DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions announced casting for the roles of Shrek and Lord Farquaad in the West End production of SHREK THE MUSICAL®.
Nigel Lindsay will play Shrek. Nigel Harman will play Lord Farquaad. As previously announced, Amanda Holden will play Princess Fiona and Richard Blackwood will play Donkey.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® will open at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in May 2011. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on October 1, 2010. The new stage musical will initially be booking until February 19, 2012.
Producers Bill Damaschke and Caro Newling said:
"We were already thrilled that our dream of bringing Shrek The Musical to London was coming true, but to do so with a cast led by these charming, funny and incredibly talented actors has exceeded our expectations. Nigel, Amanda, Nigel and Richard all blew us away with their audition performances and we knew that we had found our new London Shrek family!
Our search continues for the further 28 cast members who will bring the original Shrek story to life on the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane stage."
Nigel Lindsay will star as Shrek. Nigel has worked extensively in film, television and theatre, most recently starring as Charlie in Sucker Punch at the Royal Court. His stage credits include Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at the Almeida, Under the Blue Sky at the Duke of Yorks, Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre, and the Oliver Award winning National Theatre production of The Pillowman. Nigel recently played one of the eponymous Four Lions in the celebrated Chris Morris film.
Nigel Harman will play Lord Farquaad. Nigel became a household name after playing heart-throb Dennis Rickman in BBC1's EastEnders. He has worked extensively in theatre, starring in Three Days of Rain at the Apollo, Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre and on tour, and Privates on Parade at the Donmar Warehouse. Television and film roles include BBC1's Hotel Babylon and Blood Diamond.
Olivier Award-nominated actress and presenter Amanda Holden will star as Princess Fiona. Amanda played the title role in the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2003, for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Among her varied television roles are Mel in the BBC's Kiss Me Kate, Mia Bevan in the BBC's Cutting It and Sarah Trevanion in ITV1's Wild at Heart. Amanda is a judge on ITV1's Britain's Got Talent, and the UK correspondent for CBS America's The Early Show.
Donkey will be played by actor and comedian Richard Blackwood. A regular on the stand-up comedy circuit, Richard recently finished playing Brightie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre alongside James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad. In 2007 Richard became the host of ‘RB's Sunday School' on Choice FM. He has a range of TV credits including Anton in ITV's Britannia High, MTV's Singled Out and Select and his own show on Channel 4, The Richard Blackwood Show.
Many changes are expected for the West End installment of the show. According to Bamigboye "There's a new opening, new songs, improved illusions, a newly styled dragon and Shrek, I'm told, has a bigger heart." Ashford has allegedly restaged several numbers, as well.
SHREK THE MUSICAL is based on the story and characters from William Steig's book Shrek!, as well as the Dreamworks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the Shrek movie series.
SHREK THE MUSICAL tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales.
SHREK THE MUSICAL was initiated when Sam Mendes, a big fan of the first Shrek film, suggested the idea of creating a musical to Dreamworks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time the second film was in production. The musical is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (Bill Damaschke, President of DreamWorks Theatricals and Co-President of Production for Dreamworks Animation) and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. (principals Sam Mendes and Caro Newling).
