Tag: Shrek The Musical

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More Things To Do in York and beyond, from mind games to life on the wild side. Hutch’s List No. 7, from The York Press

Everything turns green: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in Shrek The Musical at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

BLINK and you might miss it! Charles Hutchinson urges prompt booking for a host of here today, gone tomorrow events.

Ogre party of the week: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in Shrek The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2pm and 7pm

JENNA Howlett directs York company Flying Ducks’ two casts in today’s performances as they dive into a world where love knows no boundaries, friendships are forged in the most unexpected places and laughter is guaranteed.

Join Shrek, Fiona and Donkey on their journey to find true happiness in this David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori show, replete with catchy songs, quirky characters and a story that turns fairytales upside down. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Hammonds Band: Top brass at tomorrow afternoon’s concert in aid of York Against Cancer

Fundraiser of the week: York Brass Against Cancer, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 2.30pm

THE fourth York Brass Against Cancer concert to raise funds for York Against Cancer features the Hammonds Band, founded in 1855 by Sir Titus Salt, and the Shepherd Group Brass Band, from York, introduced by BBC presenter David Hoyle. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The hand of fate: The Witches in Dickens Theatre Company’s Macbeth at Grand Opera House, York

GCSE study aid of the week: Dickens Theatre Company, Revision On Tour: Macbeth, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 and 25, 7pm; February 26, 1pm with post-show Q&A

THE infamous Porter acts as narrator for an ensemble of six actors to create a cauldron of characters as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth make their perilous descent towards Hell in Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott, with music by Paul Higgs.

Set against a back-drop of wars, witchery and treasonous plotting, Dickens Theatre Company aim to “entertain and educate to the bitter end” while highlighting how “the Scottish play” remains ominously relevant in the 21st century. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Yemisi Oyinloye’s Carmen, left, and Hannah Genesius’s Elsa, right, in Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light, on tour at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: Victoria Wai

Investigative play of the week: Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 25

INSPIRED by writer Allison Davies’s diagnosis of autism, Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light is a journey of self-discovery wrapped in a celebration of the joy that comes when we live as we truly are.

Hannah Genesius takes the role of Elsa, who does not know why she has never fitted in. Could it be the way she is made? Quirky, kind, clever and funny, but school was always a nightmare, and romance was a mystery – until now. When Elsa meets Carmen (Yemisi Oyinloye), the real journey begins: to find out who she is and why an octopus is  living inside her head? Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Dickens Theatre Company in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, lurking around the Grand Opera House, York, for two days

The other GCSE study aid of the week: Dickens Theatre Company, Revision On Tour: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Grand Opera House, York, February 25, 1pm, with post-show Q&A; February 26, 7pm

WITHIN the thick Fitzrovia fog and dimly lamp-lit streets lurks an evil predator. When Gabriel Utterson learns of the mysterious Mr Hyde, he commits his lawyer’s logic to the proceedings. Believing Hyde to be blackmailing Jekyll, he vows to bring Hyde to task to solve the mystery.

As with Macbeth, Dickens Theatre Company’s cast of six takes on an exciting, educational new stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian gothic masterpiece, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Unpacking Nina Simone: Florence Odumosu in Black Is The Color Of My Voice at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Steve Ullathorne

Biographical drama of the week: Black Is The Color Of My Voice, York Theatre Royal, February 26, 7.30pm

WRITTEN and directed by Apphia Campbell, Black Is The Color Of My Voice is inspired by the life of Nina Simone in an evening of storytelling and performances of her most iconic songs by Florence Odumosu.

