Sunday 25 May 2014

Just 3 Weeks Until Rehearsals !!

I'm back from my holiday in Cornwall and although I wasn't lucky enough to see them, I believe Faye and Gareth might have also been enjoying a short break in the South West last weekend.

May 16
Weekend by the sea... x

Faye will be enjoying her last 3 weeks of relaxation before rehearsals for the forthcoming Shrek the Muscial UK Tour begin on June 16th.

18h
Amazing date night with xx

I know how excited she is about taking on this amazing role and being part of such an incredible show, so I'm sure she can't wait for the fun to begin. The only person who may be more excited is probably me : )

I'm hoping once rehearsals start we might get a few pictures of the cast in costume and the most beautiful and talented Princess Fiona that has ever donned the green frock.

@ShrekUKTour
Coming to a swamp near you! @ShrekUKTour will be heading to @TRPlymouth from 28 July - 16 August 2015. Tickets go on sale on 11 Jun.

As you can see, the latest destination to be added to the tour is Plymouth. Shrek & Co will be performing at the Theatre Royal between 28th July & 16th August 2015.

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Shrek UK Tour - Leeds TV Advert

I'm actually going away for a week tomorrow - nowhere as beautiful or idyllic as Venice where Faye & Gareth had a lovely romantic break recently - but before I depart I wanted to feature the official TV advert for Shrek The Muscial UK Tour at Leeds Grand Theatre.

The show will be thrilling audiences in Leeds from July 23rd to August 17th. Make sure you don't miss out and grab your ticket while you still can.



Hopefully they will eventually make a highlights video featuring Faye and the cast of the UK tour as they did with Legally Blonde.

Below is a lovely little artcile from the Manchester Evening News announcing Faye's exciting new role.

It also confirms that the locals are in for a Christmas treat as their very own Princess will be home for the festive season. Shrek's run at the Manchester Palace Theatre is Dec 2nd to Jan 11th.

Faye Brookes to star in Shrek the Musical 

The Urmston actress will play Princess Fiona in the musical this Christmas.

West End star Faye Brookes will return home to Manchester for Christmas as the star of Shrek the Musical which heads here for the first time this year.

Faye, from Urmston, has starred in Legally Blonde on the West End as well as the national tour, and was most recently seen in the Royal Exchange production of That Day We Sang.

She'll be going green to play Princess Fiona in the offbeat fairy tale musical based on the hit animated films.

Faye will be joined on the tour by Dean Chisnall, who has been delighting audiences in the West End as the swamp-dwelling Shrek.

The new touring production is being directed by ex-EastEnders star Nigel Harman, who played baddie Lord Farquaad in the West End show.

Nigel says: "This show is very special to me with it's dizzying blend of great characters, a hilarious script and sublime music."

Wednesday 7 May 2014

New Dates Added To The Shrek Tour


Another venue has now been added to the Shrek Tour. As you can see from the article below Faye and her co stars will be entertaining audiences at the Birmingham Hippodrome between Tuesday 31st March 2015 and Sunday 26th April 2015.

This is good news for me as Birmingham is less than 100 miles from my home in Bristol. I'm sure I'll be making the hour and a half trip up the M5 at least once.


The swamp is heading to Birmingham! Tickets for Friends are now on sale. General on-sale on 14 May.

Here is the article from 'BroadwayWorld.com':


Birmingham Hippodrome has announced that tickets are now on sale to Birmingham Hippodrome Friends for the award winning Theatre Royal Drury Lane production of SHREK THE MUSICAL at Birmingham Hippodrome Tuesday 31 March - Sunday 26 April 2015. Tickets go on sale to Group Bookers Monday 12 May and on general sale over the phone, counter and online on Wednesday 14 May at 10am.

Unlikely hero Shrek and his loyal steed Donkey embark on a quest to rescue the beautiful (if slightly temperamental) Princess Fiona from a fire breathing, love-sick dragon. Add the diminutive Lord Farquaad, a gang of fairytale misfits, and a biscuit with attitude and you have the biggest, brightest musical comedy around!

