Book in to enjoy the award-winning Shrek the Musical in Oxford this week, conjured up by a new creative team with a fabulous cast…

You’re invited to leave your troubles Far Far Away and join the adventure as Shrek and Donkey endeavour to complete their quest of defeating the dragon and saving Princess Fiona. Featuring fabulous songs including I’m A Believer, Big Bright Beautiful World and I Know It’s Today, Shrek The Musical has cemented itself as the ‘musical extravaganza for big kids and little kids alike’.

From the producers of Hairspray and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Shrek The Musical brings together a new creative team to re-imagine this award-winning Broadway and West End hit show for a new audience, featuring all the classic characters from the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks animated film and the iconic songs and story from David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s original musical.

Rising star Cherece Richards (Once on This Island, Regent’s Park Theatre) will make her debut in a principal role as the Dragon, joining the Shrek-tacular principal cast lineup which includes Antony Lawrence (Shrek), Joanne Clifton (Princess Fiona), James Gillan (Lord Farquaad) and Brandon Lee Sears (Donkey) touring through to April to a total of 31 venues.

The ensemble cast of Shrek the Musical will include Leo Abad, Soctty Armstrong, Imogen Bailey, Jabari Braham, Georgie Buckland, Natasha Cayabyab, Mark Darcy, Jonathan David Dudley, Remi Ferdinand, Sonny Grieveson, Edward Leigh, Bethany Kate, Jessica Lim, Andile Mabhena, Bronte MacMillan, India Thornton. Talia Duff, Gabby Gregorian, Roy Shafford and Jamie Jonathan complete the full cast line-up. 

Antony Lawrence will play Shrek (Scar in The Lion King (International Tour) as well as Mary Poppins (National Tour), Matilda the Musical (Cambridge Theatre/RSC) and We Will Rock You (International Arena Tour).

He says: “The great thing about doing Shrek, because it’s a well-known story, is that we already know the characters. There’s the double-edged sword of wanting to make the characters your own and the relationships your own, but at the same time there is an element of audience expectation. It’s finding that balance of wanting to give them what they know, but at the same time we want to find our Shrek and our Fiona and our chemistry between ourselves. That’s what makes doing a live version so fantastic, as you get the best of both worlds.

“Normally as an actor, when you’re on stage, if you feel like you need to burp, you’re fighting that urge. The great thing about playing a character like Shrek, who is very flatulent and farts and burps all the way through the show, is that if I need to burp, I’ll just burp, at any point, and it’ll be completely natural!”