Antony Lawrence will star as Shrek opposite Joanne Clifton’s Princess Fiona when the highly anticipated new production of Shrek The Musical hits the road for a major UK and Ireland tour this summer.
Lawrence (The Lion King, international tour, Matilda The Musical, Cambridge Theatre/RSC) and former Strictly champion turned musical theatre leading lady, Clifton (The Rocky Horror Show, UK tour, Flashdance, UK tour) will appear alongside Olivier Award-nominee James Gillan (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Sheffield Crucible/Apollo Theatre, Starlight Express, UK tour) as Lord Faquaad and Brandon Lee Sears (Dreamgirls, UK tour, Be More Chill, Shaftesbury Theatre) as Donkey. Further casting will be announced at a later date.
Presented by Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale, the hit fairy tale with the green-tinged twist has been re-imagined for a new audience by a new creative team led by acclaimed director and choreographer Nick Winston alongside former touring Lord Farquaad, Sam Holmes who will co-direct. Set and costume design is by Philip Witcomb, with lighting by Ben Cracknell, casting by Jim Arnold and sound by Ben Harrison.
Announcing the new production last year, producer Goucher said: “I am delighted to be bringing this re-imagined production of the beloved Shrek the Musical to audiences across the UK and Ireland. The story of Shrek is known and loved across the world and this show is an incredibly joyous, fun and uplifting evening at the theatre that will be enjoyed by all ages.”
Shrek the Musical will open at Plymouth Theatre Royal on 21 July before visiting Manchester, Dublin, Bristol, Southend, Carlisle, Aberdeen, Oxford, Wimbledon, Dartford, Northampton, Leicester, Bradford, Woking, Eastbourne, Cardiff, York, Blackpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Coventry, Sunderland, Liverpool, Southampton. Milton Keynes, Hull, Cheltenham, Nottingham, Norwich, Belfast, Birmingham and Londonderry. The national press night will be on 3 August at the Manchester Opera House.
Based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek! and the much-loved Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek The Musical the show has book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori.
Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona first took to the stage on Broadway in 2008 and was first staged in the UK at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2011 where former EastEnder Nigel Harman gave a scene-stealing and Olivier Award-winning performance as Lord Farquaad. Harman would go on to make his directorial debut on the musical’s first UK and Ireland tour in 2014 and also took charge of the second tour which launched in Edinburgh in 2017.
Angela Thomas
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