Press Release
October 1, 2010
Shrek The Musical
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Tickets Now On Sale!
DreamWorks Theatrical and Neal Street Productions are delighted to announce that tickets for SHREK
THE MUSICAL® are on sale to the general public from today, October 1, 2010. SHREK THE MUSICAL® will
open at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on May 6, 2011, with a press night on June 14, 2011. Tickets for
the new stage musical will be available for performances until February 19, 2012.
As previously announced, Nigel Lindsay will play Shrek, Richard Blackwood will play Donkey, Nigel
Harman will play Lord Farquaad and Amanda Holden will play Princess Fiona.
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 Olivier Award-winning National Theatre production of The Pillowman. Nigel
recently played one of the eponymous Four Lions in the celebrated Chris Morris film.
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.
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.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® is based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek! and the
Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation feature film Shrek, the first chapter in the series of irreverent
fairy tales.
The Anglo-American creative team is led by directors Jason Moore and Rob Ashford and includes David
Lindsay-Abaire (Book and Lyrics), Jeanine Tesori (Music), Tim Hatley (Scenic, Costume and Puppet
Design), Hugh Vanstone (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), and Josh Prince
(Choreography).
SHREK THE MUSICAL® tells the story, loved by people of all ages, of the swamp-dwelling ogre who, in a
faraway kingdom, embarks on a life-changing adventure in order to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined
by a wise-cracking donkey who won’t shut up, this unlikely hero - not a handsome prince - fights a
fearsome dragon, rescues the feisty Princess Fiona and learns that real friendship and true love aren’t
only found in fairy tales. With all-new songs, and an old favourite in I’m a Believer, this spectacular stage
musical brings to life the film’s cast of dysfunctional characters and the accompanying subversive fun.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® played on Broadway from December 2008 to January 2010 and was nominated
for eight Tony Awards®, winning Tim Hatley the Tony Award® for Best Costume Design of a Musical. The
original creative team has now re-assembled to stage the production with new songs and additional
scenes. This production opened in Chicago on July 25, 2010 and is touring 60 cities in the United States.
The UK production will start rehearsals in London in early 2011.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® is DreamWorks Animation’s first theatre venture. The production was initiated
when Sam Mendes, a fan of the first Shrek film, suggested the idea of creating a musical to DreamWorks
Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time that the second film (Shrek 2) was in production. The
musical is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (Bill Damaschke, president) and London-based Neal
Street Productions (Caro Newling, producer).
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
SHREK THE MUSICAL®
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5JF
May 6, 2011 – February 19, 2012
Press Night: June 14, 2011
Performance Times:
Monday, Wednesday – Saturday 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday 3pm
Sunday 3pm
Ticket Prices:
Stalls £65, £55, £25
Grand Circle £65
Upper Circle £55, £45, £20
Balcony £25, £20
Reduced price preview tickets available.
Group Rates:
6+ Group Rate £45 (excludes Saturday Performances)
12+ Group Rate £39.50 (excludes Saturday Performances)
Group Bookings: 0844 412 4650
Education Rates:
12+ School Group Rate £22.50 & Free Teacher Place (valid Wednesday, Thursday &
Sunday)
Education Bookings: 0844 412 4649
Early Group and Education Booker Rates apply for those who book and pay by 12th November 2010.

DREAMWORKS THEATRICALS – PRODUCER
DreamWorks Theatricals was established in 2007 by DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq:
DWA) to produce stage productions based on its films and other original adapted works. DWA is
devoted to producing high quality family entertainment through the use of computer-generated
animation. DWA’s current and upcoming film slate includes Shrek Forever After, Megamind, Kung Fu
Panda: The Kaboom of Doom and Puss In Boots. Past titles include How to Train Your Dragon, the
Shrek and Madagascar film series, Monsters vs. Aliens and Kung Fu Panda. Shrek was the winner of
the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Jeffrey Katzenberg serves as DWA’s CEO
and was a co-founder of DreamWorks Studios in 1994. Bill Damaschke serves as president of
DreamWorks Theatricals.

BILL DAMASCHKE – PRODUCER
Bill Damaschke is president of DreamWorks Theatricals and co-president of production at
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. He joined DreamWorks Studios in 1995 and has served in a variety
of roles at the animation studio, including head of creative production and head of development.
Damaschke served as producer of Shark Tale (nominated for Best Animated Feature Academy
Award in 2004) and executive producer of Over The Hedge and Kung Fu Panda. He oversees the
creative development of DWA’s film slate from inception to screen.

NEAL STREET PRODUCTIONS – PRODUCER, CARO NEWLING
Formed in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Caro Newling and Pippa Harris to produce film and theatre.
Currently: The Bridge Project. In development: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Warner
Brothers Theatre Ventures Inc. Previously: Enron (West End), Red (Broadway), Three Days of Rain
(director Jamie Lloyd), The Vertical Hour (director Sam Mendes). Commissioned projects and
premieres also include: The House of Special Purpose (director Howard Davies), All About My Mother
(director Tom Cairns), The Hound of the Baskervilles (director Orla O’Loughlin), Days of Wine and
Roses (director Peter Gill), Anna in the Tropics (director Indhu Rubasingham), Fuddy Meers (director
Angus Jackson). West End/Broadway transfers 2006-9: Hamlet (director Michael Grandage), Mary
Stuart (director Phyllida Lloyd) - from the Donmar Warehouse; Sunday in the Park with George
(director Sam Buntrock) - from the Menier Chocolate Factory. Films: Stuart: A Life Backwards,
Starter for Ten, Things We Lost in the Fire, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go.
Sam Mendes and Caro Newling established and ran the Donmar Warehouse from 1992 to 2002,
originating some 70 productions including The Blue Room, Electra, True West, and Tony Award
winners Cabaret, The Real Thing, Take Me Out.

WILLIAM STEIG – AUTHOR OF SHREK!
Named the ‘King of Cartoons’ by Newsweek, William Steig remains The New Yorker’s longestrunning contributor with more than 1600 drawings and 117 covers to his name. He began writing
and illustrating books for children at the age of 60. His work Sylvester and the Magic Pebble earned
him the Caldecott Medal, the highest honour bestowed on children’s picture books, but it was the
1990 fairy tale Shrek! that ultimately brought him his largest audience by inspiring one of the most
successful film franchises in motion picture history. William Steig wrote and illustrated children’s
books up until the last year of his life and died in 2003 at the age of 95.