Chichester Festival Theatre is one of the UK's flagship theatres with an international reputation for creating magical live performances. Its heritage is synonymous with excellence in all things theatrical, from acting and staging to costume. The Festival Theatre, designed by Powell and Moya, opened with much anticipation and to great acclaim by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built in 1989.
Chichester Festival Theatre creates outstanding world-class productions for audiences both from the UK and around the world. The emphasis of the theatre's programme is on the Summer Festival, which runs from April to September and includes plays from classics to contemporary writing.
During this time the theatre also delivers outdoor promenade performances and organizes a great deal of the festival's other events including Cabaret and Comedy nights and a great range of events designed to add to the experience of visiting the theatre including Platform Events, Family Days and Talks.
The Theatre is currently run as a plc and 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)