Campbell’s 70-minute play follows the North Carolina singer and activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. She reflects on her journey from piano prodigy destined for a life in the church to jazz vocalist at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Gordon Buchanan: Wild about wildlife at the Grand Opera House, York

Talk on the wild side: Gordon Buchanan, Lions And Tigers And Bears, Grand Opera House, York, February 27, 7.30pm

FILMMAKER and photographer Gordon Buchanan recounts thrilling encounters with pandas, grizzlies, tigers, jaguars and more as he charts the heart-stopping moments, the mud, sweat, and tears and the tender interactions that have shaped his career. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Elvana: When Nirvana meets Elvis Presley at York Barbican

Tribute gig of the week: Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana, March 1, 7pm doors

FROM the bowels of Disgraceland, rock icons of the afterlife are raised from the dead when rock’n’roll meets grunge as Elvis fronts Nirvana to give the band the front man it has been missing since 1994. Elvana tear through Nirvana’s catalogue while splicing in grunge- up sections of the King’s finest moments, culminating in a whopper mash-up of overdrive and old-school rockabilly. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

English Touring Opera in rehearsal for The Vanishing Forest, bound for Acomb Explore Library. Picture: Julian Guidera

Climate change drama:  English Touring Opera in The Vanishing Forest, Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, March 2, 11am

ENGLISH Touring Opera present an enchanting adventure for seven to 11-year-olds that blends Shakespeare, music and an environmental message.

Jonathan Ainscough and Michael Betteridge’s new opera picks up the threads of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Cassie and Mylas, Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta’s children, team up with Puck to save the forest before it is too late. Expect songs, puppetry, spells, mystical flowers and a story to entertain and inspire while tackling the pressing issue of deforestation. Tickets update: last few available at tickettailor.com.

Soul searching: Diversity to play York, Hull and Sheffield on 60-show tour of 31 cities and towns in 2026

Show announcement of the week: Diversity present Soul, York Barbican, April 20 and 21 2026

BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s 2009 winners, Ashley Banjo’s Southend dance ensemble Diversity, will base next year’s tour around the technological advancements of artificial intelligence, asking what the future holds and what it means to be human within the digital age.

“The future is now,” says Banjo. “Humans have become plugged in and completely connected to a world full of artificial intelligence – a world in which it is hard to distinguish reality from fiction. AI has become so advanced it’s considered a life form of its very own. Is this the next stage in our evolution? What exactly have we created? What makes us human?” His answer: “Soul.” Also playing: Hull Connexin Hall, March 11; Sheffield City Hall, March 13 and 14 (matinee). Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk; connexinlivehull.com; sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.

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REVIEW: Shrek The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday ***

Brandon Lee Sears’ Donkey, Antony Lawrence’s Shrek and Joanne Clifton’s Princess Fiona en route to Duloc in Shrek The Musical

IN August 2014, Yorkshire had the honour of staging the British regional premiere of DreamWorks Theatricals’ Shrek The Musical at Leeds Grand Theatre, when 2023 Strictly Come Dancing quarter finalist Nigel Harman was the director, incidentally.

Now the latest tour plays York, with co-directors Samuel Holmes and Nick Winston at the helm and 2016 Strictly champion Joanne Clifton playing the Grand Opera House for the fourth time, after The Rocky Horror Show in 2019, preceded by Flashdance and Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2017, here revelling in the role of Princess Fiona.

Nik Briggs’s presence in Monday night’s audience was a reminder that Shrek The Musical has turned this theatre green once before: he played the not-so-jolly ogre in York Stage’s production in 2019.

Holmes and choreographer Winston oversee a 2023-2024 touring production big on video, sound and lighting design, bigger still on big numbers, and biggest of all on big, big love. All that and a particularly towering Shrek as played by the lovably lumpen, grumpy Antony Lawrence.

You will surely know the iconoclastic story and characters from the first DreamWorks animated Shrek film in 2001, but the book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and persistently perky music by Jeanine Tesori were new to the 2008 musical.

Their songs, more forceful than overtly melodic, match the bright and bouncy tone of the trademark irreverent humour that adds playful send-ups of The Lion King and Les Miserables to the original film template of satirising and redefining the fairytale pecking order established by Grimm and Disney.

