Barry James
Encyclopedia
Theatre credits
He trained at the Guildford School of ActingGuildford School of Acting
Guildford School of Acting is a drama school located in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an affiliate of the University of Surrey and is an accredited member of the National Council for Drama Training and The Conference of Drama Schools.-Overview:...
.
His stage roles include:
- Seymour in the first West End production of Little Shop of HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors (musical)Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
at the Comedy Theatre - as Otto Kringelein in "Grand Hotel (musical)Grand Hotel (musical)Grand Hotel is a musical with a book by Luther Davis and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with additional lyrics and music by Maury Yeston....
" at the Dominion Theatre' 1992 - Beadle Bamford in the 1994 National Theatre production of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
- Cogsworth in the first West End production of Disney's Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast (musical)Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
at the Dominion Theatre (a role he reprised in the UK Tour of the show) - Mr. Bumble in the London Palladium production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!Oliver!Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
- Ladislav Sipos in "She Loves MeShe Loves MeShe Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...
" at the Savoy Theatre London in 1994/95 - Thenardier in the London production of Les MisérablesLes Misérables (musical)Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
at the Palace Theatre and Queen's Theatre - Mr. Mushnik in the 2008 London revival of Little Shop of Horrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
- Monsieur Firmin in The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
at Her Majesty's Theatre, London
James can be heard on cast recordings of Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady, "She Loves Me" and two Bernard J. Taylor
Bernard J. Taylor
Bernard J. Taylor is the writer and composer of ten stage musicals and two stage plays. His musicals have been produced around the world and translated into German, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish and Italian. He is also the writer of 14 novels and three non-fiction books.Taylor was born and...
musicals - Nosferatu the Vampire
Nosferatu The Vampire (musical)
Nosferatu the Vampire is a rock opera musical by Bernard J. Taylor inspired by the silent movie classic by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau.It was first recorded as a concept studio recording with singers including Peter Karrie, Claire Moore, Barry James , Mario Frangoulis ,...
(in which he created the role of "Renfeld") and Much Ado
Much Ado
Much Ado, Bernard J. Taylor's musical version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, was recorded as a concept album in 1995, featuring Paul McGann, Peter Karrie and other West End stars. It received its world premiere at Stratford-on-Avon in 1996. It was partly inspired by the Kenneth Branagh...
, in which he created the role of Leonato. He is also Thenardier in the 1988 symphonic cast recording of Les Misérables.