Featuring all new songs as well as cult Shrek anthem I'm a Believer, SHREK THE MUSICAL brings all the much-loved DreamWorks characters to life, live on stage, in an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza.

This big, bright, beautiful production features dazzling fairytale costumes and towering fantasy sets designed by Tim Hatley who won a Tony Award for his work on the original Broadway production.
Stuart Griffiths, Chief Executive of Birmingham Hippodrome said "SHREK THE MUSICAL is a spectacular and incredibly funny show which will appeal to all the family and we are very excited to be bringing this much loved musical to the city in Spring 2015."

The UK & Ireland tour of SHREK THE MUSICAL will be directed by Nigel Harman who starred as Lord Farquaad in the West End production, winning him the 2012 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

Nigel said; "I am delighted to be returning to SHREK THE MUSICAL as its director. This show is very special to me with its dizzying blend of great characters, a hilarious script and sublime music. This production is visually stunning, and the story has the magic ingredient of moving at great pace while still being surprisingly intimate. I really can't wait to bring this to Birmingham."

SHREK THE MUSICAL will star Dean Chisnall as beloved swamp-dwelling ogre 'Shrek', the role he previously played in the West End, Faye Brookes as damsel in distress 'Princess Fiona', Idriss Kargbo as Shrek's wisecracking sidekick 'Donkey' and Gerard Carey as pint-sized villain 'Lord Farquaad'.

SHREK THE MUSICAL, originally directed (in the West End) by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, is based on the story and characters from William Steig's book Shrek! and the Academy Award-winning DreamWorks Animations feature film.

SHREK THE MUSICAL runs at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 31 March - Sunday 26 April 2015. Tickets now on sale to Birmingham Hippodrome Friends, Groups on sale Monday 12 May, General on sale Wednesday 14 May; tickets priced £18.50-£45. Call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com. 5% transaction charge applies (excl. cash sales in person) postage from £1. Phone calls from 5p per minute. Prices and discounting subject to change.

Thursday 1 May 2014

Shrek Countdown Continues !!


There are only 82 days until Shrek the Muscial kicks off it's UK tour in Leeds and just a few weeks later it lands in my home City of Bristol.

The above picture is a scan from the latest Brochure sent out by my local theatre advertising the show. Obviously they've had to use the West End cast but I still got a buzz of excitement when I found it.

Faye has started some one on one preparation for her role as Princess Fiona but the real rehearsals begin in about 6 weeks time. Not long now : )

The show travels all over the UK so make sure you book early to see it when it visits a theatre near you:

  • 23-Jul-14 to 17-Aug-14 - Leeds
  • 19-Aug-14 to 7-Sep-14 - Bristol
  • 10-Sep-14 to 28-Sep-14 - Nottingham
  • 8-Oct-14 to 19-Oct-14 - Belfast
  • 21-Oct-14 to 9-Nov-14 - Dublin
  • 12-Nov-14 to 23-Nov-14 - Oxford
  • 2-Dec-14 to 11-Jan-15 - Manchester
  • 21-Jan-15 to 8-Feb-15 - Aberdeen
  • 11-Feb-15 to 1-Mar-15 - Canterbury
  • 11-Mar-15 to 29-Mar-15 - Newcastle
  • 29-Apr-15 to 17-May-15 - Glasgow
  • 27-May-15 to 7-Jun-15 - Sheffield
  • 8-Jul-15 to 26-Jul-15 - Southampton
  • 19-Aug-15 to 6-Sep-15 - Milton Keynes

BOOK TICKETS TO SEE SHREK THE MUSCIAL UK TOUR NOW

At least two more destinations are likely to be added to fill the gaps between 30th March 2015 to 28th April 2015 and 8th June 2015 to 7th July 2015.

I'm hoping one of those might be the Cardiff Millenium Centre as that is a spectacular theatre and just a short trip over the Severn Bridge for me.

As soon as any additional official dates are added I'll let you know.

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In other news. I was flicking through the channels the other day and came across a US science fiction show called 'Star Crossed'.



Not as beautiful or talented as Faye but the star of the show - Aimee Teegarden - certainly reminded me of our girl.