Never Have I Ever By Deborah Frances-White
Justin Audibert and Kathy Bourne Photograph by Peter Flude
Festival 2023 A warm welcome to the second world premiere of Festival 2023 in the Minerva, Never Have I Ever by Deborah Frances-White. There are few things that engender more pleasurable anticipation in theatre than witnessing the birth of a new play, especially from a voice new to the stage. Widely known as a writer, comedian, and host of the global hit podcast The Guilty Feminist, Never Have I Ever is Deborah’s first play and we are thrilled to be giving Chichester audiences the opportunity to see the premiere of this explosively funny piece. Directed by Emma Butler, formerly resident director at the Almeida Theatre, the remarkable four-strong cast are all appearing at Chichester for the first time too, returning to the stage in a break from high profile screen careers. Alex Roach’s work includes Utopia, No Offence and Y Golau/The Light in the Hall, while Amit Shah’s
roles include Happy Valley, Crashing and Klokkenluider. Greg Wise’s screen credits include The Crown, Sense and Sensibility and A Private War, and Susan Wokoma’s work includes Chewing Gum, Enola Holmes and Cheaters. We warmly welcome them all. Following Never Have I Ever comes another world premiere to end the Festival season in the Minerva: Harry Davies’ The Inquiry, with a cast led by Deborah Findlay, John Heffernan and Malcolm Sinclair. Over in the Festival Theatre, there’s another chance to see James Graham’s celebrated comedy Quiz, and Arthur Miller’s powerful 20th century classic A View from the Bridge. We hope you enjoy this performance and to see you again soon.
Justin Audibert Artistic Director
Kathy Bourne Executive Director
Quiz By James Graham
Rory Bremner, Britain’s top satirical impressionist, stars as Chris Tarrant alongside Charley Webb, Lewis Reeves and Mark Benton, in James Graham’s thrilling, entertaining and provocative drama, directed by Daniel Evans and Seán Linnen. Get ready to answer the ultimate 50:50: guilty or not guilty?
Festival Theatre 22 – 30 September Tickets from £10 Book at cft.org.uk
A View from the Bridge By Arthur Miller
A visceral and compelling masterpiece of fierce passions and unspoken desires, in a striking new production with Headlong, Octagon Theatre Bolton and Rose Theatre. Directed by Holly Race Roughan, the cast includes Kirsty Bushell, Nancy Crane, Rachelle Diedericks, Luke Newberry and Jonathan Slinger.
Festival Theatre 6 – 28 October Tickets from £10 Book at cft.org.uk
Asphaleia Asphaleia is an organisation located in Worthing which offers young people a place of safety, supporting and encouraging those that need their services. CFT has been working in partnership with Asphaleia since 2018, delivering weekly sessions for young unaccompanied asylum seekers based in West Sussex. Recently, Poppy Marples and Jess Smith, our experienced theatre practitioners, have led a programme of dynamic, creative and nurturing workshops with these inspiring young people. Focusing on wellbeing and arts skills such as puppetry and physical theatre, the workshops also support the young people in learning English. These sessions enable them to make friends, develop confidence
socially, and build skills. We currently work with 24 young people who are also completing a Bronze Arts Award. ‘The sessions with Asphaleia are always full of lots of laughter and provide a safe space for the young people to develop their skills. When I look back to our first session with this year’s cohort compared to now, the difference in their confidence, social and language skills is just incredible. I’m so proud of them all and it’s been a joy and privilege to work with them this year.’ Poppy Marples, Lead Practitioner
In July we welcomed 17 of the Asphaleia group – including unaccompanied young people from Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia – for a fun-packed day at CFT. Starting with a backstage tour, they enjoyed a certificate of achievement presentation and games on the park before watching a matinee of The Sound of Music. For almost all the participants it was their first time in a theatre.
In the young people’s own words: ‘I will never forget this day. It will be in my mind for ever.’ ‘Drama has helped me learning English, respecting each other and feeling strong in my mind.’ ‘Sometimes I am angry because I miss my family, Poppy asks how I feel and talking helps, drama makes me feel better.’ ‘I am proud we have learnt all together and enjoyed no matter what country.’
Discover new foodie experiences Street Food at CFT
Like some more?
Satisfy your on-the-go cravings with the new menu in our Street Food truck! Pre-order on arrival, click and collect from our sunny al fresco terrace.
