Rob Castell

After leaving Hurtwood Rob went on to study English Literature at the University of East Anglia where he was also a keen budding journalist, winning the Guardian Student Travel Writer of the Year Award in 2005. He went on to gain an MA in International Relations before embarking on a career as a writer and performer.
He formed the musical theatre group Barbershopera in 2007 and developed the full-length a-cappella musical Barbershopera! which went to the Edinburgh Fringe 2008 and received rave reviews, as well as two Musical Theatre Matters Awards (Best New Musical and Best Lyrics). The show then toured nationally.
The group's next production, Barbershopera II, debuted at Edinburgh 2009 where they retained their Musical Theatre Matters Best Lyrics award. This show, in a newly extended version, played London’s glittering West End, at Trafalgar Studios for five weeks in January/February 2010. It has also played the Daegu International Musicals Festival in South Korea, where Rob won the Best Actor award.
In 2010 Barbershopera! was recorded and broadcast as an Afternoon Play on Radio 4 featuring John Sessions as the narrator. Barbershopera II also toured internationally, and their third show Barbershopera: Apocalypse No! performed at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010 and in Plymouth, winning more awards, including best lyrics for the third year in a row. A revised version of the show transferred to London's Trafalgar Studios and went on to tour the UK in 2011. Barbershopera now has two albums of songs from shows on sale, and in addition has made several youtube music videos, including the royal wedding song 'I Could Have Married Kate' which received 40,000 hits in April/May 2011.
Aside from Barbershopera, Rob is a freelance songwriter, musician and actor. He was a lead solo singer for the official royal wedding band in Hyde Park playing to 300,000 people in April 2011. He recently co-wrote comedy songs and score for a new E4 entertainment show called 'Playing It Straight' which will air in January 2012 - Rob will also appear regularly in the series as Pablo the Troubadour. He is currently working on a solo album, to be released in early 2012.
Rob is also a company director of The Complete Works, a charity working with young people through performing arts and works regularly with Mousetrap Theatre Company in London.
See the Barbershopera website here and Rob's website here.