Chichester Festival Theatre unveils winter season: big names and huge variety

By Phil Hewitt
Published 5th Sep 2023, 07:57 BST
Drop the Dead Donkey - The Reawakening! heads to Chichester (contributed pic)Drop the Dead Donkey - The Reawakening! heads to Chichester (contributed pic)
Drop the Dead Donkey - The Reawakening! heads to Chichester (contributed pic)
Chichester Festival Theatre’s winter season promises a “fabulously varied array of some of the best touring productions currently on offer in the UK.”

Shows coming direct from the West End include Life of Pi, Noises Off and 2:22 A Ghost Story, while star-studded dramas range from A Voyage Round My Father with Rupert Everett to The Merchant of Venice 1936 with Tracy‑Ann Oberman, plus Jane Asher in Somerset Maugham’s The Circle. The original cast of Drop the Dead Donkey are reuniting on stage, and the Nina Simone-inspired Black is the Color of My Voice arrives following a sell-out tour.

Christmas at CFT this year will be a family affair. Alongside Chichester Festival Youth Theatre’s new dramatisation of The Jungle Book for ages 7+, there’s a first musical for ages three to seven in the Minerva, the Unicorn Theatre production of Stiles & Drewe’s The Three Billy Goats Gruff directed by Chichester’s new artistic director Justin Audibert. There’s also a wide range of music, comedy and performance this winter from favourites including Judi Dench, Rob Brydon, Fisherman’s Friends and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

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Priority booking for Friends of Chichester Festival Theatre opens: Saturday, September 9 (online and by booking form only); Tuesday, September 12 (phone and in person). Public booking opens: Saturday, September 16 (online only), Tuesday, September 19 (phone and in person). Box office 01243 781312; online cft.org.uk.

Plays and musicals coming up include: