A tall actor is set to lose his job as a short character in a production of Shrek – after a complaint it should be played by a DWARF.
Samuel Holmes, 32, has played the role of Lord Farquaad since the start of the UK’s second tour of the show in December 2017.
But his portrayal of the vertically challenged villain angered one theatre-goer who said he was “appalled” that the role had not been given to a dwarf.
Samuel, who is 6ft tall, spends the entire show on his knees for comical effect.
After seeing him, Bill Nicholson wrote to his local paper threatening to boycott the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, Devon, over the casting.
The producers of the show have now responded to the criticism and said the cast would remain the same until the end of the current tour.
But they would now “proactively” explore hiring an actor of “short stature” for the next one.
A spokesperson for Shrek the Musical said: “’The producers of Shrek The Musical would like to acknowledge the issue raised with regards to the casting of Lord Farquaad.
“The current tour ends in January 2019 but although the cast will remain the same for the rest of the current tour, we would certainly proactively explore casting an actor of short stature in this role for a revival of this particular production.
“We admire and support the work of Graeae Theatre greatly and should also clarify that they are in no way connected to this production.
“At the heart of Shrek The Musical is a celebration of difference and we regret that anything other than this has been construed from a non-literal casting decision.”
The issue was brought to the producers attention following publicity surrounding Mr Nicholson’s letter to his local newspaper the Plymouth Herald.
He wrote: “I am a supporter of the Theatre Royal both in the council tax I pay and the ticket prices I have to cough up to watch shows and of course the pantomime which I and my family have attended for many years.
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“Reading The Plymouth Herald newspaper on November 14, I was appalled to see that yet again an able-bodied and tall actor is to play the part of a dwarf in the hit musical Shrek.
“I understand that this is partly to do with the fact that dwarfs are normally paid a higher salary to play dwarfs than ‘taller’ people are paid to impersonate them on their knees.
“Gradually dwarfs are being frozen out of stage productions in favour of taller actors on a lower salary.
“The Theatre Royal is following this trend in spite of having thousands to erect a statue which many feel is an abomination especially as council taxpayers are given no choice in, whether to support this or not.
“Our screens are filled each night with scenes from the BBC Rickshaw Challenge featuring a delightful dwarf called Maisie.
“That is where my money will be going.
“I for one will not be attending the Shrek musical. What next! Snow white and The Seven Tall people!”
Samuel Holmes, who is originally from Plymouth, has previously appeared in West End shows including Spamalot and was also part of the Monty Python farewell tour.
He said in a previous interview that working on his knees in Shrek was one of the biggest challenges of his career.
He said: “It’s hard work because physically I had never done that before – I have done about 28 years of theatre work and have always done it on my feet.
“Then I was thrown this curve ball and this very clever costume and rig to do it on your knees, and it is very comfortable because it is so well constructed. “
A spokesperson for Theatre Royal Plymouth said: “’We aim to bring the best possible theatre to our audiences here in Plymouth and the South West but we have no control over casting for productions playing at TRP as part of a UK tour.
“As a theatre, we embrace diversity. We value difference and individuality, treating everyone as equally important.”
Shrek the Musical is at Theatre Royal Plymouth until Saturday, November 24.
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