Joanne Clifton’s Princess Fiona and the Pied Piper’s tap-dancing rats performing Morning Person in Shrek The Musical

Hence the presence of myriad fairytale characters, in the manner of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, all in rebellious mood, from Georgie Buckland’s Gingy, who takes the biscuit, to Scotty Armstrong’s Big Bad Wolf, Mark D’arcy’s Pinocchio to Jonathan David Dudley’s Pied Piper.

All have their moments in song and dance, less so in dialogue, dominated instead by the big four of Lawrence’s Shrek, Clifton’s Princess Fiona, Brandon Lee Sears’ Donkey and James Gillan’s foppish Lord Farquaad.

Not forgetting a terrific turn by blues-belting Cherece Richards as the power-vocal front of the love-sick Dragon, hot on guarding Princess Fiona in the tower (as well as a second role as the Wicked Witch).

Early days in her professional career after leaving the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts this summer, keep an eye and ear on this BA Musical Theatre 2023 graduate, who more than makes the grade in Shrek, even with a huge dragon puppet design by Jimmy Grimes behind her.

Shrek The Musical’s naturally solitary, swamp-dwelling Shrek is even ruder, definitely windier, than his film version, still irascible, still wary, but nevertheless teaming up with Sears’ irrepressible Donkey to extract Clifton’s temperamental, bored, probably bipolar Princess Fiona from her tower to deliver her to Lord Farquaad for her fairytale nuptials.

Lawrence’s Shrek makes being glum a joy, his warts-and-all unconventional hero experiencing the highs and lows, the frictions and fallouts of buddy movie relationships with Sears’ jive-talking, ever-excitable Donkey, a hoofer with hooves and a Little Richard meets Prince lip.

Swamp invaders: Antony Lawrence’s Shrek in argumentative mood with Cherece Richards’ Wicked Witch and the fairytale folk in Shrek The Musical

Lawrence’s big Scottish fella warms to Clifton’s equally unconventional Princess Fiona: her favourite role, she says, one that testifies to the creed of being who you want to be, rather than living up to other people’s expectations. Clifton is the triple threat writ large: stirring singer, swish dancer and humorous actress.

The show’s humour works on two levels: sometimes pantomimic for children, especially in the fairytale characters and in its love of raucous burps and bottom burps in Shrek and Fiona’s unbeatable party-piece duet, I Think I Got You Beat.

At other times, adult, smart and savvy, such as the observation that if you look grotesque, your life is “Kafka-esque”. Then stir in that British favourite, high camp, in the fruity form of Gillan’s big-headed but diminutive Lord Farquaad, with his curtain of silken hair, Shakespearean airs and Kylie hot pants.

Philip Witcomb’s set and costume designs echo pantomime; Winston’s choreography is full of individual swagger and ensemble electricity, and if the singing is often better than the songs, Shrek The Musical’s return to York, with its big, bright wonderful fairy world, fits the festive mood of shows at this time of year.

In the words of the closing I’m A Believer, if you thought love was only true in fairy tales, Lawrence and Clifton make it a good starting place.

Shrek The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Everything’s gone green: Brandon Lee Sears’ Donkey, Joanne Clifton’s Princess Fiona and Antony Lawrence’s Shrek strut their stuff in the finale to Shrek The Musical
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More Things To Do in York and beyond the second star to the right. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 48 for 2023, from The Press, York

Christmas In Neverland at Castle Howard

’TIS the season for Dickens shows to begin, from solo shows to a musical, and to venture into Neverland too as Charles Hutchinson gets his festive skates on.

Fantastical adventure of the week and beyond: Christmas In Neverland, Castle Howard, near York, extended until January 7

CASTLE Howard is transformed with floristry, installations, props, soundscapes and projections to create an enchanting festive experience inspired by J M Barrie’s Peter Pan in Charlotte Lloyd Webber Event Design’s sixth magical installations inside the 300-year-old country house.