Pop in for pizza, cracking cakes and barista coffee from the Café on the Park or de-stress with a drink in a deckchair when the sun shines. Bliss!
Dine with friends If you’re looking for a great spot to dine with your theatre pals, look no further than The Brasserie. Fantastic food featuring local, seasonal ingredients plus à la carte options, top notch service and excellent wine. It also happens to be the closest restaurant to the Theatre so there’s no need to rush to catch the overture.
For the full menu of food and drink, visit cft.org.uk/eat, email dining@cft.org.uk or call 01243 782219.
Never Have I Ever By Deborah Frances-White
Deborah Frances-White Photo by Laura Pannack
Playwright Deborah Frances-White on finding...
play is the key to connection
I’m a feminist but I went to university in 1997 and in those days girl power was all we had. Ladette culture meant that the shorthand for gender equality among students was matching a man, ‘snakebite and black’ for ‘snakebite and black’, until you’d drunk him under the table.
I had recently fled an extremely patriarchal religious cult where I was looked at with suspicion as some kind of feminist troublemaker. I had recently fled an extremely patriarchal religious cult where I was looked at with suspicion as some kind of feminist troublemaker, so I was bursting with energy to join a movement. I’m not saying feminists weren’t busy and vocal then, but I didn’t know how to find them. The mainstream conversations young people are having
now in pubs, about body acceptance, representation and intersectionality were certainly not happening. I remember young women in my Junior Common Room saying that gender studies were boring and old fashioned because we already had equality. Young men looked at me suspiciously when I raised it and, more than once, I was accused of trying to get an unfair advantage as I was already on a level playing field. If anything, too level! I was in the final intake when university was free. Students steeped in debt today might be shocked to know that the government paid me a small student grant, which I spent on books and beer. I thought it was important to speak out against uni fees having heard someone heartlessly joke in the Oxford Union, ‘Pull the ladder up, Jack’. I was one of six who turned up to the official protest with a cardboard sign. I already felt like a weird outsider in the big, new, complicated world away from the restrictions of a Bible-based high control group and, while I didn’t realise it at the time, I can now clearly see I was in trauma recovery too and hadn’t built enough resistance inside myself to cope with just getting about yet. My aspirations of being part of a movement for social change withered on the vine. Then, while studying Victorian playwrights, I read some letters between Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw.
Shaw was bemoaning the heavy censorship they had to labour under, because the Lord Chamberlain read every play that appeared on the British stage and red-penned anything that might encourage immoral behaviour. This included the idea that a ‘fallen woman’ might do okay for herself and not end up punished in the gutter. Wilde’s response was that he hid his disruptive ideas, that were critical of the crown and the cabinet, in comedies of manners. He suggested that while Shaw’s plays were constantly censored, his own subversive politics were overlooked because the censor simply saw ladies and gentlemen quipping in drawing rooms and the familiarity of those tropes made them blind to his more insurgent storylines. Wilde’s play, A Woman of No Importance was penned in 1892 and produced in 1893. The titular hero, Mrs Arbuthnot, is not cast out by society even though she mothered an illegitimate child. She and her future daughter-in-law triumph by plotting together and she even gets the curtain line in which she refers to Lord Illingworth, the powerful father of her son who has left them stranded, as ‘a man of no importance’. In the same year, Shaw wrote Mrs Warren’s Profession, a much less covertly feminist piece about a woman making her way in the world through sex work. The play criticised the system, not the woman – and was predictably banned. It was performed in a private club in 1902 but its first public performance wasn’t until 1925, a full 32 years after it was written. Perhaps that’s why Shaw once (allegedly) said, ‘If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh or they’ll kill you.’
