Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2024 – the first season programmed by new Artistic Director Justin Audibert – has today been announced by Justin and Executive Director Kathy Bourne.
Festival 2024 includes seven world premieres, a spectacular summer musical, and modern masterpieces. A £1.5million fundraising appeal is being launched for a sustainable new space for emerging artists and creative development in 2025.
Justin Audibert and Kathy Bourne said:
‘The Chichester audience is renowned for their sense of adventure as well as their appreciation of quality and tradition, and that’s what this season aims to honour. As always, there’s a spectacular summer musical, an exciting range of world premieres, and modern masterpieces too.
‘We travel through English history – from the Tudors to the present – through unsung heroes and rarely told stories. We’re making maximum use of the Festival Theatre’s epic quality, with bold, rich dramas that tell vivid stories and lend themselves to music and spectacle. The Minerva brings us into intimate close-up, allowing us to eavesdrop on startling and evocative events and characters.
‘We’re delighted to be working with stellar directors, writers and co-producers, and already have some wonderful actors lined up to join us. Our commitment to accessibility is paramount: we’re increasing the number and location of our more affordable seats (including 13,000 at £10 across the season), and offering generous discounts for audiences booking multiple productions, alongside our £5 Prologue seats for ages 16-30.
‘We’re also excited to launch our plans for The Nest, a new space for emerging and community artists, in 2025; and to have appointed the brilliant Miranda Cromwell and Hannah Joss as Associate Directors. We are so lucky to have such a loyal and supportive audience and look forward to seeing you this year.’
In the Festival Theatre:
- The Other Boleyn Girl by Mike Poulton, based on Philippa Gregory’s novel of Tudor intrigue, directed by Lucy Bailey
- Coram Boy, an enthralling 18th century adventure, adapted by Helen Edmundson, based on the novel by Jamila Gavin and directed by Anna Ledwich
- A brand new production of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical Oliver!, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, in a new revision by Cameron Mackintosh
- Redlands, a new play by Charlotte Jones, inspired by the Rolling Stones’ Chichester trial, directed by Justin Audibert
- A spellbinding new retelling of Cinderella by Philip Wilson, with music by Jason Carr, directed by Jon Pashley
In the Minerva Theatre:
⎯ The House Party by Laura Lomas, a new adaptation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, directed by Holly Race Roughan in a co-production with Headlong in association with Frantic Assembly
⎯ Harold Pinter’s first major success, The Caretaker, directed by Justin Audibert
⎯ The Promise, a new play by Paul Unwin on the pioneering post-war Labour government, directed by Jonathan Kent
⎯ The first ever John le Carré novel on stage, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, adapted by David Eldridge and directed by Jeremy Herrin
⎯ A co-production with Told by an Idiot of the deliciously terrifying The Cat and the Canary, adapted by Carl Grose from the play by John Willard, directed by Paul Hunter
⎯ A festive family story created especially for CFT by Michael Morpurgo, Hey! Christmas Tree, written for the stage by Vicki Berwick and directed by Dale Rooks
- Company includes Rachelle Diedericks, Philip Franks, Adam Gillen, Shanay Holmes, Billy Jenkins, Alex Kingston, Simon Lipkin, Freya Mavor, Ian McDiarmid, Will Merrick, Nadia Parkes, Lucy Phelps, Jack Riddiford, Aaron Sidwell, Andrew Woodall
- 13,000 £10 tickets across the season; 9,000 £5 Prologue tickets for 16 – 30 year olds