Look out for the Darling children’s London bedroom, Mermaid’s Lagoon, Captain Hook’s Cabin and the Jolly Roger as the design team prioritises sustainability and recycled materials, such as paper and glass, and teams up with Leeds theatre company Imitating The Dog, whose immersive projections and soundscapes feature for the first time. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk.    

Nunkie Theatre Company’s artwork for Casting The Runes

Thriller of the week: Nunkie Theatre Company in Casting The Runes, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Sunday (26/11/2023), 7.30pm

M R James wrote his ghost stories to perform to friends in the years leading up to the First World War. Today they have lost none of their power to terrify and amuse in the hands of Nunkie Theatre Company, presenting two tales in a one-man show.

Casting The Runes’ story of the unforgettable Mr Karswell, magic lanternist, occult historian and scourge of academics, is partnered by James’s most neglected masterpiece, The Residence At Whitminster, wherein a dark shadow looms over the precinct of a peaceful English church. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Who am I? The answer is Bridget Christie, feeling the heat at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Natasha Pszenicki

Comedy gig of the week: Bridget Christie: Who Am I?, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday (26/11/2023), 7.30pm

BRIDGET Christie is hot, but not in a good way, she says, in her menopause comedy, where she is confused, furious, sweaty and annoyed by everything. At 52, she leaks blood, sweats, thinks Chris Rock is the same person as The Rock and cannot ride the motorbike she bought to combat her mid-life crisis because of early osteoarthritis in her hips and RSI in her wrist.

In Who Am I? Christie wonders why there are so many films, made by men, about young women discovering their sexuality, but none about middle-aged women forgetting theirs. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

James Swanton: Presenting Ghost Stories For Christmas at York Medical Society

Dickens of a good storyteller: James Swanton’s Ghost Stories For Christmas, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, select dates from November 27 to December 11, 7pm

SOON to be seen in Lot No. 249, Mark Gatiss’s retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Christmas ghost story for the BBC, gothic York storyteller and actor James Swanton revives his seasonal Charles Dickens trilogy: A Christmas Carol (six performances), on the book’s 180th anniversary, The Haunted Man and The Chimes (two each).

“‘All three stories are richly rewarding,” says James. “They brim with Dickens’s eye for capturing the weird, the strange and the odd, from human eccentricities to full blown phantoms. Dickens’s anger at social injustice also aligns sharply with our own – and of course, there’s a lot to be angry about at the moment.” Box office and performance details: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Joanne Clifton’s Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical at Grand Opera House, York

American musical of the week: Shrek The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinee

LEAVE winter troubles far, far away to join the musical adventure as ogre Shrek (Antony Lawrence) and his buddy Donkey (Brandon Lee Sears) endeavour to complete their quest to defeat the dragon and save Princess Fiona (2016 Strictly champ Joanne Clifton). Look out for James Gillan’s Lord Farquaad too.

Based on the first animated Shrek film, DreamWorks’ musical features such David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori songs as Big Bright Beautiful World and I Know It’s Today alongside Neil Diamond’s climactic I’m A Believer. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Kit Stroud as Ebenezer Scrooge in NE Theatre York’s A Christmas Carol

Festive musical of the week: NE Theatre York in A Christmas Carol, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

STEVE Tearle first staged Alan Menken’s musical version of Charles Dickens’s heart-warming story A Christmas Carol for NE Musicals five years ago. Once more he will combine directing a cast of 60 with playing the chain-clanking Jacob Marley.

Kit Stroud plays Ebenezer Scrooge, whose deep dislike of mankind is interrupted on Christmas Eve by three ghosts who, one by one, warn him of the consequences of the suffering he has caused. Will he join them, or will he mend his ways? Tickets update: all but the first two performances have sold out; last few tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday, 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Mark Farrelly in Jarman at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Solo play of the week: Mark Farrelly’s Jarman, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm

MARK Farrelly, the writer-performer behind Quention Crisp: Naked Hope and Howerd’s End, turns his attention to Derek Jarman, iconoclastic filmmaker, painter, Prospect Cottage gardener, gay rights activist and writer.

