There’s still time to book in to enjoy the latest Barn Theatre production – ‘Ottilie’ which runs until Sunday April 19.

I’m ashamed to say that I had never heard of Ottilie until I saw the production being advertised on the Barn Theatre website. I had heard of the Chris Barber Band though but had no idea that Ottilie had actually married Chris Barber and that he had been such an influence – good and bad – in her life.

Ottilie Patterson began life in a terrace in Northern Ireland – a little girl who felt like she didn’t belong there. When blues music drifted across the Atlantic from the American GIs who were camped just up the road, Ottilie became obsessed.

She taught herself to sing songs from sheet music and gigging in Belfast and went on to play at the Royal Festival Hall and tour the UK and USA with the Chris Barber Band accompanying greats like Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson.

Being in such close proximity with Chris Barber – living and working alongside him, it was not long before a relationship developed and Ottilie and Chris got married. When Ottilie became pregnant, Barber insisted that she got rid of the baby – something completely against her religion, the law of the land at the time and her own longing to have children.

Ottilie continued to sing and perform and was dubbed ‘the greatest singer to emerge this side of the Atlantic’ and was an immense presence and talent in the ‘60s music scene.

Jolene O’Hara, who plays Ottilie at the Barn, totally dominated the stage and the theatre all by herself with her emotional and poignant words and her gutsy, bluesy singing. It completely astounded me how one lone person – a diminutive tour-de-force – could enthral an entire audience for the whole production length of nearly two hours.

There’s just no let up from the foot-tapping, hand-clapping music, Ottilie’s powerful singing voice off-set by her sad, introverted soul-seeking and pathos. I was rivetted, immersed in the wonderful sounds and atmosphere of the post-war jazz scene performed by Jolene’s backing band of Zak Irvine (Keys), Ben Flavelle-Cobain (Bass) and Lisa Martin on Drums.

So why haven’t I ever heard of Ottilie before? Why haven’t you heard of her? And what happened to this iconic voice? Come along to the Barn Theatre in Cirencester before Sunday April 19, fall in love with the music, the story of the greatest Irish blues singer of all time and discover the legacy of this forgotten talent.

To book tickets, contact 01285 648255, boxoffice@barntheatre.org.uk or, to find out more, visit. https://barntheatre.org.uk/ottilie.