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Nigel Harman: “I’ve kind of been secretly in love with ‘Shrek’”

01/07/2011
The English actor, most famous for his role as Dennis Rickman in the UK soap opera ‘EastEnders’, plays the role of Lord Farquaad in SHREK THE MUSICAL which opened at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane Theatre on the 14th June 2011.

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With music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, SHREK THE MUSICAL opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on the 14th June 2011. The new stage musical, directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, 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 West End production of this show is lead by Nigel Lindsay as Shrek, Richard Blackwood as Donkey, Amanda Holden as Princess Fiona and Nigel Harman as Lord Farquaad. This role means to Nigel Harman his return to musical theatre, five years after performing Sky Masterson in the latest West End revival of GUYS AND DOLLS.

Nigel Harman is most famous for his role as Dennis Rickman in the UK soap opera ‘EastEnders’. He has also worked in other TV series such as ‘The Outsiders’ or ‘Hotel Babylon’ as well as in plays such as ‘The Caretaker (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), ‘The Common Pursuit’ (Menier Chocolate Factory) and ‘Three Days of Rain’ (Apollo Theatre).

Nigel Harman talks about his work in SHREK THE MUSICAL and his acting career.

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT ‘SHREK THE MUSICAL’?
It’s all Caro Newling’s (one of the producers) fault! I was doing a play in London with her and she was flying off to New York to launch SHREK around the same time. She muttered there might be a part for me but that it wasn’t coming to London for another couple of years. So we forgot all about it. Suddenly it was on again! She said Rob Ashford was doing it – Rob who I love. Then they told me about the part. And when I listened to the music, it wasn’t just a generic film musical, but a musical that will stand alone regardless of the film. The final icing on the cake was having a nice job for the year at Drury Lane. It really was a no-brainer.

WERE YOU ALREADY A FAN OF THE MOVIE? Yeah, I remember seeing it soon after it came out and it was quite anarchic. It started out like a fairytale and I thought, oh, it’s going to another one of those Disney things, and then suddenly, he rips the page out of the book and wipes his arse with it and you’re just, like, brilliant! So I’ve kind of been secretly in love with it and when this came round, I had another look, and it’s just as good now as it’s always been.

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE STORY OF ‘SHREK’? It’s a love story about two people who go beyond the world of image, I suppose, and what is considered the right way and the right person to fall in love with. And true love takes over. But that’s got nothing to do with my part. So I’d say it’s all about a man who’s trying to become king. “Farquaad the Musical” with a silent D!

‘SHREK THE MUSICAL’ IS A CHANGE FROM YOUR MOST FAMOUS ROLES IN SOAP AND STRAIGHT DRAMA... I suppose it is quite a change. But that’s me all over. A lot of people talk to me about how varied the stuff I do is. But that’s why I wanted to become an actor really. My agent and I are conscious about me doing different things. I audition, but I pick and choose the auditions. If I don’t want to be in it, I’m not going to go. A nice big job at the Theatre Royal (laughs) – good plan! Though I’m not sure how many people will envy me being on my knees all night.

MUSICAL THEATRE IS WHERE YOU STARTED OUT, ISN’T IT? From a young age, I always wanted to be in musical theatre. I went to public school in south London and when I came out, I got a diploma in musical theatre from Arts Ed in Chiswick. And I had a very lovely time. But when I got to about 25, I realised I didn’t really want to do that for the rest of my life, that it’s quite limiting. And so I thought, I’ll give acting a go. By then, people were asking me to be in their musicals and I would literally negotiate myself parts.  I’d say: “Look, I’ll come and be in your musical, if you’ll let me be in your Chekhov. I will tap dance, but please can I be in your play?” I was like a cars salesman, that’s how it worked.  Over time I phased out the musicals, did a bit more Chekhov and then I starting working on telly. And now I get the joy of coming back. I popped back to do GUYS AND DOLLS five years ago and now I’m popping back to this.

YOU’RE WORKING AGAIN WITH NIGEL LINDSAY, YOUR CO-STAR FROM ‘GUYS AND DOLLS’. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? When I found out that Nigel was doing it, I was pretty much: “Get in!” We’d done a bit of a work on a script for telly since GUYS AND DOLLS but I hadn’t seen him in the interim. Then this came up and I saw his name on the audition shortlist and we touched based after that. We both play at the same golf club in North London so we played a couple of rounds just to get back into it. For me, Nige is one of the very best, and to have him as our leading man, we’re very lucky. He’s a funny, funny man and that will set the tone from the get-go.

HAS ANYTHING CHANGED SINCE YOU FIRST STARTED OUT IN THEATRE? I get to play really good parts now! Before, it was more grafting. I was understudying the leads. Now I’m owning parts. They’re mine from the get-go. And that’s a big difference.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK ON THE MUSICAL STAGE?
If I was doing this every night for five years, it would become like a job, but because I get to go and do a series, or a great play somewhere, when I come back it’s like a holiday. I can’t believe people are asking me to do this stuff. I can’t believe I’m genuinely here at the Drury Lane. I was looking at the posters backstage and I know half of those shows, if not more. My parents used to own the albums of Angela Lansbury. And here I am. It’s thrilling. You’re part of a big, big thing working here and you’re leaving a tiny little ripple in the pond. Just to be part of that history, that in itself is enough.

WHAT MAKES MUSICAL THEATRE SO SPECIAL? It’s immediate, you know. In a musical you do a number and when it’s finished, people clap. It’s not very often that you do one of the great soliloquies in Hamlet and they all burst out clapping at the end of it. The feedback is so instant. The audience will lead you where they want you to go if you listen. And the size of it – if you can get 2000 people on the same page, it’s incredibly powerful and can be very moving. And there’s a real sense of achievement about that. It’s a love affair – and a hate affair. If it’s not going well, you’ll know. But when it’s going well, there’s no better place to be.


Nigel Lindsay (Shrek) and Nigel Harman (Lord Farquaad) in SHREK THE MUSICAL

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