Strictly Star Joins Cast of Shrek The Musical

Written by Colin Dixon on 3rd November 2023

Strictly Come Dancing star Joanne Clifton has swapped the dancefloor for a fairy-tale forest to join the cast of Shrek The Musical as Princess Fiona at Wales Millennium Centre this November.

Best known for her time on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, after winning the World Professional Showdance Champion and the European Professional Ballroom Championship, Joanne Clifton joined the iconic TV show as a professional dancer. During her time on the show, she won the Christmas Special with McFly’s Harry Judd and went on to win the glitterball trophy as the 2016 champion with her partner Ore Oduba. On stage Joanne Clifton was most recently seen in Windfall (Southwark Playhouse) and The Addams Family (UK Tour).

Joanne will be joined by a Shrek-tacular cast line up which includes Antony Lawrence as Shrek (whose previous credits include Scar in The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Matilda the Musical, and We Will Rock You) and Olivier Award-nominee James Gillian as Lord Farquaad (who recently created the role of Tray in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and has previously starred in Wicked, Starlight Express and Taboo!).

Brandon Lee Sears, playing the role of Donkey, most recently played the role of Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls (UK tour). His previous theatre credits include the original West End productions of Be More Chill, Come From Away, Heathers The Musical and On the Town. Rising star Cherece Richards (Once on This Island, Regent’s Park Theatre) will make her debut in a principal role as the Dragon.

The ensemble cast of Shrek the Musical including Leo Abad, Scotty 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.

Join Shrek and Donkey on their quest to save Princess Fiona at Wales Millennium Centre on 20 – 25 November. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.wmc.org.uk/en/whats-on/2023/shrek