The Barbican scored a walloping post-pandemic hit with its revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes – which ran in 2021 and 2022 – and another one with his Kiss Me, Kate in 2024. For its 2026 summer musical slot it turns to another giddy Porter classic in the form of the stage adaptation of 1956’s High Society. As ever with Porter, the plot is almost entirely irrelevant but it revolves around a fancy Rhode Island society wedding that descends into chaos for various reasons.
Helen George from Call the Midwife stars as socialite Tracy Lord, with Felicity Kendall – who was also in Anything Goes – starring as her mum and Freddie Fox making his musical theatre debut as tabloid reporter Mike Connors. The production is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast.
