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Chichester Festival Theatre

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In Person: Oaklands Park, CHICHESTER, West Sussex, PO19 6AP
Phone: 01243 781312
Online: www.cft.org.uk/whats-on [?]
Email: box.office@cft.org.uk

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What's On Highlights

The Littlest Yak
From:17-02-2025
To:22-02-2025
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This musical adaptation of the award-winning children’s book will delight audiences young and old with beautiful puppets, catchy tunes and an uplifting tale of self-acceptance for all the family.

Gertie is great at being The Littlest Yak, with the curliest, whirliest wool and the grippiest of hooves for clip-clopping up cliffs. Only, Gertie doesn’t want to be the littlest. She’s in a rush to grow up and be just like the big yaks. But what if there are some things that only a Gertie can do?

Approximately 0 Hour 45 mins

Dinosaur World Live
From:20-02-2025
To:23-02-2025
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Dare to experience the dangers and delights of Dinosaur World Live in this roarsome interactive show for all the family! Grab your compass and join our intrepid explorer across uncharted territories to discover a pre-historic world of astonishing (and remarkably life-like) dinosaurs. Meet a host of impressive creatures, including every child’s favourite flesh-eating giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus.

A special meet and greet after the show offers all our brave explorers the chance to make a new dinosaur friend.

Approximately 1 Hour 5 mins

Driftwood
From:25-02-2025
To:01-03-2025
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Driftwood

An inspiring story about hope, love and belonging.

From the company that produced hit shows Peak Stuff and How Not To Drown.

Two brothers on a beach need to figure out what to do with their dad – but the sea has other ideas. Mark and Tiny walk the shore of Seaton Carew in the North East. Their dad is dying, and their town is crumbling. Family rifts and political divides try to pull them apart, while a figure made of driftwood stalks the shore at night.

Approximately 1 Hour 20 mins

The Girl on the Train
From:25-02-2025
To:01-03-2025
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The thriller that gripped the world.

Rachel Watson longs for a different life.

Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love. Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she’s been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated.

Approximately 2 Hours 15 mins

CFT Lates: Brent Would's Got Wood
From:28-02-2025
To:28-02-2025
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CFT Lates: Brent Would's Got Wood

Brent Would, as seen on BBC3, E4 and winner of The Gold Rush Season 4, brings improv, comedy, clown & music... Strap in & strap on for a spicy drag king cabaret romp & come on a journey with Bas Vegas's - barrow boy - Brent Would!

Brent takes you from being wooed by him to being at one with him. This Essex lad’s love of music has led him to write some original sexy pieces and he will even improvise some for you, using your suggestions and interactions. And if you’re dead lucky you can win a date with the man himself. Score! Willing participants only – consent is sexy…just like you!

Persephone
From:04-03-2025
To:04-03-2025
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Persephone: A Tale of the Seasons

A gentle sensory exploration of the seasons, perfect for babies and toddlers.

Hear a robin chirp a merry tune, as it gets colder. Hop through the meadow with a bunny, watching the flowers bloom. Fly through the summer with a colourful butterfly, feeling the heat of the sun on your face. See the leaves change colour and fall to the ground as a hedgehog snuffles through the undergrowth.

Approximately 0 Hour 45 mins

Fisherman's Friends
From:05-03-2025
To:05-03-2025
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The group of old friends first came together in a sitting room in Port Isaac late in 1990, since then there have been ten albums, a BBC Folk Award, a best selling book, TV documentary and prestigious performances from Hyde Park Proms in the Park and 80,000 rugby fans at Twickenham... all while holding down day jobs. Expect a trademark catch of sea shanties and maritime work songs from a repertoire of almost 200 titles as the Fisherman’s Friends return to sing for their supper.

Approximately 2 Hours 30 mins

BBC CO with Katie Derham
From:07-03-2025
To:07-03-2025
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There’s something for everyone in BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night live from Chichester Festival Theatre!

Join the BBC Concert Orchestra, presenter Katie Derham and guests for an evening of popular favourites and unforgettable tunes for the BBC’s popular, long-running radio show. More details to be announced.

Approximately 2 Hours 20 mins

CFT Lates: Backroom Gig
From:28-03-2025
To:28-03-2025
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CFT Lates: Backroom Gig

A night of live and original music, hosted by The Backroom Chichester. We're excited to announce Irrelevant Elephant plus support, with further details to be announced soon!

The Government Inspector
From:25-04-2025
To:24-05-2025
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Don’t blame the mirror if your face is askew.

