More than week after the last show of Lee Mead's incredible run as PT Barnum in the 2026 UK & Ireland tour of Barnum the Circus Musical, its wonderful songs are still my daily earworms and I have only to close my eyes for my head to be flooded with the colour and movement and music and magic that are the essence of this extraordinary show. I was privileged to see it many times throughout the run - sometimes solo, sometimes with my lovely tour buddies, often meeting fellow long-term Lee fans, now friends, along the way. As so often in the past, I'd booked for Lee then fallen in love with the entire cast ... their obvious passion, their incredible talent, their shared endeavour combining to produce a whole that was so much more than the sum of its pretty phenomenal parts.
Photos here are a mix of official production photos and a collection of shots previously shared on social media by various cast members, venues and reviewers - click any to see larger image, with caption and credit, and to access the full gallery.
After missing out on the Southend tour date for both Chitty and Chicago, it was extra special that Lee's leg of the Barnum tour ended in his hometown with a return to the theatre - Cliffs Pavilion, Southend - where he did work experience aged 14 (follow spot for Joe Pasquale), opened his first solo tour in 2010, returned with the Love Tour in 2012, climbed the panto beanstalk as Jack in 2017, and much more besides. But this was his first lead role in a musical on this stage and it was a role he was surely born to play. I'm sitting here with a huge grin on my face as I type, remembering my first experience of Barnum - with Michael Crawford at the Palladium way back in 1982, when Lee was a mere babe - another two productions since which I enjoyed at the time but remember little of now, then this... a production which exploded onto Windsor Theatre Royal's stage on its first night back in January and poured vibrant, pulsing, new life into this 45 year old musical!
Lee's final shows were epic - with family and old friends and industry buddies and fans and the good people of Southend in the house, he delivered on every level and I hope was able to drink in the experience as he did so. After the final bows he said a few words (which you can listen to below). It came as no surprise that he started by singing the praises of this extraordinary company, wishing them well for the Autumn leg of the tour starring Matt Rawle as Barnum... then he acknowledged what bringing it home meant to him - the Southend boy who used to "sell ice creams down in that corner down there...!" As I said, special.
I can't move on from this absolute joy of a show without sharing some of the memories I take away with me ... some are one-offs (one of the joys of repeat visits is spotting the occasional variations!), some are moments that always hit the spot, all are things that made me laugh, cry or simply marvel at the skill on display ... so, not a review (you can read those here and my own first impressions here) so much as a slightly self-indulgent tribute to a company who have given me so much joy over the past five and a bit months.
I should add that I mean no disrespect to any members of the cast not mentioned below as ALL were superb but, in vaguely chronological order, here are a few of the details that caught my eye:
Lee Newby's wonderful set design that filled the widest stages on tour and squeezed itself into the smallest, looking entirely at home in either
the actor-muso cast's extraordinary ability to hold lyrics, score and choreography in their heads and perform them all simultaneously
trying to keep track of who was playing what instruments - I'd love to know who holds the record for greatest number of different instruments played during the show... surely Fergus Rattigan (Tom Thumb)'s box full of percussion must put him in the running!
amid such a wealth of talent, singling anyone out hardly seems fair, but I'm going to do it anyway! Tom Sterling's trumpet (cornet? both?) was the instrumental voice of the show, his playing exquisitely expressive. Also, blowing the trumpet in his right hand, banging the big bass drum with his left ... who said men can't multi-task? ;-)
all the little nuances of character and action, evolving throughout the run, from a cast who were always 'on' both in and out of the spotlight
Monique Young (Charity)'s growled 'leave it' when her first coin toss went awry and landed at Lee's feet and her horrified 'oh no' when on another occasion it rolled right off the front of the stage
quick-thinking in the face of occasional technical glitches - Eamonn Cox (Ringmaster)'s deft "for the second time anywhere" revision to his usual announcement of Tom Thumb when a short tech stop had interrupted the latter's 'Bigger Isn't Better'
speaking of Tom Thumb, a giggling nod to Fergus' creativity in coming up with a different line every show as Jumbo dragged him, protesting, from the stage
Sophie Precious Muringu (Scudder)'s very impressive professional debut
Laura Sillet - fabulous in her usual ensemble track, but also a brilliant Ringmaster (and Scudder) when required
Tom Sowinski - taking inspiration from his Polish grandfather for his wonderful Goldschmidt
everything about Penny Ashmore's Jenny Lind - her fabulous Swedish accent, her beautiful harp playing, her voice...
diminutive but mighty Elena Bluck, forever known to us as Daisy thanks to the adjacent lyric as she flew through the air, 'tossed high' in Come Follow the Band - she was a fabulous Jenny Lind too when called upon to cover
the versatility and sublime vocals of Dominique Planter, giving plenty of sass as both 160 year old Joice Heth and Blues Singer, and a beautifully observed turn as Wilton, Barnum's faithful assistant
the mesmerising skill of the circus performers, all also fully integrated, hard-working members of the ensemble - take a bow Gianpaolo Candelaria, James Gill, Lennin Nelson-McClure, Emily Odonsi, Andre Rodrigues and Niki Tsonopoulou - incredible work on hoops, silks, trapeze, ropes, teeterboard, general acrobatics, not to mention foot archery, fire-eating and feats of gravity-defying, graceful strength that I could watch forever
a nod to Kevin Oliver Jones (James Bailey) who is, I think, the only member of the cast other than Lee who is not returning for the Autumn leg of the tour - as on stage MD he was a ubiquitous musical presence, whether on piano, banjo, accordian, guitar or even, at one point, piano stool!
puzzling over the sudden appearance of someone 'new' juggling during the reprise of 'The Colours of My Life' until we realised it was Ben Scott temporarily released from his more usual off-stage drum chair
and so many, many more.
