Coram Boy Digital Programme | CFT Festival 2024

Coram Boy

By Helen Edmundson Based on the novel

by Jamila Gavin

Welcome

Welcome

Hello, and a warm welcome to Coram Boy. Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of Jamila Gavin’s Whitbread Award-winning novel premiered at the National Theatre in 2005, and we are thrilled to give this enthralling adventure a new life on our Festival Theatre stage.

Having started the season with the Tudors, we now move to the 18th century: an equally colourful, and sometimes brutal, world.

Coram Boy doesn’t shy away from the dark side of Georgian England, but – as Gillian Pugh recounts in her fascinating article about the origins of the Foundling Hospital – it also celebrates the uplifting efforts of those who strive to alleviate suffering and injustice. As John Simmons says in his reflection on philanthropy, ‘People choose to do terrible things but they also choose to do good things.’

We are delighted to welcome director Anna Ledwich back to Chichester, where she was formerly Artistic Director of Theatre on the Fly (2012) and has also been our writer in residence: contributing adaptations of Michael Morpurgo’s The Butterfly Lion, Pinocchio and Beauty and the Beast, as well as her promenade play Crossing Lines. Her expert creative team also includes many familiar names, including designer Simon Higlett.

Another important local partnership is with Chichester Cathedral, whose young choristers – led by the Organist and Master of Choristers, Charles Harrison – recorded some of Handel’s wonderful music which you’ll hear in the play. Our thanks to them, and to the superb ensemble cast of seasoned and newly minted actors.

We hope you enjoy this performance and to see you again soon – whether for our eagerly-anticipated summer musical Oliver! or one of our world premiere dramas, including The Promise and Redlands.

Justin Audibert Artistic Director

Kathy Bourne Executive Director

Kathy Bourne and Justin Audibert Photograph by Peter Flude

Consider yourself one of us!

Oliver!

Festival Theatre 8 July – 7 September What would a Festival season be without a magnificent musical as its centrepiece? Matthew Bourne, who’s internationally renowned for his ground-breaking reinventions of dance classics such as Swan Lake and Edward Scissorhands, as well as his Olivier Award-winning choreography for My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins, is making his Chichester debut as both director and choreographer of Lionel Bart’s unforgettable Oliver!

We’re once again collaborating with producer extraordinaire Cameron Mackintosh, with whom we last worked on Half a Sixpence, who has a six decade-long love of this iconic musical, and longstanding friendships and collaborations with both Lionel Bart and Matthew Bourne.

He and Matthew have been inspired to go back to the more intimate ensemble roots of the original production and create a brand new reimagining of Bart’s masterpiece. Cameron tells us: ‘I was taken to see Oliver! for the first time as a 13-year-old schoolboy, shortly after it opened in June 1960; Lionel’s glorious songs blew me away and the show changed the British musical for ever.

‘We very much hope that audiences will be coming back for more all over again!’

To promise nearly fifty million people truly universal health care – ‘cradle to the grave’ – is crackers.

The Promise Minerva Theatre 19 July – 17 August Following The Caretaker into the Minerva Theatre is our third world premiere of the season: Paul Unwin’s new play The Promise.

The NHS is never far from the headlines so, in what looks certain to be an election year, it’s worth remembering that we haven’t always been lucky enough to have it. Directed by Jonathan Kent, The Promise evokes the dramatic political struggle to establish this revolutionary service.

CFT Artistic Director Justin Audibert says: ‘Set in post-war Britain, the play features many of the true titans of the Labour movement, from Ernest Bevin and Aneurin Bevan, to Stafford Cripps, Clement Atlee and Herbert Morrison.

But it really centres around Ellen Wilkinson, who was a radical outsider (chiming with one of the themes of this season) and how she galvanised that Cabinet, alongside Nye Bevan, to create something so hopeful.

‘You’ll feel like a fly on the wall, watching these brilliant personalities as their emotional lives get tangled up in arguments and compromises to create this integral part of our society.’

Technically Speaking With every show, the spotlight falls inevitably on the performers on stage. But have you ever wondered who is operating the lighting and sound effects; who sewed the costumes, sourced the props and made sure all the elements came together as a seamless whole?

Running alongside Chichester Festival Youth Theatre groups focusing on drama, dance and musical theatre, the Technical Youth Theatre offers a chance to explore all the practical, technical and creative elements that go into putting on productions.

It’s led by Sally Garner-Gibbons, CFT’s Apprenticeship Co-ordinator. ‘I’ve been working with the Youth Theatre since 1998, and we always had a little army of backstage cadets – in fact Graham Taylor, now CFT’s

Head of Lighting, was one of those people,’ says Sally.

‘We try to give everyone a taste of the minutiae of what it means to work backstage. We do a lot of making and designing – prop and costume making, masks and puppetry. We look at lighting and sound, and stage management techniques such as scale measuring and how to cue a sequence. We have visiting lecturers and the CFT staff are incredibly generous with their time and expertise.’

The most exciting aspect for most participants is the chance to work on the CFYT productions alongside the professional technical and stage management teams.

‘Everything we’ve covered in the Youth Theatre sessions suddenly comes to life,’

Above: Sally Garner-Gibbons and Technical Youth Theatre members with lighting designer Ryan Day. Opposite: Jack Ratcliffe, a Technical Youth Theatre member.

says Sally. ‘We’ve been so fortunate with the Deputy Stage Managers [who call the actors’ and technical cues during a performance] and Assistant Stage Managers [generally responsible for all the props used on a show] because they’ve been so open to having young trainees around. As far as I’m aware, it’s the longest established Technical Youth Theatre in the country.’

The experience can open the door to career possibilities of which young people were previously unaware. ‘Often they don’t know anything about stage management when they’re young,’ Sally explains.

‘Matthew Hoy, who was one of our very early intake, came because he couldn’t find an after school club for photography; he did two sessions on stage management and realised he loved it. He’s now ASM on Hamilton and Les Mis in the West End. Ryan Pantling went on to Chichester College and completed his apprenticeship here in 2020.

He is now a regular casual technician with the sound department.

‘Georgia Dacey has since worked at the RSC and The Old Vic and is returning to CFT as ASM for this year’s Christmas show, Cinderella. Hannah Lipton was Company Stage Manager on Truth & Tails, CFT’s show for families and schools in 2023 and has been appointed ASM for The Caretaker and Hey! Christmas Tree. Henry Reeder went on to Northbrook College to study Production Arts and has just been appointed as ASM Dep for Oliver!; in 2023, he also won the John Hyland Award for his outstanding contribution to the work of CFT. Following his professional training, Sammy Lacey has just finished a UK tour of The Full Monty as ASM.’ But whether or not you decide to make theatre your career, Sally is clear that any young person will get a lot out of the experience.

‘The wonderful thing about the Tech Youth Theatre is that it becomes a skillssharing opportunity. I see the progression: having done two Christmas or Summer shows, the young people then mentor the new intake. And because people tend to

join with people they’ve never met before, they have to forge relationships outside their tight little school group. It builds their confidence and communication skills.

‘I try really hard to ignite the flame that I had ignited in me, all those years ago, about how wonderful it is to be backstage. Theatre is not just about what happens on stage or front of house, it’s about all the magic that we make happen.’

Technical Youth Theatre sessions run one evening a week during term-time at CFT. Anyone in Year 10+ can apply; no experience is necessary. For more information please email cfyt@cft.org.uk; the next intake for members will be September 2024.

With thanks to Liz Juniper for supporting the Technical Youth Theatre and all of our LEAP supporters

Provenance Community Sustainability Creating exceptional food to enhance your Festival experience

Our ethos Delicious dishes are only as good as their component parts and community is a key factor for Caper & Berry and CFT. We believe that working with fantastic local producers has huge benefits to local communities and creates better environments.

In our larder Fresh ingredients have been at the centre of Caper & Berry’s ethos since 2004: Ultra Sustainable Suppliers

Chef’s Farms

- Block & Cleaver Butchers - SØDT Danish Bakery - Hallgate Farm Eggs

- Nutbourne Tomatoes - Isle of Wight Garlic - Eastfield Farm Sussex Beetroot

Discover more

Coram Boy

By Helen Edmundson Based on the novel

by Jamila Gavin

Thomas C

and the Foundling H England in the early 18th century was, as indeed it still is, a country of deep contrasts. The population in 1750 is estimated to have been just over six million, about 10% of whom lived in London. While there was considerable wealth among the landed gentry and aristocracy, the country was largely poor and rural, although cities such as London were an increasing magnet to those who wanted to make a better living. As growing urbanisation began to replace a largely agricultural way of life, there was a rise in homelessness and illegitimate children.

This was, of course, well before the days of the welfare state. The government saw its responsibility primarily as to fight the French and uphold law and order. It was up to parishes or charities to educate children, heal the sick, house the homeless, and provide pensions for the elderly.

Unmarried mothers and their illegitimate children were seen as a particular burden, combining moral failing and a lack of financial responsibility.

Poverty tended to be seen as a moral defect that threatened social order. The Poor Law system was struggling to cope with the demands made on it. The problems of the poor had far outstripped the ability of the parish relief system to cope, and there was

Captain Thomas Coram by William Hogarth, 1740. © Coram in the care of the Foundling Museum.

a view that workhouses encouraged idleness, which led to vice and crime.

In the face of considerable opposition, Coram spent 17 years building up support for a foundling hospital… he was disgusted at the church’s self-righteous and unforgiving attitude to unmarried mothers.

In this climate, unmarried mothers and their illegitimate children were seen as a particular burden, combining moral failing and a lack of financial responsibility. An unmarried mother was shamed and seen as an encumbrance on the parish. If her baby died, she would be accused of murder and may well have been hanged. If the baby survived, her life would be in ruins. So, many babies were abandoned while their mothers sought to improve their fortunes.

The infant mortality rate was high – one in three babies died before the age of two, and half of those who survived died before the age of 15. The death rate in workhouses was 90% and in one Westminster parish, only one in 500 foundlings survived.

This was the London to which Thomas Coram returned after a life at sea. He was born in 1668 in Lyme Regis. His mother died when he was three, and at the age of 11, after limited schooling, his father sent him to sea.

Coram

Hospital

Apprenticed to a shipwright, he worked in the London shipyards before leaving for New England at the age of 25. He got off to a good start, setting up a successful shipbuilding business in Taunton, south of Boston, and marrying Eunice Wayte from a wellestablished Boston family. He was energetic and hard-working, but before long he fell out with the locals – contemptuous of their Free Church religion. They burned his ships and he was forced to return to England.

King George II granted a Royal Charter to the Foundling Hospital. It was the first charity founded on public donations and the first charity for children.

Top left: George Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson, 1741. Hamburg State and University Library.

Top right: William Hogarth by engraver Benjamin Smith, after Hogarth self-portrait, 1795. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Above: View of the Foundling Hospital by Robert Sayer, after Louis Philippe Boitard (père), 1751. Rijksmuseum.