The bureaucrats in a remote provincial town are panicking. Word has gone round that a bigwig government inspector is heading their way. And things are far from ideal: for a start, the hospital’s hopeless, the post office has gone to pot, and the streets are filthy. The Mayor and the Judge are keen to brush their own indiscretions under the nearest carpet.

So when they discover the inspector is already staying at the inn, incognito, the whole town lavishes flattering attention on him. This suits ‘the inspector’ just fine, since in reality he’s a lowly and broke government pen-pusher, nursing extravagant fantasies of fame and fortune…

Gogol’s brilliantly inventive 19th century satire of skulduggery, mistaken identity and human absurdity spirals into dizzying levels of comic hysteria in Phil Porter’s sparkling new version.

Actor and comedian Tom Rosenthal plays Khlestakov and Gregory Doran, former Artistic Director of the RSC makes his Chichester debut as director.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
From:05-05-2025
To:14-06-2025
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Funny, profound, deeply moving and uplifting, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a joyous new musical adapted by Rachel Joyce from her own multi million-selling novel, featuring irresistible modern folk songs by the chart-topping indie musician, Passenger (Let Her Go).

Harold Fry – grey, tired and lonely – receives a letter from an old friend and heads out to post his reply. And keeps walking. From South Devon to Berwick upon Tweed. Leaving his bewildered wife Maureen behind.

Because Harold is trying to make up for lost time, confront the ghosts in his past, and – perhaps – keep someone alive.

As word spreads of his unlikely pilgrimage, a whole company of lost souls join him on his quest. And the horizons for both Harold and Maureen open wider than they could ever have imagined.

Mark Addy, whose innumerable screen credits include The Full Monty, The Rig and Game of Thrones, plays Harold. Jenna Russell, whose award-winning musicals include Sunday in the Park with George and Hello, Dolly!, makes a welcome return to Chichester as Maureen.

Director Katy Rudd (Ballet Shoes, The Ocean at the End of the Lane NT/West End) makes her Chichester debut.

Anna Karenina
From:07-06-2025
To:28-06-2025
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All happy families are alike. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Across the vast panorama of 19th-century Russia – from the glittering salons of Moscow and St Petersburg to its remote country estates – everyone is searching for answers in a society on the brink of collapse.

Anna Karenina, the beautiful wife of a powerful government official, dares to step outside the bounds of society to risk a dangerous and destructive love affair with the magnetic Count Vronsky.

Meanwhile, country landowner Levin is in pursuit of a new way to live and wrestling with his thwarted devotion to Kitty, who’s been left broken-hearted by Vronsky. Her sister Dolly struggles to reconcile constant child-bearing with her husband’s constant philandering.

Their dreams and despairs are mirrored in the tensions between individual and society, modernity and tradition, city and countryside, faith and doubt.

Phillip Breen’s witty and sensual version of Tolstoy’s masterpiece – blending period dress with a contemporary tone – takes us into the hearts and minds of its conflicted, very human characters. A surprisingly funny, romantic and unforgettable portrait of infidelity, passion and the search for fulfilment.

Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games) makes her Chichester debut as Anna; David Oakes (Victoria, Vikings: Valhalla) also comes to Chichester for the first time as Levin.

Marie and Rosetta
From:25-06-2025
To:26-07-2025
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Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n’ roll’, influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history.

Mississippi, 1946. Sister Rosetta has changed the face of gospel music with her exuberant, electric guitar-playing style. Shunned by straitlaced church folk for performing in nightclubs and glorying in rhythm and blues, she’s persuaded the saintly young singer Marie to join her on a tour of the segregated southern States. But first she has to convert Marie’s pure Sunday sound into something that has just a little more swing…

Featuring a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including Didn’t It Rain and Peace in the Valley, the show will feature live musicians accompanying Olivier Award-winning West End star Beverley Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act) as Rosetta Tharpe.

George Brant is an award-winning American playwright whose work includes Grounded (Fringe First and Off-West End Awards).

Monique Touko, winner of the 2022 Stage Debut Award for Best Director, whose acclaimed productions include The Boy at the Back of the Class, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, Wedding Band and G, directs this UK premiere.

Top Hat
From:14-07-2025
To:06-09-2025
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There may be trouble ahead,
But while there’s moonlight, and music,
And love, and romance…
Let’s face the music and dance

You’re invited to the musical equivalent of a finest vintage champagne. Effervescent, elegant and exhilarating, Top Hat is a heady romantic cocktail laced with sparklingly witty dialogue, stunning choreography, lavish sets and gorgeous costumes. Irving Berlin’s irresistible score includes some of Hollywood’s greatest songs, the immortal Cheek to Cheek, Let’s Face the Music and Dance, Top Hat White Tie and Tails and Puttin’ on the Ritz.