Scientists don’t take it personally and think it reflects on their talent when there’s no fizz in the dish. All of this was floating around my head when I entered the Cameron Mackintosh New Writing Festival in my second year
of university. I’d been too intimidated to enter the first year, but when I saw some of the winning entries (five plays were produced) I realised I wasn’t up against Alan Bennett and Caryl Churchill after all and threw my theatrical hat into the circus ring. Excitingly, my play was chosen to be produced at The Burton Taylor Theatre. It was about people with different identities stuck at an airport in a snow storm trying to understand each other’s points of view. It was a comedy – because I had no interest in being killed. Rather fortunately, I think, that text is now lost to time, but it was my first scripted effort and being produced gave me the confidence to write more. Up until then I’d been completely focussed on improvisation, which I’d studied in Canada with the legendary teacher and director, Keith Johnstone. He was English and had started out at the Royal Court Theatre, reading and writing plays. Keith (a colleague of Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett) became more interested in the sparks that flew between actors when they didn’t have a script telling them what came next and developed an extraordinary school of play. What pushed Keith to Canada? Well, the Lord Chamberlain was still at it. The censorship laws were in play until 1969, which meant it was illegal to perform improvisation in a British theatre until that time. Keith suggested someone come down from the Lord Chamberlain’s office and ring a bell whenever the improvisers strayed into verboten territory, but they refused. In order to perform shows, they had to claim they were doing public workshops. Keith often told us that the great Russian theatre companies would tour their shows to London from behind the iron curtain and offer sympathy for the terrible censorship they saw the British theatre community labouring under, ‘It was so embarrassing!’. I worked with Keith and his colleague, the brilliant Patti Styles (who conveniently moved to London) and I learned to listen and say yes and, most importantly, that ideas are nothing special. They always told us to let our ideas go because there’d be another one along in a minute. Better to be in a good
playful state with your scene partner and be curious than wrestle for control. Keith always said the two enemies of great creative work are fear and ego; consequently, we try to approach the work as if we are scientists making exciting discoveries in a Petri dish. Scientists don’t take it personally and think it reflects on their talent when there’s no fizz in the dish. They’re curious to discover process.
I promised I could write very fast, but only if I had an embarrassing social deadline. Actors waiting in a room for something to say was exactly the chemical in the Petri dish that would make me fizz. Having said that, I’m highly susceptible to flattery. This great weakness meant that when Emma Butler, a young, star, emerging director, emailed me with a request for a script that she could develop as part of a workshop programme for resident directors at the Almeida Theatre, I said yes without asking any further questions. Emma was a regular listener of my podcast, The Guilty Feminist, and had heard me deliver a piece of my own new writing. I’d written lots of television and film scripts but no plays The company in rehearsal
since Oxford. Not wanting to miss out on this massive opportunity for creative fun, I told her I didn’t have a play we could work on but I had an idea for one. I promised Emma that I could write very fast, but only if I had an embarrassing social deadline. Actors waiting in a room for something to say was exactly the chemical in the Petri dish that would make me fizz. I turned up to the Almeida and tried not to be intimidated. Keith always told me that trying my hardest is not my best strategy. I told myself that it’s not called ‘a play’ for nothing. I looked up the root of the word ‘play’. I find etymology very calming. ‘To play’ is medieval, borrowed from the Dutch meaning ‘to dance, leap for joy, and rejoice’. ‘A play’ (as in a dramatic work) is from the Greek meaning ‘to act’. A cocktail of these roots seemed right to me.
The truth is we all have a Lord Chamberlain in our head, red-penning our best ideas before they see the light, but sometimes, like Oscar Wilde, you can distract him with jokes. How could we get a play right if there was no rejoicing in our action? Fortunately, Emma was of the very same mind. She was
also a scientist and explorer, so whenever anyone suggested something she’d say, ‘Let’s try it!’. The actors came alive in wonderful ways, fizzing discussions ensued and my fingers came alive flying over the keyboard all night. The truth is we all have a Lord Chamberlain in our head, red-penning our best ideas before they see the light, but sometimes, like Oscar Wilde, you can distract him with jokes. When I finally found a way to marry social change with comedy through The Guilty Feminist, I realised that establishing that we don’t have to be perfect to be a force for meaningful change was the very thing that would give people the permission to try. We need imperfect triers collecting and connecting, telling each other their stories in a way that makes it impossible not to listen and empathise. Play is the key to connection. We need some joy with our action if we’re going to be able to laugh at our flaws so we can exfoliate them. I shall forever be grateful to this spectacular, generous, shockingly talented cast and glorious, committed crew of creatives who brought their whole selves to this play. Who brought joy to their action. Who inhabited these characters in ways I’d never have imagined. I was highly privileged to have Black and Asian artists in our cast and creative team – both in development and in this production – credited individually in the ‘thank yous’ – who contributed openly and generously about their experiences and helped shape the script in extremely important ways. Without these collaborators I would not have been able to write this play. I can’t possibly name seven and a half years’ worth of incredible co-hosts, guests and listeners of The Guilty Feminist from whom I have learned so much that shaped my world view, but I am indebted to them all. I am very thankful to Emma Butler who called me and and said, ‘Shall we play?’ And I shall forever be deeply grateful to Keith Johnstone who died aged 90 in March this year – because without Keith, for me, there is no play at all.
