20 Oct 2026
The first play to be performed in St Albans’ 17th century St Germain’s barn heralds a new era for local professional theatre company OVO.
More than £1m has been raised towards the conversion of the Grade II listed building in Verulamium Park into The Barn, a 120-seat performance space hosting repertory theatre.
On Monday, a select audience was invited along to the formal opening of the theatre by Herts Deputy Lieutenant Annie Brewster, ahead of a new production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
The Scottish play, which is fittingly as old as The Barn itself, launches an autumn season of site-specific productions staged in a
work-in-progress phase, ahead of the building’s full conversion in 2027.
OVO founder and artistic director Adam Nichols said they wanted The Barn to change British theatre itself.
He told guests: “For the average audience member, a night out in the West End or at a major regional theatre has become a predictable, highly transactional, and often deeply disappointing experience.
“You pay an extortionate ticket price to sit in a cramped, plush red velvet chair, balance an overpriced drink on your knees, and stare at a distant stage where everything has been meticulously polished and packaged.
“We have allowed theatre to become an institution rather than an event. It is over-regulated, over-refined, and socially exclusive – propped up by a conservative infrastructure that caters to a dwindling demographic and completely alienates the very young people we should be fighting to bring into our auditoriums.
“But just occasionally, when I go to the theatre, I feel something different. A crackle. Danger. Unpredictability. Theatre in its rawest, most visceral state.
“And this reminds us that the meaning of the word theatre isn’t a ‘stately building’ – it is a
seeing space. A mutual crucible of energy between performer and audience.
“But the rarity of these moments exposes a stale industry. The cause is the cage. The fixed seats, the predictable repertoires, the traditional funding structures, and the invisible class barriers that dictate who gets to make art and who gets to watch it.
“We are ready to open the gates with what we call Free Range Theatre.
“To launch this philosophy, we aren’t looking to a pristine new cultural complex. We are anchoring ourselves in a raw, utilitarian space built in the very decade that British theatre was restored.
“But we aren’t turning it into a museum. We are stripping away the red velvet, scraping the pigeon-shit off the floor, and turning it into a playground for unconfined ideas.
“Free Range theatre means we refuse to be constrained by a traditional, safe repertoire. It means we challenge and explore what constitutes modern-day theatre…
“Free Range theatre doesn’t ask an audience to sit quietly in the dark for two hours. It forces them to follow the action, to move with the actors, to smell the grit, and to become an active part of the story.
It is multi-sensory, democratic, and unmanipulated.
“We don’t want to compete with the West End on its own terms. No gold leaf, no red velvet curtains, no tutting. We want to prove that you can achieve elite, national-level prestige – the kind that wins Olivier Awards and changes the cultural conversation – while remaining completely accessible, irreverent, and raw.”
The theatre’s patrons include actors Ralph Fiennes, Brian Cox, Dame Joanna Lumley and Zoë Wanamaker.
Ralph Fiennes said: “The revival of this beautiful 17thcentury barn and its transformation into a
theatre marks the start of something spectacular.
“I applaud OVO’s dedication to championing the rep theatre model and
supporting grassroots theatre. I am deeply honoured to support as Patron.”
The new season captures OVO’s signature style with a line-up of bold, imaginative and surprising new versions of classic plays.
Full renovation of the 100-seater theatre is set to take place next year, but the venue is already proving popular with numerous sold out shows in the intimate space.
Adam said afterwards: “It is a dream come true, to see The Barn finally open – and to such an overwhelmingly warm and positive reception. We are incredibly excited to have a space in which we will be able to nurture emerging theatre talent from all backgrounds as part of OVO’s new rep company.
“I am enormously grateful for the support of our local community here in St Albans, the wider theatre industry and the amazing generosity of over 80 investors, without whom this project would not have been possible.
“And to the incredible OVO team, who have backed my crazy idea, poured everything into making this new theatre happen over the past few years. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Kiffer Weisselberg, chairman of St Germain’s Barn and OVO Productions, added: “We hope audiences will be mesmerised by the actors and plays in this
beautiful barn space, with its stupendous inner woodwork spanning more than 350 years.
“OVO seeks to encourage talent from the bottom-up, and we invite you to witness the rise of tomorrow’s brightest stars on our stage today.
“We are proud to debut The Barn with our first major phase of readiness complete. Join us on our journey to the top!”
Photos by Ian Cullen, Mike Dick, Mili Branston and Matt Adams