Childless himself, Coram was shocked at the number of babies dying on the streets of London. So, in the face of considerable opposition, and as a mere sea captain, he spent 17 years building up support for a foundling hospital similar to those in some European cities. In Europe they were usually linked to the church, but that was not the case in England where Coram was disgusted at the church’s self-righteous and unforgiving attitude to unmarried mothers.

The lack of support from the church, merchants and noblemen led to a stroke of genius – he would approach the ladies of the aristocracy, who he referred to as ‘ladies of quality and distinction’ to support his ‘darling project’. Two high profile cases of illegitimacy in the aristocracy, together with a growing sense of philanthropy among the wealthy, and England’s need for more fit young men to fight its wars, tipped the balance.

Eventually, in 1739, King George II granted a Royal Charter to the Foundling Hospital.

It was the first charity founded on public donations and the first charity for children.

Coram’s second stroke of genius was to enlist the support of two of the greatest artists of the time. William Hogarth became a governor of the Foundling Hospital, donated three of his paintings – including his portrait of Thomas Coram – and encouraged fellow artists to follow his example. The composer George Frideric Handel also became a governor and conducted a benefit concert of his ‘Messiah’ at the Hospital, incorporating much of his ‘Foundling Hospital Anthem’. Over the next 10 years Handel raised nearly £1m in today’s money to complete the building of the chapel. His musical influence permeated the work of the organisation for the next 200 years.

Interestingly, neither of the two men had children of their own, though Hogarth and his wife Jane fostered foundlings and Jane became an inspector of wet nurses.

The Foundling Hospital opened its doors in Bloomsbury in 1741. The name was misleading: it was neither for foundlings – the babies were illegitimate and brought by their mothers, but to refer to illegitimacy would have deterred financial, societal and political

support; nor was it a hospital – it was what we would today call a children’s home.

From the throngs of women waiting outside the gates, some 30 children were admitted. The committee minutes make heart-rending reading: ‘On this occasion the expressions of grief of the women whose children could not be admitted were scarcely more observable than those of some of the women who parted with their children, so that a more moving scene can’t be well imagined’.

The mothers had to convince the governors that they were single and unsupported, that this was their first child, and that if their child was admitted they could return to gainful employment.

Foundlings were not abandoned, nor put through a hole in the wall as in some European hospitals. They were brought by their mothers, had to be under two months old and free from disease. Applications far exceeded the places available, so a ballot system was introduced. The women whose petitions had been successful drew a ball from a bag: those who drew a white ball were sent with their child for an examination; those with a black ball were rejected; and those with a red ball waited to see if any of the white ball babies were rejected. Only about a third of children brought to the hospital were admitted – about 100 each year. By 1752 the governors had 600 children on their books.

The reception of each child was meticulously recorded. The mothers had to convince the governors that they were single and unsupported, that this was their first child, and that if their child was admitted they could return to gainful employment. Many brought fragments of material, written notes and other tokens* by which they hoped they could reclaim their child if their prospects improved. In fact, very few were reunited with their mothers. The clothes that they

came in were described in detail, as were any distinguishing features. Some were of ‘dark skin’, and some of high birth – for example George Hanover, who was presumed to be the illegitimate son of a member of King George II’s family. Each child was baptised and given a new name and governors assured the mothers that their details would remain anonymous.

Boys and girls were kept apart but both were well educated... lessons included reading, writing, maths, sewing, religious education and music, with everyone learning to sing and many to play an instrument.

For the first five years of their lives, the children were wet nursed/fostered in the country, where they grew up as part of a family that they would think of as their own.

For many it was a happy time, and to be returned to the Hospital and left there by the foster mothers must have seemed extremely harsh. Some of the most renowned doctors of the day attended to the children’s health. The eminent physician Dr Cadogan argued that children should wear fewer layers of clothing and no tight swaddling. He advocated frequent changes of clothing to ‘free them from stinks and sourness’ and encouraged breast feeding rather than solids.

Boys and girls were kept apart but both were well educated, Coram arguing that girls would become mothers and thus influence future generations. Brought up to know their place in society, their lessons included reading, writing, maths, sewing, religious education and music, with everyone learning to sing and many to play an instrument. They wore a uniform designed by Hogarth – Above left: Fabric tokens (from the top) 13496, 2988, 170, 7209. © Coram Foundling Hospital Archive.

Right and above right: Pupils at the Foundling Hospital.

Photos provided by Coram who have made reasonable efforts to determine where copyright is held by third parties and obtain the relevant consent where applicable.

brown as a symbol of poverty and humility – made of tough serge. Their diet was remarkably good – meat five times a week, though no fish or dairy, vegetables grown in the grounds, fruit and tea.

As young teenagers, the boys were apprenticed to a trade or went into the army or navy, and the girls into domestic service.

The governors kept an eye on the girls until they were 21 and the boys 25, supporting them through any difficulties.

We have no personal accounts of how the foundlings in the 1750s fared later in life,

but an autobiography by George King – child number 18,053 at the Hospital – written in the early 1800s shows resourcefulness, defiance and a gritted determination to survive. The education, healthcare, sense of security and employment opportunities are likely to have been better than most would have experienced had they stayed with their birth mothers. But they learned that their mothers had been sinful and rejected them, and they had no idea who they were or where they came from.

In 1954 the organisation changed its name to the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children and closed its doors as a residential establishment. Since 1741 it had cared for 25,000 children, most of them from birth until adulthood. Today, Coram is a thriving charity group creating better chances for children, young people and families, based on the site of the original Foundling Hospital in Bloomsbury (coram.org.uk). *The tokens and many of the detailed records and history of the Foundling Hospital can be seen at the Foundling Museum (foundlingmuseum.org.uk).

Dame Gillian Pugh Chief Executive of Coram from 1997 to 2005, is the author of London’s Forgotten Children: Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital.

For more on the history, visit coramstory.org.uk

What philanth

price thropy?

Philanthropy – love of humankind – has always existed, but the linking of that love to financial donation is a more modern concept. Some claim that the first charity organisation in the UK was the King’s School in Canterbury, founded in 597 by Saint Augustine. After that, ‘charitable giving’ was mainly channelled through the churches in the form of almsgiving.

To give – whether money, shelter, opportunities – to a fellow human being is an act that also gives life.

At the heart of Coram Boy is the concept of philanthropy. To give – whether money, shelter, opportunities – to a fellow human being is an act that also gives life. Jamila Gavin and Helen Edmundson know that, but they don’t shy away from the sometimes dark issues associated with the need for philanthropy.

As Gillian Pugh describes in her article, the story of Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital is the inspiration for Coram Boy. What triggered Coram himself into his original philanthropic project was the experience of seeing destitute mothers and children on the streets of London. Realising that he needed more support – moral and financial – he approached other wealthy people in 18th century society.

Coram had views on women that were enlightened for his time, insisting that girls entering his orphanage should have the same rights to education as boys. So,

he was rewarded by the financial support of ‘21 ladies of quality and distinction’ at a time when he was struggling to win funding from men.

In the 18th century there was a prevailing callous attitude towards the poor and much of the country’s wealth came from the use of slaves in British colonies. There was a darkness in the wider world.

He also realised that there could be a link between philanthropy and the arts, so he asked his friends William Hogarth, the artist, and George Frideric Handel, the composer, to contribute funds. Their role was crucial, not just in terms of money given, but also in sending a signal to other artists.

The historical background to this story should be recognised. In the 18th century there was a prevailing callous attitude towards the poor and much of the country’s wealth came from the use of slaves in British colonies. There was a darkness in the wider world. Mrs Lynch in Coram Boy says: ‘You are very selective in your compassion. You show a sort of sweeping mercy to those so far beneath you they don’t matter, but when it comes to anything that might threaten your perfect world, then the iron gates come down... The silk on your back, the sugar in your tea, all of this – this wealth is built upon the suffering of others.’

Left: Foundling Girls in the Chapel by Sophia Anderson, mid-19th century. © Coram in the care of the Foundling Museum.

People do terrible things, but they also choose to do good things. This was a theme explored by another of the Foundling Hospital’s benefactors, Charles Dickens, in his many novels.

Yet there is a positive side as always in the human condition. People do terrible things, but they also choose to do good things. This was a theme explored by another of the Foundling Hospital’s benefactors, Charles Dickens, in his many novels. More than a century after Hogarth and Handel, the story of abandoned children resonated powerfully with the Victorian age’s most celebrated writer. His compassionate example inspired other philanthropists such as Angela Burdett-Coutts, George Peabody and Andrew Carnegie to support charitable causes. Each of these shifted the focus away from the norm of giving money to medical establishments, in particular by establishing and running public hospitals, to supporting a wider range of social causes, while also recognising the positive role of the arts in the creation of a civilised society.

With these developments came a certain amount of questioning, as charity wasn’t automatically considered a good thing.

The moral ambivalence sometimes created by philanthropy also has echoes in our times.

On the positive side, many of the big brands we recognise from our daily lives have adopted philanthropic principles from their foundation. Often these have been associated with Quaker principles, drawing a clear connection between business and philanthropy. Just in the world of confectionery, Cadburys and Rowntrees

Right: The Pinch of Poverty by Thomas Benjamin Kennington, 1891. © Coram in the care of the Foundling Museum.

Below left: Angela Burdett-Coutts, artist unknown c1840. National Portrait Gallery.

Below right: Charles Dickens, artist unknown 1870.

Welsh Portrait Collection at the National Library of Wales.

have Quaker roots, and their businesses became known for benevolence and social campaigning. There are many cases of companies setting up accommodation and facilities for their workers: Bourneville (Cadburys), Port Sunlight (Lever Brothers/ Unilever), the town of Street (Clarks shoes).

Doing good was seen as good business, as well as the right thing to do.

Philanthropy can also be controversial. One recurring theme is the belief that certain donations are ‘tainted’ because the money given can be seen as coming from unethical sources.

These places provided more than the basics. As well as housing, the philanthropic founders put money into the establishment of schools, museums, gardens, social spaces. On the other hand, there were restrictions on behaviour, with curfews and prohibition of alcohol. So, an uneasy relationship has often existed between the givers and receivers of such support.

Philanthropy can also be controversial.

One recurring theme is the belief that certain donations are ‘tainted’ because the money given can be seen as coming from unethical sources. This is a contemporary concern, but it has a long history. In the 8th century the Venerable Bede (‘Father of English History’) worried that too much money came to the church from questionable sources.

Today the historic origins of contemporary wealth, particularly accumulated from the profits of the slave trade, have been brought to the forefront of the debate through Black Lives Matter.

Tainted donations continue to loom as shadows over modern philanthropy. In particular, the role of fossil fuel companies, who have been significant sponsors of the arts, has been in the spotlight. Sometimes such sponsorship has been denounced

as a cynical PR strategy. The British Museum, under considerable pressure from many quarters, recently ended its 27-year sponsorship by BP. The challenge will be to replace the large amounts of money coming from such sources.

There is a constant debate to achieve balance – between the sources of muchneeded private money and the need to fill gaps in budgets when government has reduced its own support. Some local authorities, deprived of central funding for many arts institutions, face difficult decisions about the value of the arts and culture to their citizens – despite copious evidence that thriving cultural venues bring significant economic and social benefits to their communities.