The way we were the company and creatives in their salad days
S u sa n W o k & Alex Ro oma ach
Frankie Bradshaw
) set t (top Kate Bas
Amit Shah
Deborah Frances-Whit e (le ft) in A Midsummer Nigh’t Dream
Chi-San Howard (right)
Greg Wise
Claire Llewelly
n (right) Dubheasa Lanipek un
Olivia Roberts
Alexandra Faye Braithwaite
Emma Bu tler
Georgia Dacey
Ryan Day
Lou Ballard
malakaï sargeant
kno a Suzi R
What do I now, I’m just comic uffell on life as a female stand-up
I never realised when I started out in comedy that being a female stand-up comedian was a feminist act; that by holding a microphone and a room’s attention was ardently, enthusiastically, feminist. I found out I was a feminist when someone shouted the word at me at a gig. They also used some rather fruity language that I’ll not sully this programme with. I grew up in Portsmouth and went to a Catholic school, where the women’s movement was as likely to be on the syllabus as the Stonewall riots. And I grew up in a household where the discussion around the dinner table was more likely to be about the latest plot line in EastEnders than the political debate of the day. The words ‘feminist’ and ‘lesbian’ had been insults in the school playground, and the unconscious knowledge that I was both had made me want to run a mile from even thinking about it. Looking back, I realise it was because I never saw someone like me in the mainstream media unless it was a punchline in a sitcom which, inevitably, made me feel like an outsider.
There is something uniquely honest about being a live stand-up... you can talk about whatever you want. How liberating!
Suzi Ruffell Photo by Jiksaw
After drama school, I started doing stand-up. While gigging on the open-mic circuit, I’d spend my evenings off at comedy nights across London, always seeking out professional female stand-ups. Strong, unapologetic and uproariously funny. To say I was inspired is an understatement. There is something uniquely honest about being a live stand-up. Often with stand-up on TV, you have directors, producers and lawyers telling you what you can and cannot say. When it’s live, you’ve not had anyone meddling with your material. In a comedy club it’s just you and the audience – there are no rules, and you can talk about whatever you want. How liberating!
Stand-up has always been a vehicle to share ideas – a social commentary and often red-hot rage at whoever is in government at the time. In recent years, comedy has become more and more diverse, which is wonderful for the industry. It means more people realising that comedy could be for them. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that audiences
are getting larger and larger, and every year more stand-ups go out on tour to perform to sell-out crowds who can’t wait to hear what they have to say. Stand-up has always been a vehicle to share ideas – a social commentary and often red-hot rage at whoever is in government at the time. When The Comedy Store opened in London in 1979 it became the place to challenge the status quo and offer an alternative to working men’s clubs, which were often a hotbed of racist and sexist material. The alternative comedy movement was full of storytellers and satirists, and paved the way for stand-up today. I’m a confessional comedian. I can’t help but overshare onstage which means that over my 14 years in the business I’ve discussed my working-class heritage, my sexuality, my mental health, my anxiety, my heartache, falling in love, my journey into parenthood and many other things along the way. The only choice I have is to be unapologetically me. That’s also when I’m at my funniest. It hasn’t always been easy – I’m disappointed to tell you that the most frequent heckles I’ve received over the years have been homophobic. It doesn’t happen all the time, actually not that often (heckles are not nearly as common as people think) but every time it shocks me. ‘I can fix you’ has been the most common, which is usually from a man who doesn’t seem to have
the capacity to fix a plug let alone rewire a lesbian’s sexuality. Furthermore, I’m not broken. But when it first began to happen, I realised I’d unintentionally become a sort of part-time activist while on stage – sharing my experiences, letting the audience in, allowing them to see the world from a gay woman’s perspective. A while ago I did a hometown gig at the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth. I had a great show and afterwards there was a queue of people waiting to say hello (I felt very special). A man had waited in line, a real geezer like my dad. He shook my hand and said he and his wife had loved the show. They hadn’t seen me before and weren’t sure what to expect. He went on to say he was stunned that my wife and I had to think carefully about where we holiday because of homophobic laws across the globe. I had a neat little routine in that show about travelling as a gay looking gay, which ended with a pretty spicy punchline about the death penalty for homosexuality in Brunei (I promise it was funny). The man had never had to consider this before, he had never had to think carefully about where he travelled for fear of being in danger. A silly joke in my show had pierced his prior understanding and forced him to see the world from my perspective.
