Laura Main, Steffan Harri, Samuel Holmes and-Marcus Ayton star in the UK and Ireland tour of Shrek The Musical
Steffan Harri will step into the title role in the upcoming touring production of the hit fairy tale with the green-tinged twist, Shrek The Musical.
Harri, who previously covered the role of Lord Farquaad in the first UK and Ireland tour of the Dreamworks Theatricals musical will take on the role of the outsize ogre opposite Call the Midwife’s Laura Main as his Princess Fiona.
Marcus Ayton (The Rat Pack Live) will play Shrek’s mischievous sidekick Donkey and Samuel Holmes (The Wedding Singer) will take on the role of pint-sized villain Lord Farquaad. Further casting is to be announced.
The company members cast as supporting fairy tale characters will include: Adam Baker, Ethan Bradshaw, Michael Carolan, Joseph Dockree, Will Hawksworth, Sarah-Louise Jones, Reece Kerridge, Thomas Lee Kidd, Amy Oxley, Jemma Revell, Lucinda Shaw, Sam Stones, Adam Taylor, Jennifer Tierney, Sophie Wallis, Francesca Williams, Laura Wilson and Kevin Yates.
Commenting on her casting as Shrek’s Princess, Main (who will appear at selected venues on the tour due to her filming commitments) said: “I’ve been waiting a long time for an adventure like this to come along and now that it has I am ready to swap the surgery for the swamp in one of my favourite musicals. Shrek has made a Believer out of me and I can’t wait for this fairy tale to take me across the country.”
Nigel Harman will once again take charge of the touring production of the show when the musical tale of Shrek, Princess Fiona, Donkey and co hits the road again.
Harman, who originated the role of Lord Farquaad when the musical version of the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film opened in the West End in 2011 (winning an Olivier Award), made his directorial debut on the musical’s first UK and Ireland tour in 2014.
Caro Newling (co-producer, Neal Street Productions) says: “At Neal Street we take pride in bringing together colleagues from different disciplines in new creative collaborations. For this Shrek tour, we are particularly excited to be bringing together Nigel Harman, with whom we have worked on many successful Neal Street projects, and Laura Main who joined Call the Midwife for the very first series back in 2012.”
Nick Salmon (co-producer, Playful Productions) added: “I am thrilled that the show will be reuniting many of the talented team members who have been involved in the production since day one. Nigel has gone from being Lord Farquaad in the West End to directing our touring production, and Steffan – who was previously one of our hilarious Three Pigs – will be stepping into Shrek’s ogre-sized shoes. We can’t wait to bring this much-loved story to audiences across the country once more.”
The tour will launch with a Christmas season at the Edinburgh Playhouse from 12 December until 7 January 2018 before taking in dates in Manchester, Sunderland, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Northampton, Sheffield, Cardiff, Stoke, Blackpool, Woking, Liverpool, Canterbury, Milton Keynes, Bristol, Llandudno, Nottingham, Belfast, Dublin, Plymouth, Southampton and Leeds.
Based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek! and the much-loved feature film, Shrek The Musical was originally directed in the West End by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, the show has book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Jeanine Tesori, with set and costume design by Tim Hatley.
Nearly 800,000 people saw the show during its first UK and Ireland tour when it visited 25 major venues over 20 months. The production was first staged in the UK at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2011. Since opening on Broadway in 2008, the show has toured across the USA and Canada. Productions have also played in Spain, Poland, France, Malaysia, China, Brazil, Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands, Estonia, Israel and Turkey.
The UK and Ireland tour of the original DreamWorks Production will be presented by Neal Street Productions, Playful Productions, Ron Kastner, Saracen Films, Tulchin/Bartner Productions, Gavin Kalin, Glass Half Full Productions/Just For Laughs Theatricals, Lee Menzies and Mark Cartwright.
Angela Thomas
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