In the end it comes down to the opinions and voices of the people. What do you wish to support? How important is theatre and other arts to you? Live Aid, Comic Relief and Children in Need gave the public the chance

Above right: Port Sunlight, the village founded by William Hesketh Lever in 1888 to house his Sunlight Soap factory workers. Photo by Dave Green.

to vote with their wallets. Such charity blockbusters roused millions to action while also providing entertainment. And they also led to the introduction of Gift Aid in 1990, giving the public a tax incentive to make charitable donations.

Artists make us aware of causes and they make us think about moral issues. Of course companies investing in the arts want to improve the perception of the corporation in the eyes of all its stakeholders, so there’s always an expected return on investment.

There are many cases of mutually beneficial relationships – the partnership between the National Theatre and Travelex, who sponsored affordable tickets, is one example that was followed by many others.

In learning from the past, many charities and arts organisations have developed gift acceptance policies, ensuring that major donations and their sources are researched and approved by committee. This process helps organisations to maintain an ethical

and reputational position on philanthropy, while ensuring the needs of the charity and its beneficiaries are still met.

The experience of live theatre engages audiences with deeper emotions. It makes us feel, think and sometimes do something positive, for the benefit of humankind. After all, to buy a ticket for a theatrical production is a small gesture of philanthropy in itself.

It’s a demonstration that we believe in the transformative power of drama – and that’s something we can all applaud.

John Simmons is a poet, novelist and writer for brands.

A chorister’s life The earliest known use of the word ‘chorister’ is found in a set of statutes drawn up for Salisbury Cathedral by Bishop Roger Martival in 1319. The statutes arose from Martival’s profound concern for the welfare of the choristers, whom he had observed roaming around the cathedral close, going from door to door begging for bread. The choristers’ circumstances had improved considerably by 1322, when they were accommodated in a single school house under the care of the warden, Alexander de Hemingsby. The warden came to be known as magister choristarum, or Master of the Choristers, a term still used at some cathedrals, including Chichester.

The practice of housing and educating choristers centrally, rather than distributing them among local households, spread gradually to most English cathedrals. Wells and St Paul’s followed Salisbury’s lead in the mid-14th century, but proper provision for the choristers of Lichfield and Hereford only came in the mid-1500s. The quality of education and pastoral care varied from place to place. The choristers of St Paul’s, for example, had access to an extensive library covering such subjects as history, medicine and law. At Chichester, the boys were less fortunate, having a master described as ‘over eighty, right corpulent, with a malady in his leg and also in prison for debt’.

From these inconsistent beginnings arose the idea of the ‘choir school’, The Quire at Gloucester Cathedral

a structure in which the characters Alexander Ashbrook and Thomas Ledbury develop their musical skills, and which sets the course for their future professional lives.

About 25 residential cathedral choir schools survive from the 16th century and before.

The routines of these schools, and many aspects of the musical education they provide, would be recognisable to Alex and Thomas, nearly three hundred years after the events imagined in Coram Boy. The school day begins with choir practice, followed by a timetable of academic lessons. Choristers return to the cathedral after school to rehearse and sing Evensong, after which there is time for instrumental music practice and homework. Less familiar to the two 18th century choristers would be the participation of girls in cathedral choirs.

Until 1991, when Salisbury (again at the forefront of innovation and reform) became the first cathedral to add a team of girls to their choral foundation, the membership of nearly all cathedral choirs in England was exclusively male. Most choral foundations now offer choristerships to girls as well as boys, either in two parallel treble lines (as at Salisbury), or in a single mixed-sex group (as at Hereford, Chichester and St John’s College Cambridge).

Coram Boy is set in the middle of the Georgian period, a low point in the fortunes of the cathedral choral tradition. In the century after the accession of George I, many choral foundations allowed chorister

numbers to dwindle, and one disposed of its choristers altogether. No new choral foundations with choristers were to be established until 1850, and fewer choristers were singing daily services than at any time since the early 13th century (except for the years of the Commonwealth). This sorry picture is at odds with England’s wider musical life, which flourished in the 18th century. George Frideric Handel composed oratorios which were performed by the many musical and choral societies that sprang up around the country; his operas were, in many cases, stunning commercial successes, earning the composer a considerable fortune. Yet Handel, England’s preeminent musician, composed nothing that could be used (as written) in the ordinary course of a cathedral service.

As depicted in Coram Boy, individual movements from Messiah were adapted for use by cathedral choirs, a practice that continues to this day. Handel’s church music represents a small proportion of his total compositional output, and was

Charles Harrison and Chichester Cathedral Choir.

Photo by Daniel Boss.

intended for special occasions, such as the coronation of George II in 1727 when an orchestra was available: it was not performable by the choral and instrumental forces typically available in a cathedral.

Of the other leading composers in 18th-century England, none had begun his musical training as a chorister, and most focused almost exclusively on the composition of secular music. In the two centuries before Handel’s arrival in England, choral music for use in church was usually the most inspired and substantial section of a serious composer’s oeuvre (Purcell, Gibbons, Byrd, Tallis). Why was the church now offering such scant opportunity for composers to exercise their musical imaginations? Worship in churches and cathedrals had come to be informed by a rational, rather than a spiritual mindset.

Elaborate liturgy and beautiful music were generally regarded as neither desirable nor necessary. The church, therefore, was not an exciting outlet for a composer’s skill and hard work. It was left to second-tier

composers to write canticles and anthems.

Among the more prolific of these was Charles King, whose music has been described as ‘restrained within the bounds of mediocrity’, ‘merely commonplace’ and ‘vapid... musical dysentery’.

Such neglect spread to the care and education of choristers, who were forced to undertake menial tasks, and were sometimes hired out for their masters’ financial benefit. James Nares, Master of the Choristers at the Chapel Royal, is thought to have earned £100 a year (about £15,000 today) from providing boys to sing at evening entertainments. His choristers received sixpence per concert, with which to buy barley sugars. At Chichester in about 1790, none of the six singing boys attended the cathedral’s Prebendal School; their only education seems to have been three hours of musical instruction each week. The Ely choristers were described by a visitor as ‘shabby and ill-kept’. Recalling his experiences as a chorister at St Paul’s in the 1760s, Richard Stevens describes cruel

beatings by the aptly named music teacher, Mr Savage.

(Stevens narrowly escaped with his life when a fellow chorister attempted to stab him during a pillow fight.)

It must be remembered that choristers were not the only children to suffer abuse and neglect at this time. The brutality of Mr Savage at St Paul’s was probably not untypical of 18th-century schoolmasters; other boys of chorister age worked in mines and factories, or were sent to sweep chimneys. Increasing sensitivity towards the young led to legislation in the 1830s which limited the exploitation of child labour.

Choral foundations nevertheless survived the low ebb to which they descended in the 18th century. Today, they are the bedrock of a living tradition that has fairly been described as England’s most distinctive cultural asset. About 1,400 children sing regularly in this country’s cathedrals; many of them, like Alex and Thomas, would express a profound fondness for their work as choristers.

Like them, some proceed to musical careers (for example the conductors Edward Gardner and Sir Mark Elder); others are sportspeople (the cricketer Alastair Cook), politicians (David Lammy, MP for Tottenham), actors (Sir Simon Russell Beale) and theatre directors (Sir David Pountney).

From its origins in early medieval times, the chorister education continues to instil a unique set of skills and qualities, serving as a gateway to future success.

In preparing this article, I am indebted to Alan Mould for his excellent book The English Chorister, which is recommended for further reading.

Charles Harrison is Organist and Master of the Choristers, Chichester Cathedral. chichestercathedral.org.uk

Coram Boy

By Helen Edmundson Based on the novel

by Jamila Gavin Cast (in order of speaking) Meshak Gardiner Young Alexander Ashbrook / Aaron Dangerfield Dr Smith / Thomas Ledbury Young Thomas Ledbury Otis Gardiner / Philip Gaddarn Mrs Lynch Miss Price / Toby Gaddarn Angel / Melissa Milcote Theodore Claymore / George Frideric Handel Lady Ashbrook / Mrs Hendry Isobel Ashbrook Edward Ashbrook Alice Ashbrook Mrs Milcote Sir William Ashbrook Alexander Ashbrook

Aled Gomer Louisa Binder Tom Hier Rebecca Hayes Samuel Oatley Jo McInnes Jewelle Hutchinson Rhianna Dorris James Staddon Pandora Clifford Holly Freeman Milo McCarthy Tallulah Greive Debbie Korley Harry Gostelow Will Antenbring

Choirboys / Coram Children

Amelia Boxall-Tullett, Libby Bradbury, Flo Clarke, Amelie Davis, Olive Dixon, Isaac Frith, Raefe Hakes, Maisie Jackson, Hugo Marchant-Williams, Jackson Parker, Lauren Solliss, Benjamin Webb Musicians Steve Dummer (Clarinet) William Harvey (Cello) Saba Safa (Violin) All other roles played by members of the company.

The action of Coram Boy takes place between 1742 and 1750, in Gloucestershire and London.

There will be one interval of 20 minutes.

Coram Boy was first performed on the Olivier stage of the National Theatre on 2 November 2005.

First performance of this new production of Coram Boy at Chichester Festival Theatre, 24 May 2024.

Director Designer Lighting Designer Composer and Sound Designer Musical Director Movement Director Fight and Intimacy Director Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Designer Casting Director

Anna Ledwich Simon Higlett Emma Chapman Max Pappenheim Stephen Higgins Chi-San Howard Bethan Clark Susanna Peretz Annelie Powell CDG

Voice and Dialect Coach Assistant Director

Joel Trill Marlie Haco

Production Manager Costume Supervisor Props Supervisor

Ben Arkell Poppy Hall Lisa Buckley

Company Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Assistant Stage Managers Head Chaperone Chaperones

Linda Fitzpatrick Julia Crammer Zoë Lyndon-Smith Daisy Vahey Janette McAlpine Jenny Beadle, Boo Chapman, Sue O’Donoghue, Sue O’Keeffe, Becky Stuckey

Production credits: Set built by Deadline TML and painted by Richard Nutbourne Scenic; Production Carpenters Jon Barnes and Tom Humphrey; Lighting hires supplied by White Light; Costumes made by Emily Kingston Lee and Academy Costumes; Costume dyeing/break down by Gabrielle Frith; Costumes Hires supplied by Peris Costumes, National Theatre Costume Hire, Bristol Costume Services; Additional Props by Michael Smart at Smart Models; Transport by Paul Mathew Transport; Rehearsal Room American Church.

Additional choral music recorded at Chichester Cathedral by Charles Harrison, Organist and Master of the Choristers; Timothy Ravalde, Assistant Organist; and choristers Aubrey Abbott Barrington, Joscelin Allport, Mylie-Rose Ampim, Mylla Ampim, Malaki Conteh, Julia Muscat, Yazdan Niazi Boroumand, Max Reidy, Jasper Severne, Samuel Severne, James Tagoe, Beatrice Way and Henry Way. With thanks to Richard Pusey of The Foundling Museum; Chichester Cathedral; Phillip Granell; Liz Flint; Matt Smith; Wendy Gadian at The Royal Central School of Drama and her third year Musical Theatre actors; and CFYT members Lily Barkes, Annalise Bradbury, Daisy Chapman, Richard Chapman, Olivia Dickens, Spencer Dixon, Poppy Lloyd, Jack Mallender, Luka Mechergui, Frankie McBride, Charlotte Stubbs and Jack Walter-Nelson.