The world is richly diverse, and comedy should be too. On the other side of that coin are the thousands of people who see me on tour, whose lives relate more closely to mine. The queer families, the newly-out teenagers with their mums, the people questioning their sexuality, or someone who feels like they’re an outsider – like I always have. In the same way I’ve always sought out theatre, comedy, films and music that relates somehow to my experience. It’s enormously validating to see your own thoughts, feelings and experiences reflected in any sort of art. It makes you feel seen, it makes you feel less alone. Representation is a huge part of activism within comedy. I’ve worked with comedians
from every continent, some who grew up rich, some who were poor, some gay, some straight, some trans, male, female, nonbinary, people who were adopted, people who lived in war zones, refugees, all the possible types of people you can imagine. The world is richly diverse therefore comedy should be too; be it in comic plays like Never Have I Ever, narratives on screen or in stand-up. I can’t help thinking that hearing stories from all these people makes us understand the world a little better. As well as being a comedian, I’m also a comedy fan. I love to be drawn into someone else’s world, to find out what makes them tick, to learn how their experiences have shaped them. I’m especially interested in comics who don’t share my background, whose experiences are wildly different to mine. What a gift it is to sit in the dark of a theatre, to laugh so hard you think you might burst, while being taken on a journey you otherwise wouldn’t have experienced. But what do I know, I’m just a comic.
Suzi Ruffell is a comedian, writer and performer.
Never Have I Ever By Deborah Frances-White Cast Jacq Kas Tobin Adaego
Alex Roach Amit Shah Greg Wise Susan Wokoma
The action of the play takes place inside the Masada Restaurant in East London, in the present day. There will be one interval of 20 minutes.
World premiere performance of Never Have I Ever at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 1 September 2023.
Director Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Movement Director Intimacy and Fight Director Casting Director
Emma Butler Frankie Bradshaw Ryan Day Alexandra Faye Braithwaite Chi-San Howard Claire Llewellyn for RC-Annie Ltd Lotte Hines CDG
Associate Director Dramaturg Additional Dramaturgy
Dubheasa Lanipekun malakaï sargeant Kate Bassett
Production Manager Costume Supervisor Props Supervisor Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Supervisor
Chris Hay Laura Rushton Marcus Hall Props Shelley Gray
Company Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager
Lou Ballard Olivia Roberts Georgia Dacey
Production credits: Hedge fund consultant Elsa Madrolle; Restaurant consultant Jackson Boxer; Set built and painted by Illusion Design & Construct Ltd; Additional scenery by Deadline Technical Management Ltd; Production Carpenter Matt Day; Special FX supplied by EventFX Limited; Costume makers Sally Spratley, Elspeth Threadgold; Lighting hires Static Light Company; Rehearsal room WAC Arts. With thanks to Dylan Capello, Benjamin Benton, Myah Jeffers, Yasmin Hafesji, The Almeida Theatre, Tom Salinsky, Juliet Stevenson, Wesley Taylor, and to the actors who helped develop the script: Sian Clifford, Bethan Cullinane, Nathaniel Curtis, Sophie Duker, James Lance, Stephen Mangan, David Mumeni, Sara Pascoe, Akshay Shah, Milly Thomas and Samuel West. Special thanks to Francesca Moody Productions and Eleanor Lloyd Productions.
Rehearsal and production photographs Helen Murray Programme Associate Fiona Richards Programme design Davina Chung Cover image Bob King Creative, photograph Seamus Ryan
Supported by the Never Have I Ever Supporters and Patrons Circles: Ian and Judy Barlow, Jonathan Ben-Levi, Rosalind Bowen, Christina Breene, Anthony Clark, Mrs Veronica J Dukes, Jennie Halsall, Belinda Leathes, John and Chrissie Lieurance, Elizabeth Miles, David and Sophie Shalit, Jon and Ann Shapiro, Sayers/Strange Family, Howard M Thompson, David Wagstaff and Mark Dunne, Mrs Honor Woods, and all those who wish to remain anonymous.
