Michael Ball in Talks for SHREK in London

Actor Michael Ball is in talks to portray the title role in the musical 'Shrek' which will play in London next year, reports Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail.

From Bamigboye, "Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Dreamworks Animation chief behind the film and the show, told me the Shrek movies and DVDs have always been immensely popular in the UK, and for that reason he believes the stage show will do well here, too."

Bamigboye reports that producers for 'Shrek' are currently seeking a venue for the show. Also, it is yet to be seen if Michael Ball will star in a previously-announced production of 'Sweeney Todd' with Imelda Staunton in 2011 which may end up conflicting with the run for 'Shrek'. In the Daily Mail, Bamigboye says, "I don't know where this Shrek move will leave Sweeney Todd, which Ball and Imelda Staunton were to have done at Chichester next year. There were rumblings that it wasn't going to come together anyway. We'll see."

Michael Ball is an Olivier Award winning actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad in Hairspray for which he won the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for best actor in a musical.