Rehearsal and production photographs Manuel Harlan Programme consultant Fiona Richards Programme design Davina Chung Cover image Bob King Creative Supported by the Coram Boy Supporters Circle: Margaret Bamford, Anthony Clark, Karen Coburn, Veronica J Dukes, John and Joanna Dunstan, Steve and Sheila Evans, Liz Fox, Catherine and Charles Hindson, John and Chrissie Lieurance, Elizabeth Miles, Peter and Nita Mitchell-Heggs, Caroline Nelson, Peter and Sally Nicholson, Lindy Riesco, David Shalit MBE and Sophie Shalit, Dr Linda Shaw OBE, Jackie and Alan Sherling, Greg and Katherine Slay, Howard M Thompson, Clare and Hugh Twiss, Ernest Yelf, Bryan Warnett, and all those who wish to remain anonymous.

Sponsored by

ChichesterFestivalTheatre

ChichesterFT

ChichesterTheatre

ChichesterFT

ChichesterFT

Cast Biographies Will Antenbring Alexander Ashbrook Theatre while training includes There Is A War, Banana Boys, The Welkin, A Monster Calls, Mercury Fur, The Winter’s Tale, A Breakfast of Eels. This is Will’s professional stage debut.

Television includes Mr Loverman.

Films include the shorts The Bridges We Cross and Sugar Babies.

Trained at Italia Conti Academy and National Youth Theatre.

Louisa Binder Young Alexander / Aaron Dangerfield Coram Boy is Louisa’s professional stage debut.

Rebecca Hayes Will Antenbring

Television includes Hotel Portofino (series 1, 2 & 3).

Trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Pandora Clifford Lady Ashbrook / Mrs Hendry Theatre includes Eleanor in The Plant Hunters, Olivia in Twelfth Night (London Touring Players); Millie Crocker-Harris in The Browning Version (Rapture Theatre Company); Barbara Castlemaine/Louise de Keroualle in Nell Gwynn (English Touring Theatre); Mother in The Railway Children (Waterloo Station); Charlotte in Monsters Reading (Leicester Square Theatre); Amanda in Private Lives (Oxford

Shakespeare Company); Louise in W for Banker (New End Theatre); Rachel Brookes in The Ones That Flutter (Theatre503); Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (Giraffe for BAC); Brooke Ashton in Noises Off (West End); Boy in The Ecstatic Bible (The Wrestling School/Adelaide Festival); Alison in Look Back in Anger (UK tour); Bessie in Ride Down Mount Morgan (Derby Playhouse); Elizabeth in Frankenstein (Theatre Royal York); Echo in Blow Your Mind (Mermaid Theatre); Goneril in King Lear (National Youth Theatre); Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Hot Air Company); title role in Ondine (Shaw Theatre).

Television includes The Crown, Doctors, Hitmen: Reloaded, Victoria, Press, Fearless, Asylum, Casualty, Dracula, EastEnders, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Wallander, Louisa Binder Rhianna Dorris

Taggart, Family Affairs, Family, Chambers, Poirot, The Bill, Dunroamin’, People of the Forest.

Radio includes Doctor Who, Separate Tables, Daughters of Britannia.

Audiobooks include Bird Spotting in a Small Town.

Films include Blackwater Lane, Rupert Rupert and Rupert, Anti-Social, Telstar, Two Days Nine Lives, Kicking Again, Sympathy with the Devil, Superwoman.

Trained at LAMDA and National Youth Theatre.

Rhianna Dorris Angel / Melissa Milcote Theatre includes Ensemble/2nd cover Peggy in 42nd Street (Sadler’s Wells & UK tour); Lyra in Antigone (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Tallulah in Bugsy Malone

(Lyric Hammersmith); Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Alice in Matilda (Cambridge Theatre).

Television includes Lockwood & Co, Impulse Campaign, The Secret Life of Boys.

Films include The Kid Who Would Be King and the short Black Of My Eye. Trained at D&B Performing Arts.

Holly Freeman Isobel Ashbrook Theatre includes The Visit (National Theatre); Laura in The Glass Menagerie, Jane Hogarth in The Art of Success, Bernadette in Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, Marie in Pains of Youth, Nina in The Seagull (Italia Conti); Romaine Patterson Pandora Clifford Chi-San Howard

in The Laramie Project (Italia Conti/ Edinburgh Fringe); Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Stephano in The Tempest (Shakespeare’s Globe/Gifted & Talented Company).

Television includes My Lady Jane, Better Things, Midsomer Murders, 4 O’ Clock Club, Casualty, Call the Midwife.

Films include the short Let It Flow.

Trained at Italia Conti and The Brit School.

Aled Gomer Meshak Gardiner Theatre includes Bloody Captain/Murderer 1 in Macbeth, Alfie in Mad Margot, Dr Willis/ Fred in The Welkin, title role in Edward II, Clown 2 in The 39 Steps, Nikolai in Anna

Karenina (Richard Burton Company); Sir John in The Hypocrite (RWCMD); Yepikhodov in The Cherry Orchard (Drama Centre). This is Aled’s professional stage debut.

Films include the shorts Get Ready With Me, Growing Pains, I Know a Place.

Trained at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Harry Gostelow Sir William Ashbrook London theatre includes Untouchable (RADA Festival); First Episode (Jermyn Street); The Diver (Soho); Pinocchio (Lyric Hammersmith); The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, Hamlet, King Lear, The Antipodes (Shakespeare’s Globe).

Jewelle Hutchinson Aled Gomer Louisa Binder

Other theatre includes national and international tours of Ten Times Table and Party Piece (Windsor), The Importance of Being Earnest (Greenwich), Puntila and His Man Matti and Ivanov (Almeida), and Measure for Measure (Nottingham Playhouse); It’s Her Turn Now, House on Cold Hill, 2 into 1, Out of Order, Funny Money, It Runs in the Family, Father of the Bride, Run for your Wife, How The Other Half Loves, Taking Steps and Joking Apart (Mill at Sonning); The Titfield Thunderbolt, Deathtrap, Sherlock’s Last Case, Anybody for Murder? (Southwold); Art, Come Blow Your Horn, Mr and Mrs Nobody, The Norman Trilogy, Absent Friends, 84 Charing Cross Road (Frinton).

Television includes Doc Martin, The

Canterville Ghost, The Crown, Call the Midwife, The Long Song, Endeavour, Howards End, Sherlock, Miss Austen Regrets, EastEnders, Midsomer Murders, Stella, After Thomas, Foyle’s War, Coconut.

Films include Holmes and Watson, Rebecca, Shakespeare in Love, AKA. Trained at Webber Douglas.

Tallulah Greive Alice Ashbrook / Molly Jenkins Theatre includes Kitty in Anna Karenina (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh & Bristol Old Vic).

Television includes Boarders, My Lady Jane, Penance, Flatmates, Millie Inbetween (series 1-4), MI High (series 6).

Radio includes Dead Ends (Radio City).

Films include Cinderella, Locked Down, Our Ladies.

Tallulah was longlisted for a BIFA 2021 in the Breakthrough Performance category.

Rebecca Hayes Holly Freeman

Rebecca Hayes Young Thomas Ledbury / Fight Captain Theatre includes Mayella in To Kill a Mockingbird (West End); Jax in the world premiere of Feral Monster (National Theatre Wales); title role in Peter Pan (Sherman Theatre); originated the role of Trixie in The Invincibles (Queen’s Theatre); originated the role of Robin in The Rhythmics (Southwark Playhouse); Little Fan in A Christmas Carol (Bristol Old Vic); Grusche in The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru).

Television includes Bex, The Pact, Bang, Bregus, 35 Awr, The Bastard Executioner.

Radio includes Found, Endo.

Trained at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Tom Hier Dr Smith / Thomas Ledbury Theatre includes Banquo in Lady M (Shanghai Culture Square); Welsh of the

West End (worldwide); Chris in Miss Saigon (international tour); Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK tour); Jack in The Dreamers (Abbey Road Studios); Policeman in CinderELLA (NST); Chuck in Footloose (UK tour); Matt in Bare (The Vaults); Bryn at 50 (Royal Albert Hall); Only Men Aloud (UK Tour).

Television includes Britain’s Got Talent Live Finals; Brotherhood, I Can See Your Voice, Nadolig OBA, Stella, The Ashes.

Recordings include FIFA World Cup; On the Road; Aloud at Christmas.

Trained at Guildford School of Acting.

Tom runs an established coaching business and is Associate Faculty at the Guildford School of Acting.

YouTube: tomhierofficial Instagram: tomhierofficial

Harry Gostelow Debbie Korley

Jewelle Hutchinson Miss Price / Toby Gaddarn Jewelle made her professional debut in the title role in Cinderella at Nottingham Playhouse, 2023.

Trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, BA Hons in Musical Theatre.

Debbie Korley Mrs Milcote Theatre includes Suzie in Disruption (Park Theatre); Yolande of Aragon in I Joan, Woman 1/Patience/Elizabeth I in Henry VIII (Shakespeare’s Globe); Der Untergang Des Hauses Usher (Burgtheater Vienna & Ruhrtriennale Festival Germany); Mercy Pryce in The Whip, Sam York in A Museum in Baghdad, Alcibiadies in Timon of Athens, Zabina/Syria in Tamburlaine (RSC); King Lear, American Trade, Little Eagles, Morte D’Arthur, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Grain Store, As You Like It (RSC); The

Comedy of Errors (RSC/Told By An Idiot); Welcome to the Home, Prurience (Southbank Centre); Mercy Jones in Acceptance (Hampstead); title role in Beowulf (Unicorn); The Residents (Teatro Vivo/Albany Theatre); Cargo (Arcola); Regan in King Lear (Talawa/Manchester Royal Exchange/Birmingham Rep); Boi Boi is Dead (WYP/Watford Palace/Tiata Fahodzi); Black Jesus (Finborough); Too Clever By Half (Manchester Royal Exchange). A Matter of Life and Death, Coram Boy (National Theatre); Whistle Down The Wind (West End/UK tour).

Television includes Casualty, Holby City, Delicious, Doctors, Green Balloon Club, Holy Smoke, Night and Day, Night Fever.

Radio includes What Really Happened in the Nineties, The Archers, Murmuration, Behind Closed Doors, The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, The Republicans: George W Bush – A Higher Father, The Unwelcome, The Bulbul was Singing, Inspector Chen: Hold Your Breath, Flying Visits, Fear, Daphne: A Fire in Malta, I’m Dying to Help, Tom Hier

Madame Tempy, A Woman on the Edge of Time, Le Festival de Men, Gudrun, Keeping the Wolf Out, Home Front, Dr Who: Sontarans vs Rutans/The Eighth of March 2022: Prism/Gallifrey.