As for Lee... I was so excited when this role was announced. He has talked of how he nearly turned it down because of the tightrope, but he rose (quite literally) to that challenge and to so much more besides. It is without doubt the most demanding role he has ever taken on ... it's hugely wordy, very physical and he's there at the heart of it for almost every scene. The reality of Phineas Taylor Barnum is not a pretty tale, but though closer to that reality than the more recent Disney re-telling of his story in 'The Greatest Showman', this is still a fictionalised account, calling for a display of the man's charisma and drive and largely glossing over his baser characteristics. Lee manages to portray something of the dichotomy, leaning into the charm but not shying away from the flaws and vulnerabilities. Applying the same 'laugh, cry, admire' criteria as above to Lee's performance brings to mind so many things, from tiny details to whole numbers. Here are just a few:
patter songs are not something I ever imagined Lee singing... but boy can he! All together now... 'Quite a lotta, Roman terracotta, living lava from the flanks of Etna'! That one I managed to learn, Prince of Humbug is a whole different matter-patter!
walking his fingers along the washing line in 'I Like Your Style', foreshadowing the high wire action to come. When injured and for a short time unable to walk the tightrope, he skipped this little detail too... I was so glad to see its return at Portsmouth!
perfectly capturing the conflict between his fascination with Jenny Lind and his loyalty to Charity... Monique's reaction in this scene was pitch perfect too
balancing on one foot to change into his tightrope shoes ... just try it! I have and it's flimmin' difficult!
the tightrope - an extraordinary feat of courage, determination and sheer hard work through months of training. It had the audience holding its collective breath before loudly sharing in his triumph (and relief!) when he made it safely across. Just wow!
clocking at a captioned performance that his announcement of Jenny Lind's final song was transcribed as 'garbling in mock Swedish' - he was most indignant when I told him!
the coy cover-up when his on stage quick-change after Come Follow the Band was greeted with wolf whistles
the whole scene with Charity on the steps of the City Hall ... his desperate sense of loss at its end simply heart-breaking
grandstands that stubbornly became bandstands very early in the run... but still 'seating 5,000 people', impressive ;-)
becoming 'old' before our eyes as he sank wearily to his seat for his final reflective sililoquy
his often emotional, always appreciative response to the resounding audience cheers...
My memories have perhaps strayed too far into 'you had to be there territory' so I'll leave it there and will simply say, as I did after his brilliant run as Caractacus Potts in Chitty ten years ago, that this is without doubt now my favourite of the roles Lee has played thus far and also, in my opinion, his finest performance to date. I close with a heartfelt thank you to Lee and the whole ridiculously talented Barnum company. I will be back to see them with Matt in September (Autumn dates are here), before Lee heads off around the country again with a 40+ date tour of The Phantoms (9 Sept thru' 7 Nov 2026). With panto in Scarborough to follow in December, I hope Lee takes full advantage of what free time he has over the summer to relax and recharge before the madness starts again!
More than week after the last show of Lee Mead's incredible run as PT Barnum in the 2026 UK & Ireland tour of Barnum the Circus Musical, its wonderful songs are still my daily earworms and I have only to close my eyes for my head to be flooded with the colour and movement and music and magic that are the essence of this extraordinary show. I was privileged to see it many times throughout the run - sometimes solo, sometimes with my lovely tour buddies, often meeting fellow long-term Lee fans, now friends, along the way. As so often in the past, I'd booked for Lee then fallen in love with the entire cast ... their obvious passion, their incredible talent, their shared endeavour combining to produce a whole that was so much more than the sum of its pretty phenomenal parts.
After missing out on the Southend tour date for both Chitty and Chicago, it was extra special that Lee's leg of the Barnum tour ended in his hometown with a return to the theatre - Cliffs Pavilion, Southend - where he did work experience aged 14 (follow spot for Joe Pasquale), opened his first solo tour in 2010, returned with the Love Tour in 2012, climbed the panto beanstalk as Jack in 2017, and much more besides. But this was his first lead role in a musical on this stage and it was a role he was surely born to play. I'm sitting here with a huge grin on my face as I type, remembering my first experience of Barnum - with Michael Crawford at the Palladium way back in 1982, when Lee was a mere babe - another two productions since which I enjoyed at the time but remember little of now, then this... a production which exploded onto Windsor Theatre Royal's stage on its first night back in January and poured vibrant, pulsing, new life into this 45 year old musical!
Lee's final shows were epic - with family and old friends and industry buddies and fans and the good people of Southend in the house, he delivered on every level and I hope was able to drink in the experience as he did so. After the final bows he said a few words (which you can listen to below). It came as no surprise that he started by singing the praises of this extraordinary company, wishing them well for the Autumn leg of the tour starring Matt Rawle as Barnum... then he acknowledged what bringing it home meant to him - the Southend boy who used to "sell ice creams down in that corner down there...!" As I said, special.
As for Lee... I was so excited when this role was announced. He has talked of how he nearly turned it down because of the tightrope, but he rose (quite literally) to that challenge and to so much more besides. It is without doubt the most demanding role he has ever taken on ... it's hugely wordy, very physical and he's there at the heart of it for almost every scene. The reality of Phineas Taylor Barnum is not a pretty tale, but though closer to that reality than the more recent Disney re-telling of his story in 'The Greatest Showman', this is still a fictionalised account, calling for a display of the man's charisma and drive and largely glossing over his baser characteristics. Lee manages to portray something of the dichotomy, leaning into the charm but not shying away from the flaws and vulnerabilities. Applying the same 'laugh, cry, admire' criteria as above to Lee's performance brings to mind so many things, from tiny details to whole numbers. Here are just a few:
First published: 15 July 2026