Shrek film was shown in cinemas, and it was absolutely a favourite of mine and my sisters. My mum took us all to see the musical when it first came to the West End in 2011, so being part of the show some 13 years later actually makes me quite emotional – I really can’t wait.

“The work will involve a lot of late nights working hard to deliver the on-stage look which reflect these family-favourite characters, but it’ll be fun – we’ll stay up late, swapping manly stories, and in the morning… I’m making waffles (if you know, you know!).”

“We’ll have our work cut out for us, but I couldn’t be more excited.”

Tickets for Shrek The Musical, running from 9 – 19 April 2025, can be bought via the Rutland Musical Theatre website.

Find out more about studying Hair, Makeup and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen at the University of Northampton.