Films include The Ones Below, King Lear.

Milo McCarthy Edward Ashbrook / Movement Captain Theatre includes Gatch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Southwark Playhouse); Billy in Birds and Bees (Sheffield Theatre & UK tour); cover Jean-Michel in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Hope Mill Theatre).

Films include Principal Boy. Trained at Italia Conti.

Jo McInnes Mrs Lynch Theatre includes Romeo and Juliet (Almeida); Medea (SohoPlace); The Corn is Green, Martirio in The House of Bernarda Alba, The Children’s Hour (National Theatre);

Jo McInnes Samuel Oatley

The Jungle (Young Vic, Playhouse Theatre & St Ann’s Warehouse NY); 4.48 Psychosis (St Ann’s Warehouse); Wastewater, Fleshwound, Bluebird, 4.48 Psychosis (Royal Court); The Herbal Bed, As You Like It, The General from America (RSC); Uncle Vanya (Young Vic); M.A.D. (Bush); On Blindness, Dirty Butterfly (Soho Theatre); Queen Isabella in Edward II (Sheffield Crucible).

Television includes This England, Eternal Law, Five Daughters, Material Girl, Recovery, Afterlife, Sorted, The World of Impressionists, Spooks, Living It, Playing the Field.

Films include Me and Orson Welles, The New Romantics, My Wife is an Actress, Birthday Girl, Gangster No 1.

Jo also works extensively as a director.

Trained at Rose Bruford College with a BA (Hons) in Acting.

James Staddon Theodore Claymore / George Frideric Handel Previously at Chichester, Sotmore in Lock Up Your Daughters (Festival Theatre).

Theatre includes Mr Burke in Girl From The North Country (UK/Ireland tour); Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol, Burgundy in King Lear (Old Vic); Mr Miller/ARP Warden in Goodnight Mr Tom (Duke of York’s); James Lingk in Glengarry Glen Ross, Azaire/ Gray in Birdsong (UK tours); Hardy/Sgt Major in Journey’s End (Duke of York’s);

Samuel Oatley Otis Gardiner / Philip Gaddarn Theatre includes Camillo in The Winter’s Tale, Gratiano and Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse); Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Paris/Prince and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Maria in Twelfth Night, Banquo in Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe); Dave in Any Means Necessary (Nottingham Playhouse); Lord Grey/Mayor of London/Murderer 2/ Messenger in Richard III (Nottingham Playhouse/York Theatre Royal); The Duke of Cornwall in King Lear (Theatre Royal Bath); Phillip in The Shape of Things (RADA); Jessop in Incarcerator (Old Red Lion); RP McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rochester in Playhouse Creatures (BAC).

Television includes Strike, Small Axe, Cursed, Doctor Who, Man Down, Witless, New Tricks, Partners in Crime, Endeavour, Casualty, Breathless, Holby City, Law and Order: UK, Midsomer Murders, The Bill, Little Devil, Doctors, Pickles, Bad Girls, The Taming of the Shrew, Foyle’s War, No Sweat.

Films include Gentlemen of the Road, Hard Light, Solomon, The Boxer, Teeth, Magpie Sings the Blues, Initiation, Hush Your Mouth, War Hero, Honeymoon, 357, Myria, London Love Story.

Holly Freeman Rebecca Hayes Tallulah Greive Milo McCarthy Rhianna Dorris Louisa Binder Tom Hier Jewelle Hutchinson

Thomas Putnam in The Crucible (RSC/ Gielgud); Le Bret in Cyrano De Bergerac (Haymarket); Leo Colston in The Go Between, Ross in Macbeth (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Javert in Les Misérables (Palace); John in Miss Saigon (Drury Lane); Henry Thompson in King (Piccadilly); Jupiter/Philario in Cymbeline, Amiens in As You Like It, 1st Watch in The Tamer Tamed (RSC Stratford/America); Priest in The Winter’s Tale, Ship’s Master/Juno in The Tempest, Thalliard in Pericles (RSC Roundhouse/Stratford); Mr James in Gone To Earth (Shared Experience/Lyric Hammersmith); Macheath in The Beggar’s Opera (Bridewell); Athos in The Three

Musketeers (Scandinavian tour); Frank Byrne in Food (BAC/UK tour); Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (Bristol Old Vic); Magnus in Moonshadow (Royal Albert Hall/ stadium tour).

Television includes Bodyguard, Upstairs Downstairs, The Cut, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors, Midsomer Murders, EastEnders, Casualty, My Family, Between the Lines, Tripods.

Films include I Came By, Agatha and The Curse of Ishtar, Dark Communion, Storm, Hamlet.

Creative Team Emma Chapman Lighting Designer Theatre includes Self-Raising (Graeae/ Edinburgh Fringe/UK tour); The Third Man, Christina Bianco: In Divine Company, Marjorie Prime (Menier Chocolate Factory); The Mirror Crack’d (UK tour); The Lion (Southwark Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Company); Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan (Rose Theatre Kingston); The Ruff Tuff Cream Puff Estate Agency (Belgrade Theatre Coventry); Ghost Quartet (Boulevard Theatre Soho); The Mountaintop (Theatre 503 & Trafalgar Studios); The Painter (Arcola Theatre); Rosenbaum’s Rescue (Park Theatre); Kiss Me, Kate (Théâtre du Châtelet Paris, Théâtre de Anna Ledwich

la Ville Luxembourg, Oper Graz); Utility (Orange Tree Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatr Clwyd); The Human Ear (Paines Plough); Joanne (Clean Break Theatre Company & Soho Theatre); Boi Boi is Dead (Leeds Theatre Trust & West Yorkshire Playhouse); Rose (Edinburgh Fringe); The Machine Gunners, The Planet and Stuff, Run (Polka Theatre); Dublin Carol (Donmar); Sex with a Stranger (Trafalgar Studios); Three Sea Plays (Old Vic Tunnels); Parallel Hamlet (Young Vic); Dick Whittington (Bury St Edmunds).

Opera and Ballet includes Aci by the River (London Handel Festival); The Seven Deadly Sins (London Philharmonic Orchestra, BAC); The Paradis Files (Graeae

Theatre Company, UK tour); Xerxes, Carmen (Royal Northern College of Music); Così fan tutte (Royal College of Music); The Pied Piper (Opera North); Il Turco in Italia (Angers/Nantes Opera & Luxembourg); Rumpelstiltskin (London Children’s Ballet, Peacock Theatre).

With Lucy Osborne and Howard Eaton, Emma designed and realised The Stage Awards ‘Theatre Building of the Year 2015’ – Roundabout commissioned by Paines Plough.

Trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Bethan Clark Fight and Intimacy Director Bethan Clark is a Fight Director, Intimacy Director and Senior Teacher with the British Academy of Dramatic Combat.

Previously at Chichester, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CFYT at West Dean Gardens).

Credits include Romeo and Juliet (RSC); Cowbois (RSC & Royal Court); A Little Princess (Theatre by the Lake); Wendy: A Peter Pan Story (Theatre Royal Bath/ The Egg); Romeo and Juliet (Royal Exchange Manchester); God of Carnage (Lyric Hammersmith); The Swell (Orange Tree Theatre); Sovereign, Hello and Goodbye, A View from the Bridge, Everything is Possible: The York Suffragettes (York Theatre Royal); The Odyssey Episode 5 – The Underworld (NT Public Acts); Dixon and Daughters (National Theatre/Clean Break); The Lavender Hill Mob (UK tour); The Prince (Southwark Playhouse); HEX (as Fight Consultant, National Theatre); The Witness (Avant Cymru); Snowflakes (Dissident Theatre/Park 90); My Brother’s Keeper (Theatre 503); As You Like It (Northern Broadsides); The Bolds, Marvin’s Binoculars (The Unicorn); The Last Ship (Northern Stage & US tour); Macbeth (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch/Derby Playhouse); Our Lady of Kibeho (Royal & Derngate/Theatre Royal Stratford East); The Effect (English Theatre Frankfurt); My Beautiful Laundrette (Leicester Curve); Lord of the Flies (Theatr Clwyd/Sherman Theatre); As You Like It (NT Public Acts/ Queens Theatre Hornchurch); Othello (Liverpool Everyman); Thick As Thieves (Clean Break/Theatr Clwyd); Kes (Leeds Playhouse); Mold Riots (Theatre Clwyd); The Hired Man (Queen’s Hornchurch/Hull Truck/Oldham Coliseum).

Helen Edmundson Writer Helen Edmundson’s plays include Small Island, adapted from the novel of the same name by Andrea Levy, staged at the National Theatre; Coram Boy (Olivier nomination and Time Out Award) and War

and Peace at the National and on Broadway; Queen Anne (also in the West End) and The Heresy of Love (also at Shakespeare’s Globe) for the RSC; The Clearing (John Whiting Award) at The Bush; Mother Teresa is Dead at the Royal Court; and Mary Shelley at the Tricycle and on tour for Shared Experience.

Other theatre includes Life is a Dream at the Donmar; Thérèse Raquin at Theatre Royal Bath and on Broadway; and Anna Karenina (TMA Award) and The Mill on the Floss (Time Out Award) for Shared

The company

Experience, in the West End and on national and international tour. Musical adaptations include Swallows and Amazons (co-writer) at Bristol Old Vic, in the West End and on tour.

Film and television includes An Inspector Calls (PGA Award), Mary Magdalene, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, the 8-part MGM+ drama Belgravia: The Next Chapter, and three seasons of Dalgliesh for Acorn.

She is an associate artist at the RSC and is recipient of the Windham Campbell Literature Prize.

Jamila Gavin Novelist Jamila Gavin was born in Mussoorie, India, with an Indian father and an English mother.

The family finally settled in England where she completed her schooling and studied at Trinity College of Music, and subsequently in Paris and Berlin. After a career at the BBC, she began writing children’s books after starting a family.

Since her first book, The Magic Orange Tree was published in 1979, she has produced numerous collections of short

stories including Grandpa Chatterji, which was short-listed for the Smarties Award, and which she dramatised for television.

Among the several novels she has written, The Wheel of Surya, which was the first of the Surya Trilogy, was runner-up for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award. Her latest novel, Never Forget You, set in WW2, was published in 2023, with another due to be published next year: My Soul A Shining Tree, set in Flanders in WW1.

Coram Boy was published to critical acclaim in 2000 and won the Children’s

Whitbread Award, as well as being short listed for the Carnegie Medal. Helen Edmundson’s stage adaptation had two highly successful runs at the National Theatre in 2005/6 as well as a short run on Broadway; Jamila also adapted it for Radio 4’s Classic Serial.

Her first original radio play, The God at The Gate was broadcast on Radio 4. She adapted her children’s book, The Monkey in the Stars as a play, and Just So, based on Rudyard Kipling’s Just So stories, both for the Polka Theatre.

