The newly announced season will include productions of Oliver!, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
The Chichester Festival has confirmed details of its 2024 season, playing from April to October. It is the first season for new artistic director Justin Audibert.
This new season will open with a stage adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl which will run at the theatre from the 19th April until the 11th May. The acclaimed book has been adapted by Mike Poulton, whose previous adaptations include Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (RSC, West End and Broadway). It is set to be directed by Lucy Bailey, with a cast including: Alex Kingston (Doctor Who, The Tempest RSC) as Lady Elizabeth, Freya Mavor (Industry, Skins) as Anne Boleyn, Lucy Phelps (Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare’s Globe, Measure for Measure RSC) as Mary Boleyn and Andrew Woodall (South Downs/The Browning Version, Fracked! CFT) as the Duke of Norfolk.
From the 3rd May until the 1st June, the theatre will present Laura Lomas’ The House Party, an adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie . Directed by Holly Race Roughan, the production is being staged as part of Headlong’s 50th anniversary season. The cast will include: Rachelle Diedericks (Our Generation, A View from the Bridge) as Christine and Nadia Parkes (Kidnapped, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself) as Julie.
Meanwhile, Helen Edmundson’s Coram Boy, based on the novel by Jamila Gavin and directed by Anna Ledwich will run from the 24th May until the 15th June. After its run in Chichester, the production will then head to the Lowry in Salford.
A new production of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker will run from the 8th June until the 13th July. Featuring a cast including Adam Gillen, Ian McDiarmid, and Jack Riddiford, the production is set to be directed by Justin Audibert. This will be the first production directed by Audibert since stepping into the role of Artistic Director of the Chichester Festival Theatre.
From the 8th July until the 7th September, a new production of the musical Oliver! heads to the theatre – a production that has been specially conceived for the Chichester Festival Theatre by director and choreographer Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh. Casting for the musical is set to include: Simon Lipkin (Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q) as Fagin, Shanay Holmes (Miss Saigon, The Bodyguard) as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell (Henry VI, Wicked) as Bill Sikes, Billy Jenkins (Les Misérables, BBC’s Dodger) as the Artful Dodger and Philip Franks (The Rocky Horror Show, Witness for the Prosecution) as Mr Brownlow.
The world premiere of Paul Unwin’s The Promise will take place from the 19th July until the 17th August. It is a story based on the on the experiences of the post-War Labour Government. It will be directed by Jonathan Kent, with the creative team also including: lighting design by Peter Mumford and casting by Annelie Powell CDG.
Also part of the season will be The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, which has been adapted for the stage by David Eldridge and directed by Jeremy Herrin. Running at the theatre from the 23rd August until the 21st September, it is based on John le Carré’s novel and follows disillusioned British spy Alec Leamas as he faces a final, risky operation against the East German Secret Service.
Justin Audibert will direct Charlotte Jones’s Redlands from the 20th September to 18th October. It is a fictional account inspired by the famous ‘Redlands’ trial of the Rolling Stones. The creative team is also set to include set designer Joanna Scotcher, composer and orchestrator will be Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, and casting director Ginny Schiller.
From the 27th September until the 26th October, John Willard’s The Cat and The Canary will take to the stage in a co-production between the Chichester Festival Theatre and Told by an Idiot.
The season will be completed by two festive productions Hey! Christmas Tree at the Minerva Theatre from 7th to 29th December, inspired by Michael Morpurgo’s book of poems, as well as Cinderella, presented by Chichester Festival Youth Theatre at the Festival Theatre from 17th to 31st December.