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“The Prince of Humbug”
Nickname for PT Barnum
On a fine summer’s evening, acrobats dressed in Victorian circus clown outfits will perform before the show. The first views to strike you are the frills on the male acrobats’ underwear, a delightful Victorian costume. This is the exciting circus pre-show for the musical production of Barnum which is showing until September, at the Watermill, Newbury, Berkshire’s prettiest theatre. But you do not have to worry if it is raining because the main show is in the theatre and the preshow can move indoors.
Barnum is the story of the legendary American showman PT Barnum (Matt Rawle) and his wife Charity (Monique Young). I have long been a fan of Matt Rawle specially since I saw him in the 2008 production of Zorro where he sang and thrilled with great swordsmanship.
PT Barnum was called “The Greatest Showman” and with due reason. In the role of Barnum, Matt Rawle excels in engaging the audience with humour and sincerity, despite Barnum’s reputation for exaggeration in attracting the audience which earned him the title, “The Prince of Humbug”. What he did do was having lured the people in on slightly false pretences was to make sure they had a thoroughly good time. We see him playing the piano with both his legs in the air which makes us smile.
Besides Barnum’s many money making ventures, and some that failed, the main thrust of the musical is to concentrate on Barnum’s marriage to Charity or Chairy as he calls her. He tells us that she “turns up her nose at his gifts as if they were yesterday’s fish!” It is true that Charity is more practically minded. The song “The Colors of my Life” illustrates Barnum’s colourful vision for entertaining the public which he explains to Charity.
We start with a woman at first thought be the oldest woman in the world, Joice Heth (Tania Mathurin) but whom Barnum repackaged as George Washington’s 160 year old nurse.
In 1841, Barnum purchased Scudder’s American Museum in New York City and in November 1864 the Confederates attempted to burn it down. Barnum was a Unionist and anti-slavery. In July 1865 it did burn to the ground in a fire of unknown origin. Barnum rebuilt it which we see in the number “One Brick at a Time” with his circus team acrobats passing red bricks to each other. This second museum burns down and Barnum leaves the museum business to tour his idea of a museum on wheels.
We meet General Tom Thumb (Fergus Rattigan) marketed as a very small man with “a high polish on the facts”. In this case Tom Thumb was a seven year old boy with dwarfism but he dressed up as Napoleon and thrilled the crowds. Extra large musical instruments are brought onstage to make Tom Thumb look smaller.
Matt Rawle performs his own highlight when he walks along a tight rope the full width of the stage with no wire or safety net. “Bravo!” we cheer. At the end of Act One, Jenny Lind (the powerful soprano Penny Ashmore), the Swedish nightingale, is persuaded by Barnum to come to America and Barnum has to choose between keeping his star happy and pleasing his wife.
Lee Newby’s designs are brilliantly vivid and the cast uses actor musicians joining in with acting singing and playing instruments and performing circus feats. Strictly’s Oti Mabuse is the choreographer for this show. Circus Director Amy Panter deserves special mention for the exhilarating gymnastic turns from the cast.
The Second Act sees fresh costumes and while the songs up to now have been full on band numbers, there is a change of tempo. On the White House Lawn, Jenny Lind sings “Love Makes Such Fools of Us All”. I loved “Black and White” for its crisp visuals; even the stars and stripes are in monochrome.
Finally we see Barnum’s political career as Mayor of Bridgeport Connecticut and his support for universal suffrage, for woman and Black Americans. “The Colors of My Life” is reprised sung by Barnum and Charity who sadly dies. The song “The Prince of Humbug” is followed by a joyous finale. What a superb show for all the family! Five stars from Theatrevibe, the site that doesn’t do stars!
Editor of TheatreVibe.co.uk
See ABOUT US
Musical Numbers
Act One
Overture
There Is A Sucker Born Every Minute
Thank God I’m Old
The Colors Of My Life
One Brick At A Time
Museum Song
I Like Your Style
Bigger Isn’t Better
Jenny Lind’s Obligato
Love Makes Such Fools Of Us All
Out There
Act Two
Come Follow The Band
Love Makes Such Fools of Us All (reprise)
Black And White
The Colors of my Life (Reprise)
Join The Circus
Finale
Production Notes
Barnum
Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle
Cast
Starring:
Charis Alexandra
Penny Ashmore
Josh Barnett
Elena Buck
Kiera Brunton
Kaine Hatukai
Dan Holland
Jessica Jolleys
Tania Mathurin
Emma Jane Morton
Emily Odunsi
Fergus Rattigan
Matt Rawle
André Rodrigues
Laura Sillett
Tom Sowinski
Tom Sterling
Monique Young
Creatives
Director: Johnathan O’Boyle
Choreographer: Oti Mabuse
Designer: Lee Newby
Musical Supervisor and Orchestrator: George Dyer
Lighting Designer: Jai Morjaria
Sound Designer: Tom Marshall
Circus Director :
Amy Panter
Information
Running Time: Two hours 30 minutes with an interval
Booking until 8th September 2024
Theatre:
Watermill Theatre
Bagnor,
Newbury
RG20 8AE
Box Office: 01635 46044
Website: watermill.org.uk
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge
at the Watermill Theatre
on 9th July 2024