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Cast Biographies Alex Roach Jacq Television includes Nightsleeper, Bodies, Men Up, The Light , Black Mirror, Killing Eve, No Offence, Thirteenth Tale, Hunderby, Sanditon, Inside No. 9, Utopia, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Being Human, The IT Crowd. Radio includes The Witch Farm. Films include This Is Christmas, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, A Guide to Second Date Sex, Testament of Youth, Cuban Fury, One Chance, Private Peaceful, Anna Karenina and The Iron Lady. Instagram @alexandraroach1
Alex Roach
Amit Shah Kas Theatre includes Brian in Hummingbird (Fledgling Theatre); Abdul in East is East (Trafalgar Studios); Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Angelo in The Comedy of Errors, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Soldier in Odyssey, Young Bellair in The Man of Mode, Abel Drugger in The Alchemist, Felipillo in The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Monk in The Life of Galileo (National Theatre); Love and Information, Rough Cuts: The Spiral, Reza in Shades, Sharan in Free Outgoing (Royal Court); Joel in 66 Books: I Notice the Sound First (Bush Theatre); Oswald in King Lear (Donmar Warehouse/BAM); Ali Baba in Arabian Nights (RSC); Fred in A Christmas Carol (Rose Theatre). Television includes The Windsors: Coronation Special, Happy Valley, Death in Paradise, The Long Call, Grace, The Other One, The Witcher, His Dark Materials,
Amit Shah
The Midnight Gang, Doctor Who, Bliss, The Rebel, Hospital People, Midsomer Murders, Crashing, Stag, Jekyll and Hyde, W1A, Asylum, Silent Witness, The Smoke, Lilyhammer, Bluestone 42, Jo, Fresh Meat, Black Mirror: The National Anthem, White Van Man, Joe Mistry, Whites, Ingenious, Hustle, Benidorm, Casualty, Bellamy’s People: Down the Line, Honest, The Palace, Lead Balloon, The Afternoon Play, Life Begins. Films include Pain Hustlers, 7 Keys, Klokkenluider, The Man in the Hat, The Courier, Last Christmas, Ordinary Love, Johnny English Strikes Again, Final Score, Breathe, Howl, The Hundred-Foot Journey, All Stars, The Facility, The Infidel, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, 13 Semester, The Blue Tower. Twitter @theamitshah Instagram @amitshahactor
Greg Wise
Greg Wise Tobin Theatre includes Jake in Kill Me Now (Park Theatre); Bolingbroke in Richard II (Ruhrfestspiele); Nick in Nabokov’s Gloves (Hampstead Theatre); Jacques in Crimes of Passion (Nottingham Playhouse); Captain Plume in The Recruiting Officer (Royal Exchange, Manchester); Jack Good in Good Rocking Tonight (Liverpool Playhouse). Television includes Strange Angel, The Crown, Modus, The Outcast, Unknown Heart, Homefront, Law & Order UK, Documental, Zen, Place of Execution, Cranford, The Commander, No.13, Miss Marple: Towards Zero, Trial and Retribution, According to Bex, Hornblower, Sirens, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Wonderful You, House of Frankenstein, Tales from the Crypt, The Buccaneers, Taggart: The Black Glass, The Riff Raff Element, Covington Cross, Masculine Ending. TV films include Honeymoon for One, Elizabeth David: A Life in Recipes, Madame Bovary, Hospital, The Moonstone, The Place of the Dead, Typhon’s People. Films include Military Wives, A Private War, Carmilla, After Louise, Beautiful Devils, Love of My Life, Walking on Sunshine, Blackwood, Effie, Three Days in Havana, The Disappeared, Morris: A Life with Bells On, A Cock and Bull Story, Greyfriars Bobby, Johnny English, Five Moons Plaza, The Discovery of Heaven, Mad Cows, Judas Kiss, Sense and Sensibility, The Feast of July.
