ADRIAN BARNES

Adrian first set foot on the stage as a professional actor in 1966 whilst still a student at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has persued an active career in the performing arts since then. After leaving BOVTS Adrian spent the next 16 years working in the West End and many of the major provincial Repertory Companies of renown, including Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and Derby Playhouse.

In the West End Adrian appeared with The English National opera company and in such famous West End triumphs as Kiss me Kate (ENO) Westside Story (the first revival), Very Good Eddie, Irene Hello Dolly and Elvis the Musical to name but a few. Several major British films, including The Slipper and the Rose, and the occasional TV appearance filled in the spare time.

In 1981 Adrian came to Australia for a well earned holiday and to see the country his father had left to be with his mother. After the usual holiday thing Adrian decided Australia was a much more fruitful place to live than the UK and took up residence in OZ.

A fruitful and fulfilling career developed and Adrian has worked in many and various theatre, film and television shows including The Pirates of Penzance The Broadway version for The Victorian State Opera Company, and also with SG Productions. Seven Little Australians the Musical, Many Theatre shows and tours too many to list in fact and on television he has appeared in some Aussie classics including Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters and Henderson’s Kids. He has also travelled the world with his friend and partner Pat Wilson performing some very salacious and entertaining original satirical cabaret.

Adrian has taught acting since 1991 when he first appeared on the doorstep at Actors’ Centre Australia looking for a job. His teaching has taken him all over Australia to some very strange and exciting places including Broken Hill, Mount Isa and Ballarat, where he taught at the University. Recently Adrian has also been invited to teach and direct at the New Zealand Drama School (Toi Whakaari), in Wellington, New Zealand and continues to give his agent a headache when she is trying to keep him visible in the acting world.