Jamila is a regular visitor to the schools and libraries all over the country for her work. jamilagavin.com Marlie Haco Assistant Director Theatre as Director & Dramaturg includes Hippo (The Juilliard), Spark (Theatre Deli), Good Day (VAULT Festival), Vengeance (Pleasance Theatre), Proud (King’s Head Theatre), Lovesick (Hen & Chickens, Hope Theatre), Words Without Consent (tour, Brighton Fringe, Camden Fringe, Southwark Stephen Higgins

Playhouse & Edinburgh Fringe), Chinese Boxing (tour, Norwich Fringe & Playground Theatre), The Second Coming of Joan of Arc (Etcetera Theatre); as Dramaturg The Bread Diaries (LAMDA), I Minnie Lansbury (RADA Studios), Nightfall (White Bear Theatre), Blue Bottles (Lion & Unicorn Theatre), Nelly (livestreamed), Hand To Mouth (Pleasance Theatre); as Director Transpeare (Hamilton House); as Associate Director Antigone (Corpus Playroom); as Assistant Director Anthropology, Mary (Hampstead Theatre), La Dispute (Hamilton House); as Movement Director Far from the Madding Crowd (ADC Theatre).

She was Resident Director at Hampstead Theatre (2022-23); is a Workshop Leader/Facilitator for organisations and charities including The Actor Inside, Central School of Speech and Drama, Hampstead Theatre, One to One, The Stuart Low Trust, The Space, and atto workshops; and is a Reader for The Painkiller Prize, The Phoebe Frances-Brown Award, Climate Change Theatre Action, and The Verity Bargate Award. Marlie is Artistic

Director of theatre company Double Telling.

Trained at University of Cambridge and Central School of Speech and Drama. marliehaco.com Stephen Higgins Musical Director Stephen Higgins is a conductor, musical director, arranger and producer who has worked extensively in major opera houses, theatres and festivals in the UK and abroad.

He has conducted The Way Back Home (Young Vic & Opera de Paris); Dr Dee (Manchester Festival & ENO, recorded for EMI); The Duchess of Malfi (ENO/ Punchdrunk); The Magic Flute (ENO); Owen Wingrave (Bastille); Thais (Chelsea Opera Group); L’Elisir d’amore (Opera Holland Park); Don Giovanni (Porto Festival); produced, arranged and conducted a reimagining of Don Pasquale (WNO); A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George (Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris); Crazy for You (Gothenburg); Sweeney Todd (Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Bergen);

James Staddon

Phantom of the Opera (West End).

Stephen is musical director for the experimental opera company Silent Opera.

He regularly performs in cabaret with artists including Janie Dee, A J Casey, Clive Rowe and Henry Goodman and works as a vocal coach and guest chorus master.

Recent projects include Theatre of Sound, a new production and re-orchestrations of Bluebeard’s Castle (UK, New Zealand, Canada and China tours & 2023 Edinburgh International Festival); musical director for Into the Woods (Theatre Royal Bath); re-orchestrating Britten’s Billy Budd for a small ensemble to be performed in prisons; two opera commissions for the Rotterdam and Reykjavik festivals; a comic film for WNO, an art installation of Schoenberg (Bolzano Festival Italy), and curation of a gala concert to launch the London Climate Change Festival broadcast to coincide with Earth Day. Studied at Oxford University, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and National Opera Studio London.

Simon Higlett Designer Previously at Chichester, The Chalk Garden, The Norman Conquests, Mrs Pat, Amadeus, Stevie (also Hampstead); The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Singin’ in the Rain, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Collaboration/ Taking Sides, Nicholas Nickleby (all West End transfers); A Marvellous Year for Plums, The Grapes of Wrath, The Circle, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. For CFYT: The Jungle Book, The Wind in the Willows, Pinocchio, The Butterfly Lion, The Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty, The Midnight Gang, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, A Christmas Carol, The Witches, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Current and recent designs include Laughing Boy (Jermyn Street), Tosca (Grange Festival), Private Lives, Noises Off (West End & UK tours), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (UK tour), Derren Brown’s Showman (West End/UK tour), The Barber of Seville (Garsington), The Yeoman of the Guard (Grange Festival), Big the Musical (West End), Song At Twilight, Racing Demon (Bath), Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute (Scottish Opera), Singin’ in the Rain (West End/international tour).

Other highlights: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (UK tour), Twelfth Night, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won (RSC/West End), Blithe Spirit (West End/ USA), The Price (Bath/West End), All Our Children (Jermyn Street), The Force of Change (Royal Court), Yes Prime Minister, Amy’s View, Hay Fever (West End), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Donmar), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Stockholm), Haunted (off-Broadway), The Importance of Being Earnest, Mrs Warren’s Profession (Washington DC), Peer Gynt, The Brothers Karamazov (Manchester Royal Exchange), Enemies, Whistling Psyche, The Earthly Paradise (Almeida), Kean, Pygmalion (Old Vic), A Russian In The Woods, Singer, Thomas More (all RSC).

Chi-San Howard Anna Ledwich

Chi-San Howard Movement Director Previously at Chichester, The Jungle Book, The Taxidermist’s Daughter (Festival Theatre), The Narcissist, Never Have I Ever (Minerva Theatre).

Movement credits include The Earthworks (Young Vic), The Odyssey (The Unicorn), A Little Princess (Theatre by the Lake); Grenfell: in the words of survivors (National Theatre/St Ann’s Warehouse, New York); The Pillowman (Duke of York’s Theatre); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Southwark Playhouse Elephant); Private Lives (Donmar Warehouse); Faun (Cardboard Citizens/Theatre503); Beginning, Betty! A Sort of Musical, Glee and Me (Royal Exchange); Les Misérables

(Sondheim Theatre/UK tour/Netherlands/ Belgium tour); O, Island, Ivy Tiller: Vicar’s Daughter, Squirrel Killer (Royal Shakespeare Company); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare North/Northern Stage); Chasing Hares (Young Vic); That Is Not Who I Am/Rapture, Living Newspaper Ed 5 (Royal Court); Corrina, Corrina (Headlong/ Liverpool Everyman); Anna Karenina (Sheffield Crucible); Two Billion Beats, The Sugar Syndrome (Orange Tree Theatre); Aladdin (Lyric Hammersmith); Milk and Gall, Fairytale Revolution, In Event of Moone Disaster (Theatre503); Arrival (Impossible Productions); Typical Girls (Clean Break/ Sheffield Crucible); Just So (Watermill Theatre); Home, I’m Darling (Theatre by the Lake/Bolton Octagon/Stephen Joseph

Theatre); Harm (Bush Theatre); Sunnymeade Court (Defibrillator Theatre); The Effect (English Theatre Frankfurt); Oor Wullie (Dundee Rep/national tour); Variations (Dorfman Theatre/NT Connections); Skellig (Nottingham Playhouse); Under the Umbrella (Belgrade Theatre/Yellow Earth/ Tamasha); Describe the Night (Hampstead Theatre); Cosmic Scallies (Royal Exchange Manchester/Graeae); Moth (Hope Mill Theatre); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Scarlet, The Tempest (Southwark Playhouse).

TV includes Leo Reich: Literally, Who Cares?! Comedy Special.

Films include Hurt By Paradise, Birds of Paradise and music videos for Orla Gartland (Pretending), Joesef (I Wonder Why).

Anna Ledwich Director Anna began her directing career at Theatre503 where she directed a number of world premieres before being made an Associate Director in 2005. She was awarded the Michael and Morvern Heller Director’s Bursary at Chichester Festival Theatre where she assisted directors such as Richard Eyre and Rupert Goold.

In 2012 Anna was made co-Artistic Director of CFT’s Theatre on the Fly. Her adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s The Butterfly Lion premiered at the Minerva Theatre in 2019; for Chichester Festival Youth Theatre she has written Crossing Lines, a promenade performance, which premiered in 2019, and adaptations of Pinocchio (2020, revived in 2021) and Beauty and the Beast (2017).

Anna received the Gate Theatre/ Tom Hier and the company

Headlong New Directions Award for her adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s Lulu in 2010 and was nominated for the 2015 Olivier Award Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for her production of Four Minutes Twelve Seconds at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, which subsequently transferred to Trafalgar Studios.

Anna worked on The Stick House for Raucous Collective and Bristol OId Vic, a site specific performance which took place in tunnels underneath Bristol Temple Meads Station in September 2015. In 2016 Anna directed three plays at Hampstead Theatre; The Argument by William Boyd, Labyrinth

by Beth Steel and Kiss Me by Richard Bean (which later transferred to Trafalgar Studios).

In 2018 she directed Luke Barnes’ new play No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution at Hampstead Theatre and she was also Chichester Festival Theatre’s

(Hampstead Theatre); Village Idiot, One Night in Miami (Nottingham Playhouse); Henry V (Shakespeare’s Globe/Headlong); Hamlet (Bristol Old Vic); The Children (also Broadway), Ophelias Zimmer (Royal Court); Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen, Old Bridge (Bush Theatre); The Homecoming, My Cousin Rachel (Theatre Royal Bath); The Syndicate, Murder in the Dark, The Mirror Crack’d, Wish You Were Dead, The Circle, Looking Good Dead (national tours); Humble Boy, Blue/ Heart, The Distance (Orange Tree Theatre).

Opera and Ballet includes The Limit (Royal Ballet); The Marriage of Figaro (Salzburg Festival); Miranda (Opéra Comique, Paris); Hansel and Gretel (BYO/ Opera Holland Park); Scraww (Trebah Gardens).

Online includes The System, Barnes’ People, The Haunting of Alice Bowles (Original Theatre); 15 Heroines (Digital Theatre).

Max is an Associate Artist of The Faction and Silent Opera.

Awards include Off West End Award for Sound Design for Old Bridge.

writer in residence.

Most recently Anna directed Anthropology at Hampstead Theatre written by Lauren Gunderson and directed Godzonia for Q Theatre, Auckland and Photograph 51 for Ensemble Theatre, Sydney.

Max Pappenheim Composer and Sound Designer Previously at Chichester, Macbeth (Festival Theatre).

Recent theatre includes The Night of the Iguana, Cruise (West End); Crooked Dances (Royal Shakespeare Company); Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Shed: Exploded View (Royal Exchange); A Doll’s House Part 2, The Way of the World (Donmar Warehouse); The Divine Mrs S, Nineteen Gardens, Blackout Songs, Linck and Mülhahn, Labyrinth

Susanna Peretz Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Designer Previously at Chichester The Other Boleyn Girl, Assassins, Doubt, The Long Song, Plenty (Festival Theatre), Hedda Tesman (Minerva Theatre).

Theatre includes Macbeth (London/ Washington DC); The Time Traveller’s Wife (Apollo Theatre); Player Kings (Noël Coward Theatre); A Little Life (Harold Pinter Theatre); Noises Off (Garrick Theatre); The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Very Very Very Dark Matter, Julius Caesar (Bridge Theatre); Death of a Salesman, Wings (Young Vic); Ghost Stories, Bugsy Malone, Tipping the Velvet, City of Glass (Lyric Hammersmith); Peter Pan (Regent’s Park); The Last Ship (UK tour); Pity, Prudes, Gun Dog, Girls and Boys, Road, Birdland, Hangmen (also West End) (Royal Court); Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (also NT Live), Don Juan in Soho, The Exorcist (West End); Machinal, The Game,

Mr Burns, Medea, The Treatment, Carmen Disruption, Mary Stuart (also West End), Oresteia (also Trafalgar Studios), Hamlet (also West End), The Duchess of Malfi (Almeida); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Old Vic); The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic/Trafalgar Studios); The Humans (BAM, NY); The Way of the World, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Teddy Ferrara (Donmar Warehouse); Witness for the Prosecution (London Court House).