When Broadway star Jerry Travers arrives in London to open a new show, he crosses paths with model Dale Tremont, whose beauty sleep is rudely interrupted by Jerry tap dancing in the hotel suite above hers. Instantly smitten, Jerry vows to abandon his bachelor life to win her – but the path of true love never does run smooth. Especially since Dale has mistaken Jerry for his hapless producer Horace, who’s trying to avoid the wrath of his formidable wife Madge, and Dale’s own fiery Italian admirer is planning a trip to Venice for her to showcase his couture gowns…

Based on the classic 1935 film which starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the stage adaptation’s West End premiere won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the Evening Standard Award for Best Night Out. Acclaimed American director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall, whose Tony and Olivier Award-winning production of Anything Goes recently wowed audiences and critics in London and on television.

Choir
From:02-08-2025
To:30-08-2025
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Morgan runs a community choir who meet weekly in a room above the local pub to sing great pop songs, chat and drink.

There’s Paul, a former West End performer who now does local radio voiceovers; Esther and Joy, best friends who can’t stand each other; Anna, whose seemingly perfect life hides a secret; Ken, good egg and perennial loser; and Sheila, dark horse and pathological liar.

The choir are busy rehearsing a concert to raise money for young Freddie to go to music college. And when a TV producer invites them to perform on national television, Morgan seizes her opportunity to hit the big time.

But – are her eccentric group up to it? And what is Morgan prepared to sacrifice to get the acclaim she so desires? Home truths are revealed and secrets laid bare in this feelgood comedy with music, which explores loneliness and connection while celebrating the joy and power of community art.

Heartwarming, funny and packed with glorious arrangements of contemporary songs, Choir promises a thoroughly entertaining night out.

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti is an award-winning writer for stage, screen and radio, whose work includes A Kind of People (Royal Court), Silence (Donmar Warehouse) and Radio 4’s The Archers. CFT’s Associate Director Hannah Joss, previously Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio, directs.

Hamlet
From:06-09-2025
To:04-10-2025
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Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

The death of his father, the king, turns Hamlet’s world upside down. Stunned by the horrifying secrets revealed, he loses all trust in the people closest to him.

Amidst a maelstrom of grief, suspicion and doubt, he embarks on a profound journey of self-discovery in which the betrayal of friends and family – and the decay at the heart of the state – are laid bare.

Justin Audibert, Artistic Director of CFT, directs Chichester’s first ever production of Shakespeare’s supreme tragedy.

Giles Terera, winner of an Olivier Award for Hamilton (West End), and Critics’ Circle Best Actor Award for Blues for an Alabama Sky and the title role in Othello at the National Theatre, plays Hamlet.

Lord of the Flies
From:19-09-2025
To:11-10-2025
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Which is better – law and rescue or hunting and breaking things up? To have rules and agree or to hunt and kill like a pack of savages?

William Golding’s compelling adventure takes us into the heart of darkness.

A plane crash on a desert island abandons a group of young survivors to fend for themselves. Quickly, tribal loyalties start to form. Despite attempts by Ralph and Piggy to keep order, school rules are shed along with their uniforms, and friendly alliances fast become ferocious divisions. As the children threaten to turn feral, a deadly struggle ensues between Ralph and his leadership rival, Jack. Will chaos overcome humanity – or, with a world at war beyond the island, can rescue come in time to save them?

A modern classic, Lord of the Flies has lost none of its riveting power since its publication in 1954; frequently ranked high in lists of iconic novels, and a constant presence on the school syllabus. Nigel Williams’s much admired stage adaptation premiered at the RSC in 1995.

Anthony Lau – Associate Artistic Director at Sheffield Theatres, where his productions included The Crucible, Miss Saigon, Rock/Paper/Scissors and The Good Person of Szechwan– directs.

Safe Space
From:11-10-2025
To:08-11-2025
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What’s in a name?

The winds of change are blowing through the elite ivy-league halls of one of America’s most prestigious universities. For students Isaiah, Connor, Annabelle, Omar and Stacy, on the precipice of starting their adult lives, life is no longer about getting through a political science lecture with a hangover and auditioning for the school acapella group. Confronting the injustices of the past is top of the agenda – starting with the fact that the college is named after a notorious defender of slavery.

And in this pressure cooker environment, everyone has to pick a side.

