The Greatest Show on Earth!



Singin' In The Rain was of course a hard act to follow. The following spring brought another Music Hall to the Empire, back by popular demand, which gave Julie time to contemplate her next 'big' show.
Barnum was definitely a big show, and yet another massive challenge to all involved. All the company, bar none, had to learn at least one circus skill. And in the true nature of the Players they enthusiastically took this on and spent many, many hours practising and learning new skills. The principle characters, in particular Barnum (Richard Poth) and the Ringmaster (Rob Turner) had to not only learn multiple new skills but also look like they had been doing it for many years.
Richard's big challenge was the tight-rope walk which occurs at the end of the first half, symbolising Barnum's treacherous journey from his wife Charity, to mistress Jenny Lind. Unlike all the other skills, Richard was not able to learn the tight-rope until it had been rigged in the theatre on the week of the show. Following several days of practice, he managed it and did the stunt every performance.


The tight-rope was also a challenge technically to rig (click on the link below to get to more details), and in addition to this, Danny and the crew had to install and fit-up the entire set, which included rostra at the back to house the orchestra (who were none too pleased about the limited space), and had to paint the stage and forestage in bright red and yellow circus-like stripes. The final look was fantastic and with Danny's lighting the audience were affronted by a wall of colour when they entered the auditorium.

As with all the Players shows, much fun was had by the cast both on stage and backstage. The sense of achievement was great as so many people had learnt new skills with this show.

Click here for more on Barnum
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