Barnum

Wow what a night’s entertainment, from the onset all stops were pulled out. As the audience arrived we were treated to a Carnival atmosphere by lots of circus performers from clowns to acrobats and jugglers, tumblers all showing off their circus skills, this set the scene beautifully.

Andy Bond was brilliant in the title role of Phineas Taylor Barnum, at least my idea of what the author wanted his creation to be, he had the gift of the gab and an overwhelming belief that most people can be hoodwinked into believing anything, he had the perfect blend of sentimentality and cheek, his solo in the second half ‘The Prince of Humbug’ was quite lovely and he walked the tightrope with ease, even with a nasty leg injury, very well done Andy.

Vanessa Whittle was the perfect foil playing Charity Barnum, she was self assured, strong, very convincing and her singing was beautiful, ‘The Colours of My Life’ with Barnum was super. One of the hits of the night was undoubtedly Brandon Hunter as General Tom Thumb, what a great performance, what a dancer, a very polished performance.

I very much enjoyed Therese Persson playing Jenny Lind and her quickly – cued opening conversation with Barnum was very slick, she looked glamorous and seductive, and her singing was delightful, she really was and is in real life a true Swedish nightingale.  A contrasting singing style was well used by Alison Birtle as the Blues Singer, ‘Black and White’ was very well done.

The Ringmaster Paul Knowles performed with authority and aplomb and Irene Melling made a good Joice Heth. Everyone in the cast deserved praise for their skills and dedication, they were full of energy throughout with good facial expressions and worked as a team.

Good costumes, scenery and lighting helped to create the right atmosphere and sound brought the show to life and once again a good orchestra. A most enjoyable evening, well done everyone and thank you for making me so welcome and for your hospitality. 

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