Opera includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Aldeburgh Festival); Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are, Dark Mirror, Curlew River (Barbican/US tour); The Illuminated Heart (Lincoln Centre, NY); Greek (Scottish Opera).

Film and TV includes My Sisters Bones, Hamlet, Prisoners of Paradise, The Show, Electric Dreams, In The Dark Half, His Heavy Heart, Jimmy’s End, Showpieces and The company

Skeletons (BAFTA nominee and Michael Powell Award-winner). susannaperetzfx.com Annelie Powell CDG Casting Director Alice Walters Casting Assistant Theatre includes Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder (West End & UK tour); Now That’s What I Call a Musical (ROYO/UK tour); A Taste of Honey (Royal Exchange); Oliver!, In Dreams, Wendy and Peter Pan (Leeds Playhouse); Of Mice and Men, What’s New Pussycat? (Birmingham Rep); Unexpected Twist, The Pope (Royal & Derngate); Alice’s Adventures Underground (Les Enfants Terribles); The Other Place Fest (RSC); The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Theatre Royal Stratford East); One Man Two Guvnors (NST/New Wolsey Theatre); CinderELLA,

The Shadow Factory (NST); The House of Shades, Vassa (Almeida); Faustus: That Damned Woman (Headlong/Lyric Hammersmith); The Weatherman (Park Theatre); Pavilion (Theatr Clwyd); Cougar (Orange Tree/ETT); Billionaire Boy, Fantastic Mr Fox (NST & UK tours); Othello (UK tour & Dubai Opera); Wolfie, Moone Disaster, Cotton Wool (Theatre503); The Audience (Nuffield Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire (NST/Theatr Clwyd/ETT); The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (Tower of London); Othello/ Macbeth (Lyric Hammersmith); Don Carlos (Rose Theatre/NST/Northcott); Babette’s Feast (Print Room); Freedom on the Tyne (Freedom City Newcastle); Three Sisters (Lyric Belfast); The Summer Book, The Prince and the Pauper (Unicorn Theatre); I Killed Rasputin (Assembly Rooms Edinburgh); Even Stillness Breathes (Soho); Horrible Histories (Birmingham Stage Will Antenbring

Company); Dead Kid Songs (Theatre Royal Bath); but I cd only whisper, Boy on the Swing (Arcola).

Television includes Testament, The River Cruise Romances, Christmas in the Cotswolds, Rita (UK Casting Director), Goldie’s Oldies, Trying (Children’s Casting Associate).

Films include Dragonkeeper, Deep Blue Sea 3, Another Day of Life and the shorts I Remember You, Limbo, Thank You Hater!

Joel Trill Voice and Dialect Coach Previously at Chichester, joint Voice and Dialect Coach for The Long Song (Festival Theatre).

Recent theatre includes Beautiful Thing, Tambo and Bones (Theatre Royal Stratford East); A Strange Loop (Barbican); Patriots (Almeida/West End); Get Up, Stand Up

(Lyric Theatre); A Number (Old Vic); An Unfinished Man, The Half God of Rainfall (Kiln); Rockets and Blue Lights (Royal Exchange); Trojan Horse (Battersea Arts Centre); A Taste of Honey (Trafalgar Studios); Master Harold & The Boys (National Theatre); Two Trains Running (Royal & Derngate); Red Dust Road (National Theatre of Scotland); Shifters, Strange Fruit (Bush Theatre); J’Ouvert (Theatre 503); The Glass Menagerie (Arcola Theatre); One Love (Birmingham Rep); Princess and the Hustler (Bristol Old Vic); The Dark (Tobacco Factory, Bristol); Macbeth (Bord Gáis Energy); Yellowman (Young Vic); Assata Taught Me (Gate Theatre); A Bitter Herb (Gielgud Theatre).

Television includes Mr Loverman, Queen Charlotte, The Crown series 5 & 6, Murder is Easy, Call the Midwife, The Ballad of Renegade Nell, Riches, The Confessions

of Frannie Langton, Gangs of London, Citadel, My Name is Leon, There’s Something About Movies.

Films include A Real Pain, Empire, Queen & Slim, The Ancestors.

Trained at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Joel co-runs The Diaspora Accents for Actors Workshops.

Above: Louisa Binder Jewelle Hutchinson Left: Debbie Korley Holly Freeman Tallulah Greive Rebecca Hayes

Events

Coram Boy Pre-Show Talk

Post-Show Talk

Wednesday 29 May, 5.45pm Join director Anna Ledwich for a fascinating insight into how her production came together, with a chance to ask questions of your own. Anna is in conversation with best-selling author Kate Mosse.

Free but booking is essential.

Friday 14 June Stay after the performance to hear from company members about all the action behind the scenes and ask questions of your own.

Free Sponsored by Close Brothers Asset Management

Consider yourself part of the CFT family Get closer to CFT and become part of our community with our Learning, Education and Participation team (you can call them LEAP for short).

Whatever your age or ability, there’s something for you at CFT. From people who have been coming to CFT for years, to those who have never set foot in a theatre, we offer exciting opportunities for everyone from newborns to those in their 90s.

Weekly classes. One-off workshops. Long term projects to get your teeth into.

Our LEAP team does it all.

This is a space where experiences are created and shared, and where everyone can find their place. So come join us, and become part of our story.

‘Working at the theatre under many guises gave me a well-rounded knowledge of our industry and the support was always there and still is – I wouldn’t be where I am without it. Please never stop working tirelessly to grow us into the next generation.’

Former CFYT member

‘I’ve discovered abilities I never knew I had. The classes contribute greatly to my quality of life and to that of the wider community.’

Community participant

So many people think they know what we do here at CFT. But did you know that we offer: • Free Youth Theatre places for young carers and anyone from underprivileged backgrounds

• Groups for adults with disabilities

• A creative outlet for isolated individuals through our weekly Chatter Project

• Wellbeing support for participants, visiting cast and company members, and staff

• Weekly Festival Fridays for kids who find creative ways of learning more accessible

• Free Buddy support for anyone who feels unable to attend shows or classes on their own

• Work experience, training opportunities and apprenticeships

• Training opportunities in Technical Theatre And that’s really just scratching the surface of our LEAP team’s reach.

Visit cft.org.uk/get-closer or email leap@cft.org.uk to find out more and discover a way into CFT that’s right for you.

With thanks to all our amazing LEAP supporters who generously fund this work.

Help us hatch the next generation of talent We have an urgent need to build a third space for emerging artists, community groups and families.

Our solution is The Nest: a sustainably built performance venue nestled among the trees, providing a safe space to incubate exciting new projects.

It will be a home for community and families, late night and fringe-style events, and it will hatch the work of our Emerging Artists Development Programme.

Help us make our dream a reality The Nest will cost at least £1,500,000 and we need your support to make it happen.

‘The Nest offers an amazing opportunity on a local level and also, really importantly, stands CFT confidently as a national cultural leader and change maker.’

JUSTIN AUDIBERT, CFT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Registered Charity No. 1088552

Please donate today cft.org.uk/the-nest

Staff Trustees Mark Foster (Chairman) Neil Adleman Jessica Brown-Fuller Jean Vianney Cordeiro Paddy Dillon Tasha Gladman Vicki Illingworth Rear Admiral John Lippiett CB CBE Harry Matovu QC Caro Newling OBE Nick Pasricha Philip Shepherd Stephanie Street Hugh Summers

LEAP Ellen de Vere Matthew Downer

Youth & Outreach Trainee Cultural Learning & Participation Apprentice

Zoe Ellis Sally Garner-Gibbons

LEAP Co-ordinator Apprenticeship Co-ordinator

Matthew Hawksworth

Head of Children & Young People’s Programme

Hannah Hogg

Senior Youth & Outreach Manager

Shari A. Jessie Kate Potter

Creative Therapist Youth & Outreach Co-ordinator

Louise Rigglesford Directors Office Justin Audibert Kathy Bourne Keshira Aarabi Helena Berry Angela Buckley Miranda Cromwell Sophie Hobson Hannah Joss Patricia Key Aimée Massey Julia Smith

Artistic Director Executive Director Projects & Events Co-ordinator Heritage & Archive Manager Projects, Events & Green Book Co-ordinator Associate Director Creative Associate Associate Director (Literary) Executive PA Diversity, Inclusion & Change Consultant Company Secretary & Board Support

Building & Site Services Chris Edwards Maintenance Engineer Lez Gardiner Duty Engineer Daren Rowland Facilities Manager Graeme Smith Duty Engineer Costume Jessica Bolton Brooke Bowden Ev Butcher Isabelle Brook Helen Clark Chris Davenport Maddie Ecclestone Lily Eugene-Kelly Aly Fielden Helen Flower Helen Gardner Lysanne Goble Jobina Hardy Abigail Hart Kendal Love Lulu Millen

Dresser Wardrobe Manager Dresser Wardrobe Assistant Dresser Wardrobe Manager Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Trainee Dresser Wardrobe Manager Senior Costume Assistant Wardrobe Manager Wardrobe Assistant Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Assistant Wardrobe Assistant Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Manager Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Assistant

Paul Paintin

Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Manager

Natasha Pawluk

Deputy Wigs, Hair & Make-Up

Hannah Sinclair

Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Assistant

Loz Tait Colette Tulley Rachel Usher Eloise Wood

Head of Costume Wardrobe Maintenance Dresser Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Assistant

Development Nick Carmichael Development Officer Julie Field Friends Administrator Sophie Henstridge-Brown Head of Philanthropy Sarah Mansell Liz McCarthy-Nield Leo Powell Charlotte Stroud Karen Taylor Megan Wilson

Appeal Director Development Director Appeal Co-ordinator Development Manager Development Manager Events and Development Officer

Senior Community & Outreach Manager

Dale Rooks Angela Watkins

Director of LEAP LEAP Projects Manager

Marketing, Communications & Sales Josh Allan Assistant Box Office Manager Caroline Aston Becky Batten

Audience Insight Manager Head of Marketing (Maternity leave)

Laura Bern

Head of Marketing (Maternity cover)

Jessica Blake-Lobb

Marketing Manager (Corporate)

Helen Campbell Jay Godwin Lorna Holmes

Box Office Systems Manager Box Office Assistant Assistant Box Office Manager

Mollie Kent Box Office Assistant Stephanie McKelvey-Aves Box OfficeAssistant James Mitchell Sales & Marketing Assistant James Morgan Lucinda Morrison

