Casting for BarnFest’s The World Goes ’Round

Casting has been announced for the new co-production of Kander and Ebb’s musical revue The World Goes ’Round at The Barn Theatre’s first summer outdoor festival later this month.

Co-produced by The Barn Theatre and Piers Cottee-Jones, the cast consists of George Arvidson (The Outpost, Les Misérables), Jenny Fitzpatrick (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Ghost), Nick Barstow (Zorro, Just So), Rosalind Ford (Once, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Ryan Carter (Motown The Musical, The Boy Friend).

Running from 24 August until 5 September 2020, the new version of the show which was originally conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman and David Thompson, to celebrate the work of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, will be directed by Kirk Jameson with musical direction by Nick Barstow.

Following on from the Cirencester venue’s popular lockdown online activity, BarnFest – Outdoor Theatre Festival began on 25 July. Staged in the grounds of Ingleside House adjacent to the award-winning theatre, the festival marks the first live theatre performances at The Barn since the start of the year.

Running until 5 September, the line-up also includes SCOOT Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a 60-minute re-telling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy set within the cricket world (29-30 August). Directed by Joseph O’Malley and produced in association with Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre, Walton on Thames, the production will feature a cast including past Barn Theatre and recent online actors Aaron Sidwell (EastEnders, Henry V) and Max Hutchinson (The Woman in Black, The 39 Steps).

BarnFest also features: three acclaimed productions from outdoor theatre company Illyria Theatre – The Wind in the Willows (10-15 August), The Emperor’s New Clothes (17-22 August) and The Adventures of Doctor Doolittle (24-28 August); and Simon Reade’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful will play BarnFest from 17 until 22 August. Co-produced by Take Two Theatricals, BoxLess Theatre and the Barn Theatre, the production will be directed by Alexander Knott

The theatre is adhering to all government guidelines during the festival with further details and information regarding the venue and procedures to keep audiences, staff and performers safe available on the website.

Areas are divided into boxes which individuals or families can purchase. Pricing for boxes begins at £40 for up to four people with disability and premium options are also available.

Launched in 2018, the ambitious project to create a major producing house at the heart of the development of Cirencester’s Grade II listed Ingleside House attracted support from leading Broadway director Jerry Mitchell and actors James Dreyfus, Matthew Kelly, Heida Reed and Daisy May Cooper.

In just two years the Barn Theatre has gained national recognition for producing 12 Built By Barn shows attracting over 80,000 theatregoers and winning The Stage’s Best Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2019.

With strong links to the local community already well established the theatre has worked extensively with charities including Cirencester Housing for Young People and Age UK Gloucestershire.

A registered charity facing a loss of £250,000 due to lockdown, the Barn Theatre has launched the SAVE OUR BARN campaign to raise funds to safeguard the Barn’s future. Supporters can donate via barntheatre.org.uk.

 Angela Thomas