Bill Kenwright Ltd has announced a spectacular new UK tour of the Broadway classic Barnum, opening at Theatre Royal Windsor on 3 February 2026, with previews from 30 January.
The tour will visit major venues across the UK, including Manchester Palace Theatre, Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre, and Birmingham Hippodrome.
West End favourite and TV star Lee Mead will lead the cast as P.T. Barnum. Mead, who rose to fame on Any Dream Will Do, is known for his acclaimed performances in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Wicked, and Legally Blonde.
Barnum originally wowed UK audiences at the London Palladium, where Michael Crawford famously performed a nightly tightrope walk. Now, Lee Mead will take on the same daring feat.
Jenny Seagrove, Chairperson at Bill Kenwright Ltd, said:
“I was captivated when I saw Barnum at the Watermill Theatre last year and knew immediately that this was a show I wanted to bring to audiences across the country. Our spectacular new staging will feature an extraordinary ensemble cast of over 20 actor-musicians playing 150 instruments, acrobats and amazing international circus acts led by the wonderful Lee Mead playing the title role.”
Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle (Picture You Dead, The Last Five Years) and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse, the production has already received critical acclaim. The Observer praised it as a “dazzling all-singing, all-juggling musical tribute to the 19th-century circus showman” in a five-star review.
The musical follows the life and career of P.T. Barnum, whose imagination and ambition knew no bounds. Alongside his wife Charity, Barnum’s journey is filled with dreams, schemes, and show-stopping spectacle.
Featuring music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and a book by Mark Bramble, Barnum includes beloved numbers such as Join the Circus, Colours of My Life, Come Follow the Band, and Love Makes Such Fools of Us All.
The creative team includes Lee Newby (Set & Costume Design), Jai Morjaria (Lighting Design), Tom Marshall (Sound Design), George Dyer (Musical Supervisor, Arrangements & Orchestrations), Amy Panter (Circus Director), Matt Nicholson (Associate Choreographer), and Nick Lodge (Associate Sound Designer).
Barnum was originally produced on Broadway by Judy Gordon, Cy Coleman, Maurice and Lois F. Rosenfield in association with Irwin Feld and Kenneth Feld.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