Head of Sales & Ticketing Head of Press & Publications

Brian Paterson Kirsty Peterson Ben Phillips

Distribution Co-ordinator Box Office Assistant Marketing & Press Assistant

Catherine Rankin Vic Shead Luke Shires

Box Office Assistant Marketing Manager Director of Marketing & Communications

Jenny Thompson

Social Media & Digital Marketing Officer

Grace Upcraft Josh Vine Isobel Walter Claire Walters Joanna Wiege Jane Wolf

Box Office Assistant Box Office Assistant Marketing Officer Box Office Assistant Box Office Manager Box Office Assistant

People Paula Biggs Jenefer Francis Naz Jahir Emily Oliver Annie Thomas Bent Gillian Watkins

Simon Parsonage Amanda Trodd Protozoon Ltd

Payroll & Pensions Officer IT and AV Technician Purchase Ledger Assistant Finance Officer Assistant Management Accountant Interim Finance & Commercial Director Management Accountant IT Consultants

People Manager Accommodation Co-ordinator People Administrator HR Officer

Production Niamh Dilworth Producer Amelia Ferrand-Rook Senior Producer Robin Longley General Manager Claire Rundle Production Administrator George Waller Trainee Producer Nicky Wingfield Production Administrator Technical Sam Barnes Sound Technician Steph Bartle Deputy Head of Lighting Victoria Baylis Props Assistant Josh Bowles Senior Sound Technician Hannah Bracegirdle Sound Technician Finley Bradley Technical Theatre Apprentice Rebecca Cran Stage Crew & Stage Technician Sarah Crispin

Finance Alison Baker Rob Bloomfield Sally Cunningham Krissie Harte Katie Palmer

Head of People HR Officer (maternity leave)

Connor Divers Elise Fairbairn Zoe Gadd Ross Gardner Lyla Garner-Gibbons Sam Garner-Gibbons Jack Goodland Fuzz Guthrie Laura Hackett

Deputy Head of Props Workshop Lighting Technician Stage Technician Sound Technician Stage Crew Stores Assistant Technical Director Stage Crew & Auto Technician Senior Sound Technician Technical Apprentice

Jamie Hall Anaya Hammond Katie Hennessy Tom Hitchins Joe Jenner

Sound Technician Stage Crew Props Store Co-ordinator Head of Stage & Technical Production Manager Apprentice

Mike Keniger Head of Sound Bethany Knowles Stage Crew Andrew Leighton Senior Lighting Technician Ethan Low Stage Crew Charlotte Neville Head of Props Workshop Stuart Partrick Transport & Logistics Assistant Neil Rose Deputy Head of Sound Ernesto Ruiz Prop Maker Max Rusbridge Stage Crew Anna Setchell (Setch) Deputy Head of Stage James Sharples Senior Stage Crew & Rigger Sophie Spencer Laura Sprake Molly Stammers

Stage Crew Senior Lighting Technician Senior Lighting Technician

Graham Taylor Dominic Turner Linda Mary Wise Simon Woods

Head of Lighting Lighting Technician Sound Technician Stage Crew

Theatre Management Janet Bakose Judith Bruce-Hay Charlie Gardiner Ben Geering

Theatre Manager Duty Manager Duty Manager Head of Customer Operations

Dan Hill Assistant House Manager Will McGovern Deputy House Manager Sharon Meier PA to Theatre Manager Gabriele Williams Deputy House Manager Caper & Berry Catering Proclean Cleaning Ltd Cleaning Contractor Goldcrest Guarding

Security

Stage Door: Bob Bentley, Janet Bounds, Judith Bruce-Hay, Caroline Hanton, Keiko Iwamoto, Chris Monkton, Sue Welling Ushers: Miranda Allemand, Judith Anderson, Maria Antoniou, Jacob Atkins, Carolyn Atkinson, Brian Baker, Richard Berry, Emily Biro, Gloria Boakes, Alex Bolger, Dennis Brombley, Judith Bruce-Hay, Louisa Chandler, Jo Clark, Gaye Douglas, Stella Dubock, Amanda Duckworth, Clair Edgell, Lexi Finch, Suzanne Ford, Suzanne France, Jessica Frewin-Smith, Nigel Fullbrook, Barry Gamlin, Charlie Gardiner, Lyla Garner-Gibbons, Anna Grindel, Caroline Hanton, Justine Hargraves, Joseph Harrington, Joanne Heather, Maisie Henderson, Marie Innes, Keiko Iwamoto, Joan Jenkins, Pippa Johnson, Julie Johnstone, Ryan Jones, Jan Jordan, Jon Joshua, Grace King, Sally Kingsbury, Alexandra Langrish, Judith Marsden, Janette McAlpine, Fiona Methven, Chris Monkton, Ella Morgans, Susan Mulkern, Chris Murray, Lucija O’Donnell, Isabel Owen, Martyn Pedersen, Susy Peel, Helen Pinn, Barbara Pope, Alice Rochford, Sian Rodd, Fleur Sarkissian, Derren Selvarajah, Peg Shaw, Janet Showell, Lorraine Stapley, Sophie Stirzaker, Angela Stodd, Christine Tippen, Charlotte Tregear, Andy Trust, Hannah Watts, Sue Welling, Gemma Wilcox, James Wisker, Dawn Wood, Donna Wood, Kim Wylam.

We acknowledge the work of all those who give so generously of their time for Chichester Festival Theatre, including our CFT Buddies, Heritage & Archive Volunteers, and our Volunteer Audio Description Team: Lily Barkes, Janet Beckett, Richard Chapman, Tony Clark, Robert Dunn, Geraldine Firmston, Suzanne France, Richard Frost, David Phizackerley, Christopher Todd, Joanna Wiege.

Youth Advisory Board: Issie Berg Rust, Theo Craig, Anayis Der Hakopian, Esther Dracott, Chloe Gibson, Aled Hanson, Ophelia Kabdenova, Alice Kilgallon, Francesca McBride, Ace Merriot, Katherine Munden, Jacob Simmonds, Susie Udall, Priya Uddin.

Our Supporters 2024/5 Minerva Season Principal Charles Holloway Major Donors Deborah Alun-Jones Robin and Joan Alvarez Elizabeth and the late David Benson Philip Berry George W. Cameron OBE and Madeleine Cameron Sir William and Lady Castell David and Claire Chitty David and Jane Cobb John and Susan Coldstream Clive and Frances Coward Yvonne and John Dean Jim Douglas Nick and Lalli Draper Mrs Veronica J Dukes Melanie Edge Sir Vernon Ellis Huw Evans Steve and Sheila Evans Val and Richard Evans Sandy and Mark Foster Simon and Luci Eyers Robert and Pirjo Gardiner Angela and Uri Greenwood Themy Hamilton Lady Heller and the late Sir Michael Heller Liz Juniper Roger Keyworth Vaughan and Sally Lowe Jonathan and Clare Lubran Elizabeth Miles Eileen Norris Jerome and Elizabeth O’Hea Mrs Denise Patterson DL Stuart and Carolyn Popham Dame Patricia Routledge DBE David Shalit MBE and Sophie Shalit Greg and Katherine Slay Christine and Dave Smithers Alan and Jackie Stannah Oliver Stocken CBE Howard Thompson Bryan Warnett Ernest Yelf

Trusts and Foundations The Arthur Williams Charitable Trust The Arts Society, Chichester The Bassil Shippam and Alsford Trust The Bernadette Charitable Trust Bruce Wake Charitable Trust The Chartered Accountants’ Livery Charity Dora Green Educational Trust The Dorus Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Elizabeth, Lady Cowdray’s Charity Trust Epigoni Trust Friarsgate Trust The Garrick Charitable Trust The G D Charitable Trust Hobhouse Charitable Trust John Coates Charitable Trust The Mackintosh Foundation The Maurice Marshal Preference Trust Noël Coward Foundation Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour Theatre Artists Fund Wickens Family Foundation

Festival Players 1000+ John and Joan Adams Lindy Ambrose and Tom Reid Sarah and Tony Bolton Robert Brown Ian and Jan Carroll C Casburn and B Buckley Jean Campbell Sarah Chappatte David Churchill Denise Clatworthy Michael and Jill Cook Lin and Ken Craig Deborah Crockford Clive and Kate Dilloway Jim Douglas Peter and Ruth Doust Gary Fairhall Mr Nigel Fullbrook George Galazka Wendy and John Gehr Marion Gibbs CBE Stephen J Gill Mr & Mrs Paul Goswell Rachel and Richard Green Ros and Alan Haigh Rowland and Caroline Hardwick Chris and Carolyn Hughes John and Jenny Lippiett Anthony and Fiona Littlejohn Alan and Virginia Lovell Dr and Mrs Nick Lutte Sarah Mansell and Tim Bouquet Patrick Martyn Rod Matthews James and Anne McMeehan Roberts Mrs Sheila Meadows Mrs Michael Melluish Celia Merrick Roger and Jackie Morris Jacquie Ogilvie Mr and Mrs Gordon Owen Graham and Sybil Papworth Richard Parkinson and Hamilton McBrien Nick and Jo Pasricha John Pritchard Trust Philip Robinson Nigel and Viv Robson Ros and Ken Rokison David and Linda Skuse Peter and Lucy Snell Julie Sparshatt Joanna Walker Ian and Alison Warren Angela Wormald

Festival Players 500+ Judy Addison Smith Mr James and Lady Emma Barnard (The Barness Charity Trust) Martin Blackburn Janet Bounds Frances Brodsky and Peter Parham Sally Chittleburgh Mr and Mrs Jeremy Chubb Mr Charles Collingwood and Miss Judy Bennett Lady Finch Colin and Carole Fisher Beryl Fleming Karin and Jorge Florencio Roz Frampton Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner Dr Stuart Hall Dennis and Joan Harrison Barbara Howden Richards Karen and Paul Johnston Frank and Freda Letch Anthony and Fiona Littlejohn Jim and Marilyn Lush Selina and David Marks Dr and Mrs Nick Lutte Sue Marsh Adrian Marsh and Maggie Stoker Trevor and Lynne Matthews Tim McDonald Mrs Mary Newby Margaret and Martin Overington Jean Plowright Ben Reeder Robin Roads Graham and Maureen Russel David Seager John and Tita Shakeshaft Mr and Mrs Brian Smouha Elizabeth Stern Anne Subba-Row Harry and Shane Thuillier Miss Melanie Tipples Penny Tomlinson Tina Webster Chris and Dorothy Weller Nick and Tarnia Williams

...and to all those who wish to remain anonymous, thank you for your incredible support.

‘Chichester Festival Theatre enriches lives with its work both on and off stage. It is a privilege to be connected in a small way with this inspirational and generous-hearted institution, especially at such a challenging time for everyone in the Arts.’

John and Susan Coldstream, Major Donors

Our Supporters 2024/5 Principal Partners Platinum Level

Prof. E.F. Juniper and Mrs Jilly Styles Gold Level

Silver Level

Corporate Partners Carpenter Box Jones Avens FBG Investment J Leon Group

Montezuma’s Oldham Seals Group Phoenix Dining

William Liley Financial Services Ltd

Why not join us and support the Theatre you love: cft.org.uk/support-us | development.team@cft.org.uk | 01243 812911