BARBICAN THEATRE, LONDON
FROM 19 MAY 2026 | STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON UNTIL 11 JULY 2026
5 December 2025
From the producers of the smash hit sold-out musical sensations Anything Goes, Fiddler on the Roof and Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter’s “razor sharp wit” returns to the Barbican in this lavish and much-anticipated new production of Porter’s musical masterpiece HIGH SOCIETY this summer.
Opening on 19 May 2026 for a strictly limited eight-week season, this musical masterpiece will star National Treasures Helen George (Call the Midwife, The King and I) and Felicity Kendal (The Good Life, Anything Goes) making their much-anticipated return to the West End. Following the Barbican season, the musical will immediately embark on major 20-week UK and Ireland tour – starring Helen George – opening at the Wycombe Swan.
‘Cole Porter’s songs glitter and dazzle, wrapped in Fifth Avenue sophistication’
The Times
This sumptuous new production is brought to life by an multi-award winning creative team, including renowned director Rachel Kavanaugh (currently directing Hugh Bonneville in Shadowlands at the Aldwych Theatre), legendary choreographer Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia, Kiss Me, Kate) with musical supervision by Stephen Ridley (The King and I, Anything Goes) leading a full orchestra, will immerse audiences in a dazzling world of champagne-sparkled evenings, razor-sharp comedy, and the timeless sophistication of Cole Porter in one of the great classic musicals of all time.
With music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Arthur Kopit, this glittering new production promises a heady cocktail of romance, wit, mistaken identity and irresistible musical charm. Featuring Porter classics such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, I Love Paris, Well Did You Evah?, Just One Of Those Things, Let’s Misbehave, You’re Sensational, and the swooningly romantic True Love, HIGH SOCIETY will be the unmissable musical event of the year.
Helen George, who will once again captivate the country this Christmas as the beloved Trixie in two one-hour long Christmas specials of Call the Midwife, said: “I am delighted to be returning to the stage in Cole Porter’s musical comedy masterpiece HIGH SOCIETY to play Tracy Samantha Lord in a brand-new production directed by Rachel Kavanaugh next year. Theatre is my first love and I adored playing the iconic role of Anna in The King and I, so I jumped at the chance to flex my musical comedy chops and play Tracy. Cole Porter’s musicals are packed with his signature wit, glamour and unforgettable tunes and High Society is no exception. I am also thrilled it will be launching at the Barbican before embarking on a major UK tour. I can’t wait for audiences to enjoy a sparkling evening of comedy, romance, and sheer musical joy.”
Felicity Kendal said: “I am delighted to be returning to the Barbican in HIGH SOCIETY, another Cole Porter musical comedy masterpiece. I so enjoyed my time at the Barbican in Anything Goes, I couldn’t think of a more perfect summer treat and leapt at the chance to join this brand-new production directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast next summer. There is nothing quite like the thrill of a live audience experiencing a great show together and nobody does musical comedy like the genius that is Cole Porter. I cannot wait to get started and I know that audiences are in for the perfect musical summer treat next year.”
Producer Sir Howard Panter added: “Following the tremendous success of our summer seasons at the Barbican over recent years, including Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, Fiddler on the Roof and Good Night, Oscar we are delighted to be returning to the Barbican once again to showcase Cole Porter’s sophisticated classic HIGH SOCIETY for a limited season. It has everything one could wish for in a Golden Age Musical – glamour, mistaken identity, romance, glorious music, and sheer irresistible fun. With the wonderful Helen George and Felicity Kendal leading our exceptional company, High Society promises to be the perfect summer celebration for London audiences.”
Slip into the sparkling world of Cole Porter’s HIGH SOCIETY, a sun-kissed Long Island estate, a weekend of style and scandal, and the most decadent party of the summer. Glamorous socialite Tracy Lord is preparing for the wedding of the year when her debonair ex-husband Dexter Haven sails unexpectedly back into her life, sending her perfectly curated plans into glorious chaos. Add a sharp-eyed tabloid reporter on the hunt for scandal, and Tracy suddenly finds herself juggling old flames, new gossip, and a wedding weekend threatening to slip wildly out of her control.
This effervescent musical, brimming with Porter’s signature sophistication and sparkling humour, is a heart-stealing story of love, second chances and the chaos that unfolds when high society’s best-laid plans go awry. With romantic entanglements, unexpected revelations and a party no one will forget, HIGH SOCIETY is set to sweep audiences off their feet.
COLE PORTER
Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana in 1891. He attended Worcester Academy before enrolling in Yale University (where his college songs are still sung) and, briefly, Harvard Law School. It quickly became apparent that his talents lay elsewhere, and he transferred to the School of Music, though he did not complete his degree.
After the failure of his first Broadway show, he shipped himself off to France to join the Duryea Relief Organization at the tail end of WWI. While stationed in Paris, he met the legendary socialite Linda Lee Thomas, whom he married in 1919. The Porters were to spend most of the next decade in Europe. Porter continued to be serious about composing, studying at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. In 1923, Porter’s ballet Within the Quota (the first symphonic treatment of jazz) premiered at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Returning to New York in the late 1920s, he quickly gained renown for composing many of the greatest songs ever written for stage and screen. Among his most popular standards are Night and Day, You’re the Top, Begin the Beguine, and I’ve Got You Under My Skin. His 1930s were highlighted by a sparkling string of successful shows and movies, including Anything Goes, Red Hot and Blue, and Born to Dance. An inveterate traveller, Porter and his collaborator Moss Hart famously wrote their show Jubilee while on an around the world cruise.
In 1937 Porter’s legs were crushed in a horse riding accident, and he was to spend the rest of his life in constant pain. Yet he continued to write memorable scores, among them Can Can, Silk Stockings, High Society, and his masterpiece, Kiss Me, Kate. His last score was for a television special, Aladdin.
In 1958, after over thirty operations, his right leg was amputated he and ceased writing music. He died in California in 1964. His songs remain a backbone of the Great American Songbook to this day.
ARTHUR KOPIT
Playwright Arthur Kopit wrote the plays Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad; Indians (Tony Nominee, Finalist for Pulitzer Prize); Wings (Tony Nominee, Finalist for Pulitzer Prize); End of the World, with Symposium to Follow; his translation of Ibsen’s Ghosts; the book for the musicals Nine and Phantom (both with scores by Maury Yeston); the book for the musical High Society; Road to Nirvana; BecauseHeCan (originally entitled Y2K); A Dram of Drummhicit (written with Anton Dudley); and numerous one act plays. Other projects include Discovery of America, a play based on the journals of the Spanish conquistador, Cabeza de Vaca; the musical, Eureka!; an original screenplay, Norman in Wonderland, based on Mr. Kopit’s first venture in Hollywood in the early ‘60s working for Otto Preminger on a film about the LA drug scene; and the plays, Secrets of the Rich and The Incurables. Mr. Kopit was a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Lark Play Development Center, where he was the head of the Lark Playwrights’ Workshop.