- Chichester Festival Theatre
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Coordinates: 50°50′35″N 0°46′39″W / 50.843048°N 0.777390°W
Chichester Festival Theatre 
The Festival Theatre is on the left, the Minerva to the right.Location of Chichester Festival Theatre
Address Oaklands Park, Chichester, West Sussex Architect Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya Capacity Festival Theatre: 1206
Minerva Theatre: 283Opened 1962 http://www.cft.org.uk Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently 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 Festival Season runs from April to September and includes productions from classics to contemporary writing and musicals.
During this time the theatre also puts on outdoor promenade performances and organises other festival events including cabaret and comedy nights. A range of events is designed to add to the experience of visiting the theatre, including Platform Events, Family Days and Talks.
The Theatre is currently run as a registered charity is chaired by Lord Young of Graffham.
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 to date)
Festival 2011
Festival 2011 runs from 9 May - 5 November
- Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead - directed by Trevor Nunn
- Singin' in the Rain - by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, directed by Jonathan Church, with Adam Cooper, Scarlet Strallen and Daniel Crossley
- The Deep Blue Sea - by Terence Rattigan, directed by Philip Franks
- Rattigan's Nijinsky - by Nicholas Wright, directed by Philip Franks
- Sweeney Todd - by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, directed by Jonathan Kent, with Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton
- She Loves Me - by Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, directed & choregraphed by Stephen Mear, with Joe McFadden and Dianne Pilkington
- Top Girls - by Caryl Churchill, directed by Max Stafford-Clark, with Stella Gonet, Suranne Jones, Lucy Briers, Catherine McCormack
- The Syndicate by Eduardo de Filippo, in a new version by Mike Poulton, dirtected by Sean Mathias, with Ian McKellen and Michael Pennington
- South Downs by David Hare, directed by Jeremy Herrin/The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan, directed by Angus Jackson (double bill)
Further information: Chichester Festival production historyExternal links
Categories:- 1962 establishments
- Theatres in West Sussex
- Buildings and structures in Chichester
- Visitor attractions in Chichester
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