Ep 56: John Barr, West End star and vocational teacher

 John made his West End Debut at the age of 12 in Lionel Bart’s ‘Oliver’ at the Albery Theatre. 

His theatre credits include: Bull Connor in King The Musical (Hackney Empire, 2018), Lionel Bart in The Story of Bart (Tour 2018 & Mirth, Maud & Marvel -2017 & The Hippodrome 2014), Barry Bronze in Rehab - A New Musical (The Union Theatre – 2017), Uncle Ernie in The Who’s Tommy (Greenwich Theatre), Principal Singer in Rhythm of Life (The St. James Theatre, Studio), Fogg in Sweeney Todd (ENO), Ed Kleban in A Class Act (The Landor Theatre) for which he was nominated for Best Male Performance at the Offie Awards and Broadwayworld.com 2013/14, Tateh in Ragtime (The Landor Theatre), Charles Guiteau in Sondheim's Assassins (The Union Theatre) for which he was nominated for Best Male Performance at the Offie Awards 2010, Greta in Martin Sherman's Bent (The Landor Theatre), Maisie in Diamond (The Kings Head Theatre), Dr. Thomas Parker in Batboy the Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre), Ragtime (Piccadilly Theatre), Original Cast Member of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspect of Love (Prince of Wales Theatre), Hey, Mr Producer (Lyceum Theatre), Feuilly in Les Miserables (Palace Theatre). Red Bishop & Gran/Wolf in The Boy Who Fell into a Book-Written & Directed by Alan Ayckbourn (The Stephen Joseph Theatre), Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray (Curve Theatre, Leicester - 2014), Amos Hart in Chicago (The Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur), Skimbleshanks in Cats (Larnaca Municipal Amphitheatre, Cyprus), David in Company (Derby Playhouse), Koko in The Mikado and Njegus in The Merry Widow (both for Opera Della Luna), Harry in Flora The Red Menace and Snoopy in Snoopy The Musical (both at The Cambridge Arts Theatre), Cliff in In The Midnight Hour (York Theatre Royal), Che in Evita (Opera House, Manchester), and Tobias Ragg in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Watermill Theatre, Newbury).

In film he has appeared as Convict 5 in Les Miserables – The Movie (2012) Directed by Tom Hooper, Kenny Star in The Catch (Primley Road Productions 2013), and Do Not Disturb – Shut Eye (2017).  and TV includes Taboo (BBC-2016) The Bill (ITV), The Purple People Eater (Dramarama Series-ITV) Pebble Mill at One (BBC1), The 1987 Royal Variety Show (ITV), and Wednesday at Eight (Thames TV)

John has also performed his own Cabaret shows on the QE2 and in some of the most prestigious cabaret venues all over the world, including London, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Washington D.C, Chicago, Sydney, Venice, Switzerland, and Denmark.

His panto credits include: Dame Nanny Fanny in Robin Hood (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch) 2019/20, Dame Dotty in Jack & The Beanstalk (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch) 2018/19, King Rat in Dick Whittington (The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury) Winner of Best Pantomime Villain of the Year – 2016/17, Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington (Ferneham Hall), King Rat in Dick Whittington (Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield), Widow Twankey in Aladdin (Milton Keynes Theatre), Dandini in Cinderella (Capitol Theatre, Horsham), Ugly Sister in Cinderella (Churchill Theatre, Bromley), Ugly Sister in Cinderella (Richmond Theatre), Snowman in Jack & The Beanstalk (Hackney Empire), Josh the Jester in Sleeping Beauty (The Paul Robeson Theatre), Jack in Jack & The Beanstalk (Greenwich Theatre), Dame ‘Debut’ Christabel Crusoe in Robinson Crusoe (Corn Exchange, Newbury), Buttons in Cinderella (Corn Exchange, Newbury), Aladdin in Aladdin (Eden Court Theatre, Inverness), Slap in Mother Goose (Horsham Arts Centre), and Peter Pan in Peter Pan (Hawth Theatre, Crawley).