Cirencester’s Barn Theatre has been shortlisted for The Stage 2019 ‘Fringe Theatre of the Year’ award.

The category is open to the best small-scale theatres across the UK that don’t receive core government funding, judged on criteria including artistic quality, business success, and innovation.

One of the countries newest venues, the Barn is the only regional theatre to be included in the three nominations, with the other two based in London.

The modern, state-of-the-art, 200-seater theatre has already established itself as a producing house in a previously under-served area.

The staff at the Barn take pride in programming work designed to appeal to a range of ages and have attracted a string of five-star reviews for the eclectic mix of shows that they have staged.

This is the second time this year that the theatre has been recognised by The Stage, a publication which covers theatre in the UK. Artistic Director, Iwan Lewis, was nominated earlier in the year for the prestigious Stage Debut Awards for directing debut of their acclaimed summer production of ‘One Minute’.

He said: "It’s a huge honour to be nominated for this prestigious award. The Barn is coming to the end of its first calendar year of performances and this truly makes all the hard work in building and developing this wonderful theatre worthwhile.

"A big thank you has to go to the audiences that continue to believe in the vision and ambition of the Barn, the teams behind all our productions and the Barn Theatre family who work tirelessly to bring the gifts of theatre to our community."

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Bridge Theatre in January.

The Barn Theatre’s Christmas production – ‘Just So’ has opened to rave reviews and five-star accolades.

You can read our story on ‘Just So’ here.