High Society – In rehearsals with Helen George, Julian Ovenden, Felicity Kendal, Freddie Fox and Carly Mercedes Dyer

High Society is heading to the Barbican Theatre this summer and WhatsOnStage was recently invited to join the cast during rehearsals for a sneak peek at the show!

With music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Arthur Kopit, Rachel Kavanaugh directs a brand new iteration of the beloved musical, which has added even more Porter classics to its score, and we sat down with principal cast members Helen George (Tracy Samantha Lord), Felicity Kendal (Mother Lord), Freddie Fox (Mike Connor), Julian Ovenden (Dexter Haven) and Carly Mercedes Dyer (Liz Imbrie) to find out if they’re all “Ridin’ High” on this new version.

Watch all the “in rehearsals” highlights below:

High Society is scheduled to run at the Barbican Theatre in London from 19 May until 11 July 2026. Following this, George, Fox and Ovended are set to reprise their respective roles on a nationwide tour.

The musical is based on Philip Barry’s play The Philadelphia Story and the score includes Porter standards 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 “True Love”, with additional lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. The story follows preparations for a society wedding that begin to unravel as past relationships resurface and an intrusive reporter arrives.

The Barbican cast also includes Nigel Lindsay as Uncle Willie and Malcolm Sinclair as Seth Lord, alongside Naomi Pacquette, David Seadon-Young, James Hume, Bethany Adamson, David Austin-Barnes, Jabari Braham, George Bray, Andrew Coshan, Jordan Crouch, Frances Dee, Aaron Elijah, Tosca Fischer, Jacob Fisher, Heather Jackson, Aoife Kenny, Nell Martin, Isabel Snaas, Thomas Inge, Robin Kent, Imogen Bailey, and Lucy Rice.

The creative team also features choreographer Anthony Van Laast, musical supervisor Stephen Ridley, who will lead a full orchestra, set designer Tom Rogers, sound designer Adam Fisher, lighting designer Howard Hudson, costume designer Jon Morrell and wigs designer Helen Keane.

High Society is presented by Howard Panter for Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Brian and Dayna Lee in association with the Barbican.