WINNER OF THE 2019 STAGE AWARD
FOR BEST FRINGE THEATRE
THE BARN THEATRE CIRENCESTER
ANNOUNCES EXCITING NEW SEASON FOR 2019
Winner of Best Fringe Theatre in the 2019 Stage Awards, The Barn Theatre is delighted to present its line-up of five in-house productions for the upcoming 2019 Season, including one of Michael Morpurgo’s finest works, The Butterfly Lion, William Shakespeare’s classic history, Henry V, a brand new production of the comic thriller, The 39 Steps, the award-winning musical Daddy Long Legs and a reimagining of Charles Dickens’ festive masterpiece, A Christmas Carol.
Following an amazingly successful inaugural year when Artistic Director, Iwan Lewis, was nominated for the 2018 Stage Debut Award before the theatre’s win for Best Fringe Theatre Award, The Barn is looking to build on that success by once again providing its audience with a mix of challenging, entertaining and topical themes.
Iwan Lewis, Artistic Director said, “We have been absolutely thrilled by the audience response to our inaugural year and our Built By Barn productions. We did not expect to have had such positive industry recognition so soon after opening our doors to the public. It was humbling to have been nominated as Best Director at the Stage Debut Awards but winning The Stage Award for Best Fringe Theatre is truly unbelievable and has made all the hard work worthwhile. This is still the start of our journey and we are determined to use these achievements to catapult us into our 2019 season.
Our mission to produce challenging and inspiring professional theatre of the highest standards has been clear from the start and our 2019 programme will again reflect that commitment and provide a theatre that sits at the heart of our community sharing all the thrills and gifts that live entertainment can bring. Our new ticketing strategy mirrors this desire for inclusion and with prices starting from as little as £8 per ticket, The Barn really is a Theatre For All.”
Opening the new season in April is The Butterfly Lion by the acclaimed writer and former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo (War Horse, Private Peaceful, Running Wild). This heart-warming yet bittersweet story of faithfulness, destiny and love tells the tale of a lonely boy in South Africa who adopts an orphaned white lion cub.
In May, The Barn Theatre takes on a Shakespeare classic, Henry V. Set in modern surroundings, this timeless tale is cleverly brought up to date and explores the conflict between tradition and modernity in Britain through the lens of a nation at war.
A cast of four deftly take on a Hitchcock classic, The 39 Steps, in a wonderfully inventive comic thriller parody adaptation of John Buchan‘s 1915 novel for their Summer production in July. 139 roles are played out in a fast-paced, fun and thrilling action hitting show full of British gung-ho characters and dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women.
The Autumn season opens with the theatre’s first stage musical for 2019, the award winning Daddy Long Legs. The show is based on the classic novel by Jean Webster that inspired the 1955 movie starring Fred Astaire. The musical, with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon and a book by John Caird, is set in turn-of-the-century New England and tells the story of orphan Jerusha Abbott and her mysterious benefactor who agrees to send her to college, who she dubs ‘Daddy Long Legs’ after seeing his elongated shadow.
A Christmas Carol closes the year with a magical new interpretation of Dickens’ timeless classic by Alan Pollock that will get everyone, including Scrooge, in the festive mood. Set to an original score, the familiar tale is reworked into a spellbinding tale that stays true to the general moral thread of the original story.
Box Office (Phone): 01285 648 255 (10am-5.30pm, Mon to Sat)
Box Office (Online): [email protected]
Website: barntheatre.org.uk
Twitter: @thebarntheatre
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The Butterfly Lion
Tuesday 2 April – Saturday 4 May 2019
Written by Michael Morpurgo
Adapted by Daniel Buckroyd
Directed by Jessica Daniels
Performance Times: 14:30 / 19:30
Henry V
Wednesday 22 May – Saturday 22June 2019
Written by William Shakespeare
Performance Times: 14:30 / 19:30
The 39 Steps
Wednesday 10 July – Saturday 10 August 2019
Written by John Buchan
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
Performance Times: 14:30 / 19:30
Daddy Long Legs – The Musical
Wednesday 2 October – Saturday 2 November 2019
Book by John Caird
Music & Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Directed by Kirstie Davies
Performance Times: 14:30 / 19:30
A Christmas Carol
Wednesday 27 November – Saturday 4 January 2020
Written by Charles Dickens
Adapted by Alan Pollock
Directed by Iwan Lewis
Performance Times: 10.30/13.00/14.30/17.30/18.30.19.30
(See full Christmas schedule for variety of performance times)