A former Suffolk schoolboy is set to take the stage for a nationwide touring production of Shrek the Musical.
Reece Kerridge, who grew up in Woodbridge and went to Farlingaye High School, has joined the cast for a new year-long UK tour of the show, based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film.
The 23-year-old recently finished a year on stage in the wildly successful Book of Mormon at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre.
Now living in south-east London, Reece works as an associate lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University and dance teacher at London College of Performing Arts, but also makes a weekly journey back to his home county to teach at Ipswich’s Emma Dodd School of Performing Arts, where he used to be a student.
“I’ve danced from the age of three at the Coral Stebbings School of Theatre Dance, in Martlesham and Leiston” he said.
“I always knew it was something I wanted to do, but it wasn’t until going to Colchester Institute at 16 that I realised I could also sing and act, and a whole new set of doors opened to me.”
Reece is one of many industry professionals from Suffolk to grace London’s West End, which include the likes of Kerry Ellis and Ruthie Henshall, who must excel in acting, singing, and dancing – known as a ‘triple threat’.
He was selected for the fourth Book of Mormon cast, and before that appeared in the 2015 fringe production of Our House, a musical with music and lyrics by Madness, at Southwark’s Union Theatre.
Just two months after leaving the Book of Mormon, Reece found out his audition for Shrek the Musical had been successful.
In the show, he plays one of the Three Little Pigs and will also cover for the main antagonist role of Lord Farquaad.
“We open on December 12 in Edinburgh,” he said. “We’ll spend four weeks there before beginning a year-long tour, with about two weeks at each venue.
“Although I won’t be performing in Ipswich, I’m really looking forward to appearing at the Theatre Royal, in Norwich. As a child, I would go to see shows there with my family, and I’ve always wanted to return as a performer.”
For more on Shrek the Musical, visit shrekthemusical.co.uk.
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