“His influence remains as strong as it was on the day AIDS killed him in 1994, but his story, one of the most extraordinary lives ever lived, has never been told. Until now,” says Farrelly, whose passionate, daring reminder of the courage it takes to truly live when alive takes Jarman from Dungeness to deepest, brightest Soho. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Paul Weller: Returning to York Barbican next spring

Gig announcement of the week: Paul Weller, York Barbican, April 17 2024

THE Modfather Paul Weller will head back to York Barbican next spring after kicking off 2024 with a long-awaited January return to Japan and a trip to Australia, highlighted by three nights at the Sydney Opera House. He last performed at the Barbican in April 2022.

In 2023, Weller has played around Europe, performed a handful of Forest Live shows and had a special guest slot to Blur at Wembley Stadium. Next spring’s 14-date tour also takes in Sheffield City Hall on April 11. Tickets go on sale from Friday, December 1 at 10am at ticketmaster.co.uk, seetickets.com, gigantic.com and paulweller.com.

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Joanne Clifton revels in unconventional Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical on her Grand Opera House return from Monday

“It’s my favourite role I’ve ever done,” says Joanne Clifton of playing P:rincess Fiona in Shrek The Musical

JOANNE Clifton loves the Grand Opera House, York, and not only for theatrical reasons.

“I’ve done three musicals there but it’s also where I signed off on my first house in Dressing Room 2,” says the 2016 Strictly Come Dancing champion.

From Monday, Joanne returns to the Cumberland Street theatre to play Princess Fiona alongside Antony Lawrence’s Shrek, James Gillan’s Lord Farquaad and Brandon Lee Sears’ Donkey in Sam Holmes and Nick Winston’s “Shrektacular” 2023-2024 touring production of David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeannie Tesori’s musical.

“We’re on the road from the end of July to April next year: a long tour, I know, but it’s my favourite role I’ve ever done, so I’m happy to do it as long as possible,” says the 2013 World Ballroom Showdance champion, who turned 40 on October 26.

Splashdance! Joanne Clifton as welder and dancer Alex Owens in the iconic scene in Flashdance at the Grand Opera House in November 2017

“Fiona’s someone I really relate to. I know she’s a cartoon character, but if ever there was a princess I should play, it would be Fiona, as I’m not your typical princess. Maybe that’s because I’m from Grimsby.

“I’m never going to be the same as Cameron Diaz [who voiced Fiona in the Shrek films]. I’m told I’m more feisty. I shout a lot, especially at Shrek in my first few scenes where I want him to rescue me right now from the tower.”

Joanne loved the original Shrek animated film that spawned this official Dreamworks  Theatricals musical. “Everyone knows the film, and how the film wasn’t the same as other cartoon films,” she says. “It’s a feelgood, funny musical, and of course it’s for kids but there are lots of jokes for adults too that go over kids’ heads.

“There are some important messages behind it too: be who you want to be, rather than living up to other people’s expectations. Princess Fiona starts out trying to be  like how people expect a princess to be but ends up fighting and burping, falling for an ogre and getting on with a donkey!”

Fab-u-lous! Joanne Clifton as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Grand Opera House in February 2017

Summing up the humour, Joanne says: “It’s a very, very funny show, especially Lord Farquaad, and all that trumping that Shrek does and Fiona does. The kids absolutely love that! So there’s adult humour and toilet humour – at the end of the day trumps are just funny!”

Nick Winston’s choreography includes a big tap number for the former Strictly winner at the opening to Act Two. “I’m tap dancing with loads of rats as I’ve met the Pied Piper, who’s being followed by all these rats,” she says. “Especially as I’m 40 now, it’s one of the most demanding parts of the show – apart from the quick chase with the ogre at the end – because I’m singing, then I’m tap dancing and then have to finish by singing these big notes.”

The song in question is Morning Person. “I’m absolutely not a morning person!” says Joanne. “I’m very much an evening person. I’ll stay up until 2am, and if I could, I’d stay in bed all day.”

