REVIEW: Barnum

By Gary Murray, volunteer theatre reviewer  

Roll up, roll up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Roll up for the story of the great American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum, co-founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. It will be a tale thinly told, with LIGHTS! SONGS! ACROBATS! MERMAIDS! 

P. T. Barnum was an amoral man full of "schemes and dreams". He’d happily display 'human curiosities' and a fake mermaid. Later, he became a politician and supported the abolition of slavery. 

You won’t find such complexity in Barnum, playing this week at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne. First performed on Broadway in 1980, and famously played by Michael Crawford in the West End, this is frothy and light with Barnum very much the loveable rogue. 

That said, it is superbly done by an extremely talented company who are called on to sing, act, play instruments and perform acrobatics which they do brilliantly. 

The set, designed by Lee Newby, is part-theatre proscenium arch and part-circus tent.   

Barnum is played engagingly by Matt Rawle with wife Charity played by Monique Young. Charity is the grounded one, the counterpoint to dreamer Barnum’s various schemes. 

The songs, by Cy Coleman, with the exception perhaps of ‘Come Follow the Band’ and ‘Join the Circus’, are not particularly memorable. However, Penny Ashmore has the voice to be credible as opera singer Jenny Lind (Barnum promoted her for a time). 

Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle and with choreography by Oti Mabuse from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, this adds up to an evening of high energy entertainment by a company at the top of its game. 

Good to see lots of families with children on the evening I went and Barnum is a good night out for everyone, even though it adds up to a lot of froth.

I didn’t expect to learn a new verb last night, but I did come away knowing how to "humbug". 

Is it "The Greatest Show on Earth"? No. But its thinness is down to the show itself and certainly not to the hard-working cast who give it everything. Yes, it’s entertaining, but it’s really a missed opportunity to tell a fascinating tale.

:: The show runs until Saturday 24 October at the Congress Theatre. Tickets here

:: Gary Murray was a professional actor for 14 years in theatre, radio, TV and even a couple of operas. After many years on the tech side of ticketing, he now works at non-profit Tech Resort sharing digital skills and is a volunteer reviewer for Eastbourne Reporter