Shrek The Musical will spend almost a fortnight at the Liverpool Empire at the end of November as part of a national tour.

It is directed by former EastEnder Nigel Harman, who starred as Lord Farquaad in the West End production, winning an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

The stage and screen actor said: “I’m delighted to be returning to Shrek as its director. This show is very special to me with its dizzying blend of great characters, a hilarious script and sublime music.

“This production is visually stunning, and the story has the magic ingredient of moving at great pace while still being surprisingly intimate.

“In short, there was no way I was going to say no to the challenge of realising the production for the UK and Ireland.”

The musical, based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek! and the Oscar-winning animated movie, originally opened on Broadway in 2008 before touring to nearly 150 cities in the US and Canada.

Other productions have played in Spain, Poland, France, Malaysia, China, Brazil, Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands, Estonia, Israel and Turkey. Meanwhile, the West End production, which ran at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, was seen live on stage by nearly a million people.

The show centres around unlikely hero, the green ogre Shrek, and his loyal steed Donkey as they embark on a quest to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona from a fire breathing, love-sick dragon.

Add the diminutive Lord Farquaad, a gang of fairytale misfits, and a biscuit with attitude, and it promises to be the biggest, brightest musical comedy around in 2015.

Empire general manager Diane Belding said: “Last year was such an amazing year for the Empire with great shows like The Lion King and Wicked. But this year is shaping up to be just as exciting.

“We were thrilled to learn that Shrek the Musical is making its Liverpool debut here at the Empire; it’s one of the most hotly-anticipated shows at the moment and we’re honoured to be hosting its first visit to our great city.”

Shrek The Musical is at the Liverpool Empire from November 25 to December 6. Tickets, costing from £10, go on general sale on Thursday, January 22.