Beneath the passionate speeches, do old prejudices die hard? What happens to friendship and love amidst frank debate?

Jamie Bogyo’s whip-smart, hilarious and bracing new play takes us into the volatile quicksand of campus politics in the dying months of Obama’s presidency, and asks how – and if – we can escape the past.

Roy Alexander Weise, whose recent productions include The Hot Wing King and Nine Night (National Theatre), Untitled Fck Mss Sgon Play (Royal ExchangeYoung VicHeadlong) and Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), directs.

The Three Little Pigs
From:06-12-2025
To:28-12-2025
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From the award-winning Stiles and Drewe (The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Honk!, Half a Sixpence) comes The Three Little Pigs – a “very curly musical tail” that is perfect for the whole family!

This charming and witty adventure is full of catchy songs and clever rhymes which will have you squealing with glee as three superstar piglets set about defeating the Big Bad Wolf.

Devoted Mother Pig is raising her three little pigs – sporty Bar, nature-loving Bee and bookworm Q – after Father Pig was gobbled by the Big Bad Wolf. But when their home starts looking like a really messy pigsty, Mother encourages her fast-growing youngsters to make their own way in the big wide world.

Bar, Bee and Q set about building their own houses from straw, sticks and bricks. But can they get the better of the huffing, puffing, always hungry (and a bit misunderstood) Big Bad Wolf?

A co-production with the Unicorn Theatre, this hugely entertaining adaptation of the classic tale is a perfect musical Christmas treat for young families.

A Boy Called Christmas
From:15-12-2025
To:31-12-2025
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To see something, you have to believe in it. Really believe it. That's the first elf rule. You can't see something you don't believe in.

An enthralling, charming and magical tale that tells the true story of Father Christmas.

For 11-year-old Nikolas, whose nickname is Christmas because he was born on 25 December, life isn’t easy. With only a doll made out of a turnip to keep him company, he believes in happiness but isn’t happy very often. Until the day he sets out – with his pet mouse Miika and a reindeer called Blitzen – on an extraordinary quest to follow his father and to find Elfhelm, the fabled village of the elves.

Join Nikolas on this life-changing adventure, full of fantastic characters and beautiful moments, and watch how one little boy comes to be the very symbol of Christmas itself. Full to bursting with festive wonder, this story from the award-winning writer Matt Haig – adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson (Cinderella, Grimm Tales), with original live music and songs by Tom Brady (Pinocchio, The Butterfly Lion) – will warm the hearts of audiences young and old.

In their 40th anniversary year, Chichester Festival Youth Theatre bring their magical gifts for storytelling to another captivating Christmas production, directed by Dale Rooks (The Wind in the Willows, Hey! Christmas Tree).

To find out what else is happening at Chichester Festival Theatre, visit their website here.
Transport

Chichester Station is a 20 minute walk from the theatre, with regular direct links to London Victoria, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Gatwick Airport. Trains to London Waterloo connect at nearby Havant. Call 08457 484950 for timetables and other details or visit nationalrail.co.uk.

Parking

Northgate Car Park (PO19 6AA) is a 900-space pay and display car park next to the Theatre which charges from 8am until 8pm Monday - Saturday and 10am until 5pm on Sundays.

Matinee days are particularly busy so please allow plenty of time.

Cafe

The Café in the Festival Theatre is a great spot for a light lunch or a good coffee, and also serves freshly made sandwiches, salads, delicious cakes, and a range of hot and cold drinks.

Opening times: Monday to Saturday from 10am until the end of the interval of the evening performance. On non-performance days The Café closes at 5pm.

Restaurant

The Brasserie on the ground floor of the Minerva Theatre is open for pre-show dining in new stylish and elegant surroundings. The restaurant serves a contemporary British menu using local and seasonal ingredients as well as an excellent choice of wines.

Opening times: 12.30pm - 2.30pm on matinee days and from 5.30pm for evening performances.

Bar

The Minerva Bar & Grill upstairs provides a more relaxed atmosphere, and offers both main meals and lighter food options.

Opening times: Open 90 minutes before performances.

Access Info

For detailed access information please visit the theatre's access page: www.cft.org.uk/your-visit/access

Chichester Festival Theatre is one of the UK’s flagship theatres, renowned for the exceptionally high standard of its productions as well as its work with the community and young people. Situated in a cathedral city in West Sussex between the South Downs and the sea, the Festival Theatre’s bold thrust stage design makes it one of England’s most striking playhouses – equally suited to epic drama and musicals. Its studio theatre, the Minerva, is particularly noted for premieres of new work alongside intimate revivals.

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