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Susan Wokoma Adaego Theatre includes Elizabeth York in Teenage Dick (Donmar Warehouse); Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Margot Midler in Labour of Love (West End); Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun (Sheffield Crucible/tour); Poins/Earl of Douglas in Henry IV, Lucius in Julius Caesar (Donmar Warehouse/New York); Sarah/Emma in Game (Almeida); Nala in Hotel (National Theatre); Little on the Inside (Clean Break at Latitude Festival/ Almeida); Tanika in Three Birds (Manchester Royal Exchange/Bush Theatre: Offie Best Female Performance nomination); Lucy in The Country Wife, AK in Powder Monkey (Manchester Royal Exchange); Dream Pill (Clean Break at Latitude Festival); Truth and Reconciliation (Royal Court Theatre); A Bigger Banner (Theatre Uncut at Southwark Playhouse). Television includes Taskmaster series 16, Peacock, Cheaters (National Comedy Awards Comedy Breakthrough Star Award), Toast of Tinseltown, Rules of the Game, Truth Seekers, Super Simple Love Story, Year of the Rabbit, Dark Money, Porters,
Susan Wokoma
Susan Wokoma’s Love The Sinner, Bridget Christie’s Edge of Humanity, To Provide All People, Anxio(us), Zapped, Eat Your Heart Out with Nick Helm, Brain Freeze, Crazyhead (RTS Best On-Screen Performance Award), Chewing Gum, Crashing, Horrible Science, Bluestone 42, Uncle, Misfits, Doctors, Holby City, Hotel Trubble 3, That Summer Day. Radio includes Half of a Yellow Sun, Dracula’s War, The Road, Holmes and Watford, Mandrake and Me, Jake Yapp Saves Humanity In 28 Minutes, Cuttin’ It, Three Strong Women (BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Supporting Actress). Films include And Mrs, Bonus Track, Enola Holmes 1 & 2, The Beautiful Game, The Loneliest Boy in the World, The House: Story 3, Save the Cinema, The Ghost and the House of Truth, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Inbetweeners Movie 2. Trained at RADA. Instagram @susiewoosie12
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Creative Team Frankie Bradshaw Designer Previously at Chichester, The Long Song (Festival Theatre), Local Hero (Minerva Theatre). Theatre designs include Retrograde (Kiln Theatre); Unexpected Twist (Royal & Derngate/UK tour); A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast (Rose Theatre Kingston); Blues for an Alabama Sky (National/Lyttelton); Mad House (Ambassadors Theatre); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Curve Theatre Leicester/Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour); House of Life (Bush Theatre); Piaf, Skellig (Nottingham Playhouse); Assembly (Donmar Warehouse); Sweat (West End/Donmar Warehouse); Hamlet (National Theatre Primary Schools tour); Two Trains Running (Royal & Derngate/ETT); Cinderella (Lyric The company
Hammersmith); A Christmas Carol (Theatr Clwyd); Napoli Brooklyn (UK tour/Park Theatre); Trying It On (UK tour/RSC/Royal Court); Kiss Me Kate, Jerusalem, Nesting, Robin Hood (Watermill Theatre); Cookies (Theatre Royal Haymarket); On the Exhale (Traverse); This Is (ArtsEd); Hansel (Salisbury Playhouse); Brink (Royal Exchange Manchester). Opera designs include Itch (Opera Holland Park), Macbeth, Idomeneo and Elisabetta (English Touring Opera). Frankie was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Costume Design for Blues for an Alabama Sky (National Theatre); and won The Stage Debut Award 2019 for Best Creative West End Debut alongside director Lynette Linton for Sweat (Gielgud Theatre). She was a Linbury Prize Finalist (2015) and a Jerwood Young Designer (2017), and
won the Off West End Award 2016 for Best Set Design for Adding Machine (Finborough Theatre). frankiebradshawdesign.com Alexandra Faye Braithwaite Sound Designer Previously at Chichester, The Narcissist (Festival Theatre). Recent theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Bloody Elle (also Traverse Theatre), Wuthering Heights, Light Falls (Royal Exchange Theatre); The Good Person of Szechwan (Sheffield Crucible/ Lyric Hammersmith/ETT); Sound of the Underground (Royal Court); How Not To Drown, The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Theatre Royal Stratford East/UK tour); Good Luck, Studio (Mischief Theatre/ Mercury Theatre/Wiltshire Creative); Purple Snowflakes and Titty Wanks (Royal Court); Groan Ups (Vaudeville Theatre/UK tour); Shining City, Room (Theatre Royal Stratford
