After last summer’s absolute barnstormer summer musical (a revival of much-maligned but utterly exquisite ‘Lord of the Rings’) for this beautiful little theatre, there was a lot of hype to live up to. ‘Barnum’, which premiered in Broadway in 1980, is their choice – and there is a lot to love in this show.

The Watermill itself is an absolute delight of a theatre, and the team really lean in to the theme of the show, with a delicious and very reasonable themed set menu in the restaurant (£25 for two courses), beautiful theming the grounds of the theatre and themed sweets and treats for the audience. There is an immersive element here too, though not as fully realised as ‘Lord of the Rings’: musicians and circus performers entertain the audience both outside (or in the foyer, in our case on a rainy day) and on stage before the show opens. There is talent in abundance here.

Matt Rawle stars as P T Barnum, and is effortlessly charismatic in the role. A particularly tense moment at the end of Act 1 also allows him to deftly demonstrate some proper and terrifying circus skills. He makes Barnum, who can be deeply difficult to like, more empathetic as a character. We root for his success, even in the face of his bad deals and ‘humbugs’.

The cast is undoubtedly talented – both musically (as has become a Watermill tradition, the show is performed by actor-musicians) and in terms of the circus skills exhibited – particularly by Kiera Brunton, Dan Holland, Emily Odunsi and Andre Rodrigues.

As ever, the Watermill do not allow the size of the theatre to put a cap on the scale and scope of their productions. There is much packed in, and the overall impact is one of real spectacle.

It is a short production of an already short musical, and Act 2 suffers from the break-neck speed with which it recounts a number of decades in the later life of P T Barnum, and to that end it is at times very difficult to follow. The final moment of the show, too, means this production does not go out with a bang but instead with a whimper: the audience did not realise this was the end of the show and thus applause was stilted. The cast did not seem surprised by this reaction, which perhaps speaks both to the material and the cueing in the direction that this is the final number.

Still, this is a charming production with some fantastic performances which has led to an almost sold-out run of people hoping to ‘follow the band.’

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