It is a rare treat to see Barnum live. The 1980’s musical is rarely staged, both for the scale of it and the difficulty in finding a leading man who can not only sing, dance and act, but can also wow the audience with death-defying circus tricks.
This new tour from Bill Kenwright Ltd brings the Watermill Theatre’s 2024 production to a nationwide audience, with West End star, Lee Mead as 19th century circus impresario Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum.
The Watermill, of course, is a much smaller venue than Manchester’s Palace Theatre, so the Kenwright company has its work cut out to fill the stage with the same buzz of a bustling circus ring.
In recent years the musical has been superseded by ‘The Greatest Showman’ film starring Hugh Jackman. But since that hasn’t been produced as a live show yet, for fans of the story, there is still plenty to enjoy here, even if you don’t know all the tunes to sing-a-long.
‘Come Follow the Band’, by CY Coleman ad Michael Stewart, is probably the most well-known song from the show. It is perfectly apt for this production that fills the stage with a large ensemble of actor musicians playing 150 instruments.
There are also fabulous puppeteers bringing us a life-sized elephant, awe-inspiring aerial acts, acrobatics, fire eaters and contortionists. At one point a circus performer accurately fires a cross bow with her feet while upside down, which is just one of many impressive feats going on in the background throughout this jam-packed performance.
Mead, as Barnum, is central to the success of this show. He has the voice, the killer smile and has mastered the high wire with a real sense of jeopardy for the audience. Perhaps it is his generosity towards the rest of the cast that is preventing him from really excelling in this role. While this production is a strong ensemble piece, a stage the size of the Palace demands P.T. Barnum is not just the brains behind the greatest show, he is himself the world’s greatest showman. He is the star, and for this production to truly soar he needs the freedom to shine brighter.
Barnum is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from 10-14 February 2026 before continuing on tour.