Nevertheless, the weekly performance schedule demands plenty of matinees. “We’ve recently done two weeks where we’ve had ‘double doubles’, matinees and evening shows on Wednesday and Thursday and then two shows on Saturday too. Sometimes we do eight shows in five days, but we just have to make it fun, and this cast is really good fun.

Shocked in pink: Joanne Clifton’s prim and proper Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show at the Grand Opera House in June 2019

“On those matinee days, we’ll get breakfast, do the show, where we’re all buzzing after doing I’m A Believer at the end, and then everyone’s in the green room, having fun, some cast members doing jigsaws, and we have a Lego club too.”

Neil Diamond’s I’m A Believer – best known for The Monkees’ 1966 hit version – is joined by original songs aplenty in the musical. “There are extra bits to the story too that make it better,” says Joanne. “Like my first song, I Know It’s Today, where Fiona goes through the stages of her life in the tower, from the age of seven, reading books, then teenage Fiona, older and brasher, and then I come on as Fiona as she is now, going out of her mind stuck in the tower.”

Joanne will be appearing in an American musical for the fourth time at the Grand Opera House after playing prim and proper college student Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show in June 2019 and starring twice in 2017, first as demure Kansas flapper girl Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie in February, then combustible Pittsburgh steel mill welder Alex Owens in Flashdance in November.

“It’s one of my favourite theatres,” she says. “I love old, traditional theatres, and York has such happy memories for me.”

Shrek The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 27 to December 2, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york

Copyright of The Press, York

“Be who you want to be, rather than living up to other people’s expectation,” urges Joanne Clifton, in reaction to playing convention-busting Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical
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Faye Brookes jumps at chance to play opposite Kevin Clifton in Strictly Ballroom The Musical at Grand Opera House

Faye Brookes: Ballroom dancing for the first time in Strictly Ballroom The Musical. Picture: Danny Kaan

CORONATION Street star and Dancing On Ice finalist Faye Brookes is joining Kevin Clifton in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical at the Grand Opera House, York, from Monday to Saturday.

The Manchester actress, 35, will be taking the lead female part of Fran opposite Strictly Come Dancing alumnus Clifton’s Scott Hastings in Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood’s production on tour until July 15.

“I’m so excited to be playing the role of Fran and making it my own. Bring it on!” says Faye, who last appeared on the York stage in the pink and perky role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical in August 2011.

“But I have been back to York since then because it’s so pretty, a great day out, wonderful cafés and restaurants, and the river.”

Actress, soap star and Dancing On Ice contestant Faye Brookes

Faye, who became a household name after joining ITV soap opera Coronation Street to play Underworld packer and waitress Kate Connor from 2015-2019, is no stranger to musical theatre.

Not only starring in Legally Blonde, but also in Shrek The Musical in the role of Princess Fiona, in a tour that visited Leeds Grand Theatre in August 2014, and in Chicago, playing housewife, nightclub dancer and murderess Roxie Hart, visiting the Leeds theatre last May.

Now she adds Strictly Ballroom’s Fran to that list. “I was doing panto at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, playing Goldilocks – with Jason Donovan as the villain [the Evil Ringmaster] – when my agent called me to say Maisie Smith was scheduled to leave the tour in March.

“How would I feel about auditioning? ‘Great!’ I said. I knew Strictly Ballroom well from seeing the film in my childhood. I fell in love with the script and when I watched the film again, I was completely in awe of the dancing and bonkers, crazy comedy that Baz Luhrmann had done.”

“Kevin has taken me under his wing. He’s an absolute pro,” says Faye Brookes, describing her rehearsal experience playing Fran to Kevin Clifton’s Scott Hastings in Strictly Ballroom The Musical

Based on Luhrmann’s 1992 Australian romantic comedy, Strictly Ballroom The Musical follows the rocky path of arrogant, rebellious ballroom dancer Scott Hastings (Clifton).

