A small-scale, outdoor festival showcasing theatre made in Somerset: perfect summer entertainment for all the family. BARN is a collective theatre initiative, facilitated by Take Art, that supports Somerset’s theatre-making sector to develop, test and showcase new work in a rural context.
SHOEBOX THEATRE
A Walk on the Wild Side is a promenade walking tour about nature, with a difference.
A clown show (think Laurel and Hardy type clowns more than circus clowns) about connection. Our connection with nature and the natural world around us, our connection with each other. How we can easily become disconnected, but how there is always the chance to find a way back.
This playful, poignant and life-affirming show is aimed primarily at grown-ups, but is absolutely suitable for all ages with no inappropriate content.
Shoebox Theatre are Somerset-based Leela Bunce and Ged Stephenson. Their last show The Library of Lost Memories toured the SW in 2019. 'Brilliantly crafted, performed, thought provoking....a delight' and 'a wonderful piece of theatre - exquisite clowning and storytelling with real emotional punch.' Audience Feedback
Ged and Leela also recently performed as Prince Charming and Dandini in the online film In Search of Cinderella, a pantomime for Somerset.
KERCHIEF THEATRE
Boxes is a dynamic piece of family friendly theatre about the need for, and value of, hope.
Two actors use storytelling, movement and music to create an energetic piece that is sometimes funny, sometimes grotesque, and which explores our experience of challenging times, along with the role hope has to play in getting us through.
Inspired by the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box, Kerchief Theatre’s new show for 2021 will appeal to adults and children alike, as it asks its audiences to consider their own responses to life’s challenges, and the ways in which hope creates resilience.
TOR THEATRE
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a one-man re-telling of Coleridge’s classic poem. Let the Mariner take you with him on his journey: across the ocean, into the soul, and through the beer gardens and village greens of rural Somerset.
A cautionary tale of a thoughtless act and a life of suffering; of cruelty, penance and redemption. Dare you listen? And what will you learn?
Comments from previous audiences: “Vibrant and mesmerising… a fantastic performance. Brought to life an old local story that I’ve never been able to engage in as a reader. Genius use of space.”
WINNER: ‘Best In Fringe’ Award at the Shaftesbury Fringe Festival, 2016.
PIRATES OF THE CARABINA
Pirate TAXI is an outdoor aerial circus show with live music, performed in, on and around a London taxi.
Performed by Barnz Munn & Shaena Brandel, the show weaves together their personal story about how they came to settle on a remote farm in Somerset, with themes of travel and displacement, reminiscent of birds’ annual migration.
Book individual shows for £3 each, or get a BARNFest Festival Pass to see all four for only £10.
To get a pass, just add at least one ticket for each of the four performances to your basket, and the discount will apply automatically.