ACTOR Brian Conley has appeared in a raft of smash-hit musicals throughout his career but is starring in his favourite to date.

A dazzling new production of the classic musical Barnum, with the 53-year-old playing legendary showman P.T. Barnum, is coming to the Palace Theatre, Manchester.

The brainchild of Cameron Mackintosh, producer of hit musicals including Cats, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Oliver!, it follows the irrepressible imagination and dreams of Phineas T Barnum — America’s Greatest Showman.

Brian said: “Sir Cameron does not do anything by halves.

“It’s absolutely enormous.

“My opening costume cost £10,000. It’s just phenomenal, the attention to detail is second to none.

“Everyone who is working on it is at the top of their game.

“We have got eight huge juggernaut trucks that take this to different venues.”

The trucks will roll into Manchester for dates between Tuesday, November 4 to Saturday, November 15, and there are plans for the show to transfer to the West End once the national tour has finished.

Brian, one of the UK’s most versatile actors and performers, said: “Sir Cameron Mackintosh owns eight theatres. It’s no big deal if he wants it to go into the West End.

“He is the biggest producer in the world. The man is a billionaire.

“He doesn’t have to do this but he loves it.”

Brian has appeared in musicals including Hairspray, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Me and My Girl but describes Barnum as “the best musical I have been in”.

There are eight real-life circus performers in the company of 25 although Brian says it is not a circus show.

The story of P.T. Barnum’s life and his marriage to Chairy, it reveals a couple who looked at the world from opposite sides of the spectrum.

He said: “It tells a beautiful, simple story about man’s rise to fame and it’s a true story.

“Everything I say, he said and did.

“I think he’s very interesting.

“When he died, he was the richest man in America.

“He had lost it all and got it all back.

“He took a lot of risks.

“It tells a beautiful love story and it reads as a story of life.

It’s for the whole family.

“It’s not a panto, it’s the story Barnum and it’s a colourful show.

“We’ve been doing it for six weeks and there has not been one night there has not been a standing ovation.”

Preparing for the role, Brian spent five weeks in intensive rehearsals and circus skills workshops learning juggling, card tricks and acrobatic skills which he describes as demanding and terrifying.

Brian, who has lost almost one stone in weight in six weeks, said: “From the moment the show starts, I’m on all the way through.

“It’s physically the most challenging think I have ever done.

“There’s a moment where I’m about seven foot up and I have to fall right back into the arms of the guys.

“When I first did it, I was terrified because it was a matter of trust.”

As a teenager, Brian attended stage school before starting work as a Pontin's Bluecoat and going on to become the highest-paid male television personality in the UK at the peak of his career, with popular programmes such as The Brian Conley Show.

He said: “I’ve always loved it, it’s a vocation for me.

“I went on holiday recently to Tenerife and there’s usually a band in the hotel.

“I get up and sing with the band, it’s just in me.

“I’ve just got to get up and entertain.

“This is the best job in the world.

“I get paid handsomely for doing something I love, it’s an absolute pleasure to be part of it.”
Barnum is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, from November 4 to 15.