Chichester Festival Theatre
 The Festival Theatre is on the left, the Minerva to the right. | |
  Chichester Festival Theatre Location of Chichester Festival Theatre | |
| Address | Oaklands Park, Chichester, West Sussex |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°50′35″N 0°46′39″W / 50.843048°N 0.777390°W |
| Designation | Grade II* listed |
| Capacity |
Festival Theatre: 1206 Minerva Theatre: 283 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1962 |
| Architect | Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya |
| Website | |
| http://www.cft.org.uk | |
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, Sussex, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. The smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989.
The inaugural Artistic Director was Sir Laurence Olivier, and it was at Chichester that the first National Theatre company was formed. Chichester's productions would transfer to the NT's base at the Old Vic in London. The opening productions[1] in 1962 were: The Chances by John Fletcher (first production 1638) which opened on 3 July; The Broken Heart (1633), by John Ford, opened 9 July; Uncle Vanya (1896), by Anton Chekov, opened 16 July. Among the actors[2] in the opening season were: Lewis Casson, Fay Compton, Joan Greenwood, Rosemary Harris, Kathleen Harrison, Keith Michell, André Morell, John Neville, Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Michael Redgrave, Athene Seyler, Sybil Thorndike and Peter Woodthorpe.
The Festival Season usually runs from April to November and includes productions from classics to contemporary writing and musicals.
A range of additional events is designed to add to the experience of visiting the theatre, including performances, cabarets, family days, tours and talks. Through the winter months, the Theatre presents touring productions and a Christmas show mounted by Chichester Festival Youth Theatre..
The theatre is currently run as a registered charity and is chaired by Sir William Castell. It is a Grade II* listed building.[3]
Artistic directors
- Sir Laurence Olivier (1962–1965)
- Sir John Clements (1966–1973)
- Keith Michell (1974–1977)
- Peter Dews (1978–1980)
- Patrick Garland (1981–1984)
- John Gale (1985–1989)
- Michael Rudman (1990)
- Patrick Garland (1991–1994)
- Sir Derek Jacobi and Duncan C. Weldon (1995–1997)
- Andrew Welch (1998–2002)
- Martin Duncan, Ruth Mackenzie and Steven Pimlott (2003–2005)
- Jonathan Church (2006–2016)
- Daniel Evans (from July 2016)
2018 season
- Present Laughter - by Noël Coward
- random/generations - by debbie tucker green
- The Chalk Garden - by Enid Bagnold
- The Country Wife - by William Wycherley
- Me and My Girl - Book & Lyrics by L Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber, Book revised by Stephen Fry with contributions by Mike Ockrent, Music by Noel Gay
- The Meeting - by Charlotte Jones
- Copenhagen - by Michael Frayn
- Flowers For Mrs Harris - Based on the novel by Paul Gallico, Book by Rachel Wagstaff, Music & Lyrics by Richard Taylor
- Cock - by Mike Bartlett
- The Midnight Gang - by David Walliams, Adapted by Bryony Lavery, Music & Lyrics by Joe Stilgoe
- The Watsons - by Laura Wade, adapted from the unfinished novel by Jane Austen
- Sleeping Beauty - by Rufus Norris (Chichester Festival Youth Theatre)
See also
Further reading
- Chichester Festival Theatre at Fifty by Kate Mosse, 2012
References
- ↑ Festival - The Stage is Set, 1962
- ↑ Festival - The Stage is Set, 1962
- ↑ Historic England. "CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE (1323693)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.