When he falls out with the Australian Federation over his radical dance moves, he finds himself dancing with Fran (Brookes), a beginner with no moves at all. Inspired by one another, this unlikely pairing gathers the courage to defy both convention and families while discovering that, to be winners, the steps do not need to be strictly ballroom.

All important to the show is the chemistry in Scott and Fran’s tentative, then blossoming relationship on and off the dance floor. “I’ve got myself into the fittest shape possible and Kevin has taken me under his wing. He’s an absolute pro,” says Faye. “He’s been wanting to do this show ever since he was ten.”

Faye began rehearsals on March 8 before joining the itinerary from March 27. “I worked with Kevin while he was on the road as I followed the tour around the country,” says Faye, who relished the task of mastering her Australian accent too.

“It’s action packed and you just have to jump on the train and ride!” says Faye Brookes, centre, of Strictly Ballroom The Musical. Picture: Ellie Kurttz

“To be fair, I do love taking on any challenge and doing accents is definitely one. I’ve always loved voices, and from watching Home And Away and Australian movies, my ear has picked up on the accent.

“What else I did, when I was doing drama at Guildford [School of Acting], was we had elocution lessons with a new accent every week.”

2021 brought her another challenge in the form of the ITV celebrity contest Dancing On Ice. “I’d never had any lessons before, but it just shows what you can do if you’re so committed to it,” says Faye, who finished as the runner-up.

“I was very lucky that I had no other commitments than the ice and I took to it like a duck to water, soaking it up like a sponge. With Strictly Ballroom, there is territory that I’ve done before [musicals], but I’ve never done ballroom dancing until now, though I have had to do ‘historical’ dancing before.”

Strictly Ballroom The Musical director Craig Revel Horwood

Working with Australian-born director Craig Revel Horwood has been a thrill too. “He’s really taken the film and sought to re-create what Baz Luhrmann created in his first ever movie and put it on stage,” says Faye. “So there are moments that will remind people of that film, and for young people who aren’t familiar with it, I can say it’s action packed and you just have to jump on the train and ride!”

Combining a book by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce with a cast of more than 20, Strictly Ballroom The Musical brings to stage life such hits as Love Is In the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time with joyous verve, bolstered by songs by Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect in a show full of “scintillating singing, dazzling dancing and eye-popping costumes” under the glitterball.

“It’s a very explosive show where you go on this wonderful experience,” says Faye. “Take a leap of faith, go with your gut, and what a beautiful feeling you will have when you come out of the theatre.”

Strictly Ballroom The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, April 24 to 29, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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DreamWorks Theatricals’ Shrek The Musical to play Grand Opera House. When?

Shrek The Musical: Arriving in York in 2023

WEST End smash Shrek The Musical is on its jaunty way to the Grand Opera House, York, from November 27 to December 2…NEXT year.

After that long wait, join unlikely hero Shrek and his noble steed Donkey, beloved Princess Fiona and the evil Lord Farquaad as they embark on a big, bright, musical adventure that reimagines the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film and William Steig’s book for the stage.

After Broadway and London success, the producers of Hairspray and Priscilla Queen Of The Desert have joined forces with directors Sam Holmes and Nick Winston and designer Philip Witcomb for the touring production.

Full of unexpected friendships and surprising romance, this fun-filled musical comedy promises a cast of vibrant, magical fairytale characters and a “Shrektacular” score by composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, topped off by Neil Diamond’s I’m A Believer.

DreamWorks’ animated film Shrek celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Shrek The Musical was first performed on Broadway in 2008, produced by DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions en route to receiving eight Tony nominations and the award for Best Costume and Set Design.

The original West End production was nominated for Best New Musical at the 2012 Olivier awards, where Nigel Harman received the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Lord Farquaad.

Shrek The Musical was staged previously at the Grand Opera House by York Stage Musicals in September 2019.

Tickets are on sale on 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com.

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