The Barn Theatre Announces an Evening With Michael Morpurgo

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has announced that they will stream an exclusive question and answer session with internationally best-selling author Michael Morpurgo on Saturday 16 May at 7:30pm.

The event, which will be hosted by Barn Theatre Artistic Director Iwan Lewis, will see Morpurgo discuss his ongoing relationship with the theatre which began with their 2019 production of Daniel Buckroyd's stage adaptation of Morpurgo's The Butterfly Lion, as well as answer questions submitted by the general public and special guests.

Question submissions for Michael Morpurgo to answer can be sent to pr@barntheatre.org.uk before the deadline of 5pm on Wednesday 13 May 2020.

Michael Morpurgo said of the theatre's productions of his work, "I remember how brilliant was the adaptation last year of my book The Butterfly Lion, and this season it was going to be a new play by a young writer, Vicki Berwick, of The Mozart Question. Typical of the Barn it was to be a play made by new young talent."

The theatre was originally scheduled to be in rehearsal for the world premiere of Vicki Berwick's stage adaptation of Morpurgo's The Mozart Question, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, however due to the global pandemic it has been postponed until further notice.

The evening, which will be pre-recorded on Thursday via video call, will be a free to watch however the theatre asks for donations towards their SAVE OUR BARN campaign.

In March, Morpurgo released an open letter for support stating "A season cut so tragically short will cost about £250,000. So we need your help now, to keep your theatre going until we can open the doors to you all again. The show must go on! Please help it to happen."

The theatre, in partnership with HarperCollins Children's Books and Michael Morpurgo, have been releasing children's story time episodes on weekdays at 1pm. The episodes, which serialise four of Morpurgo's beloved books, can be watched on the Barn Theatre, HarperCollins Children's Books UK and Michael Morpurgo's social media channels.

The Barn Theatre have made it their mission to bring back the joy of quality Saturday night entertainment, with events programmed to air on their social channels every Saturday at 7:30pm.

As part of this line-up, The Barn Theatre have launched a virtual concert series called The Barn Presents, which celebrates Britain's musical theatre composers and discovers more about their creative processes. The first concert, which celebrated the music of Daniel and Laura Curtis and featured an all-star West End line-up, is available on the Barn Theatre's Facebook and YouTube channels.

The second concert of the series will celebrate the music of Scottish award-nominated composer Finn Anderson and will air on 23 May 2020 at 7:30pm.

Finn Anderson previously collaborated with the Barn Theatre on the music and lyrics for the theatre's 2019 world premiere of Alan Pollock's new version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Olivier Award nominee Patrick Ryecart (The Crown, The King's Speech). He is also an Off West End Award nominee for his musical Islander and was recently announced as 2020's Cameron Mackintosh resident composer at the Lowry and Hope Mill Theatre.

The line-up for Finn Anderson's concert will be announced at a further date.

The series forms part of the Barn Theatre's Behind The Barn Door live streaming service. Set up in March, when the theatre had to temporarily close following government guidance, the service includes a full recording of the Barn Theatre's critically-acclaimed 2019 Built by Barn production of William Shakespeare's Henry V, directed by Hal Chambers and starring Aaron Sidwell (EastEnders, Wicked) and Lauren Samuels (Bend It Like Beckham, We Will Rock You).

The service also includes a Shakespeare in lockdown series, where creatives have reimagined the Bard's classic monologues to reflect present day lockdown, entitled Bard From The Barn. The series, which is co-produced by Hal Chambers, Aaron Sidwell and the Barn Theatre, airs weekdays at 5pm and features performances from over 30 performers including Tricia Adele-Turner (Dear Evan Hansen), Max Hutchinson (The Woman in Black) and Jasper Cartwright (War Horse).

The Barn Theatre (registered charity no. 1174253), which is facing a loss of £250,000 and possible permanent closure, have launched their SAVE OUR BARN campaign, via their website and social media platforms, to ensure the Barn Theatre's survival.

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