East); Anna Karenina, Operation Crucible, Chicken Soup (Sheffield Theatres); The Cavalcaders (Druid); Kes (Bolton Octagon); The Climbers (Theatre by the Lake); Things of Dry Hours (Young Vic); Endurance (HOME Manchester); A Pretty Shitty Love, A Christmas Carol (Theatr Clwyd); My Name is Rachel Corrie (Al Madina Theatre, Beirut); Cougar, The Rolling Stone, Dealing with Clair (Orange Tree Theatre); Dublin Carol (Sherman Theatre); Hamlet, Talking Heads, Rudolph (Leeds Playhouse); The Audience, Juicy and Delicious (Nuffield Theatre); The Remains of Maisie Duggan (Abbey Theatre); Toast, How Not To Drown, Enough (Traverse Theatre); When I Am Queen (Almeida). Radio includes Angela (composer), Welcome to Iran (sound designer). afbsound.com
Emma Butler Director Emma was formerly resident director at the Almeida Theatre. Credits as Director include: Annie Get Your Gun, Camelot (staged concerts, London Palladium); Curtains, Carrie (Trinity Laban); Hole (Jermyn Street Theatre); Epic Speech, The Guilty Feminist Live (Royal Albert Hall); Echoes (59E59 Brits off Broadway Festival 2016 & 2017, UK and international tour); Shakespeare’s Histories (LAMDA); The Taming of the Shrew (East 15); Tight Bastards (Theatre 503 festival); Romeo and Juliet, Renaissance (site-specific); Dying City (The Cockpit). As Associate/Resident Director: Poirot and More (UK tour); The Price (Wyndham’s Theatre & Theatre Royal Bath); Richard III (Almeida); The Dazzle (Michael Grandage Company); Absent Friends (UK tour). Susan Wokoma Alex Roach
As Assistant Director: Coriolanus, Vice Versa (Royal Shakespeare Company); Waiting for Godot (UK tour); The King James Bible (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Marriage of Figaro (Sage, Gateshead). Ryan Day Lighting Designer Previously at Chichester, Local Hero (co-designer, Minerva Theatre); also this season, Quiz (Festival Theatre and UK tour). Recent credits include Carmen (Waterperry Opera Festival); Saving Face (Curve Leicester/The Place); War and Culture (co-designer, New Diorama); Black Superhero (Royal Court); Lizard Boy (Hope Mill); Mission (The Big House); Christie Done It (Cockpit Theatre); Rabbit Hole (Union Theatre); I Know I Know I Know (Southwark Playhouse); Wild Onion (Norwich Theatre Royal/UK tour); Into The Woods, A Merchant
of Venice (Playground Theatre); The Ballad of Corona V (The Big House); Ghost House (The Pit at The Vaults); Urinetown (Embassy Theatre); Dr Faustess (The Cockpit Theatre); Darknet (Union Theatre); Attempts On Her Life (Drayton Arms Theatre); The Bexliest Day of Our Lives (The Exchange Erith); Primary Steps Recital (Linden Studio at The Royal Ballet School); Anatomy of a Suicide (Webber Douglas Studio). Associate/Assistant credits include The Lemon Table (Salisbury Playhouse/UK tour); Les Misérables, Les Misérables In Concert (Sondheim Theatre); Palmer Harding Fashion Show (Goodenough College). Studied Theatre Lighting Design at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. ryandaylighting.com Instagram @ryandaylighting Deborah Frances-White Writer Deborah Frances-White is an awardwinning writer and comedian, best known for her hit podcast The Guilty Feminist. The podcast has had over 150 million downloads and has been recorded live around the world at venues including The Royal Albert Hall, The London Palladium, The Sydney Opera House and The Wellington Arena. Her book, The Guilty Feminist, is published by Virago Press at Hachette and is a Sunday Times Best Seller. Her second book Six Conversations We’re Scared To Have will also be published by Virago in 2024. Her BBC Radio 4 show, Deborah Frances-White Rolls The Dice, won The Writers’ Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy and was followed by Deborah Frances-White Introduces... Her award-winning independent feature film, Say My Name, premiered in London’s West End in 2019 and she has several scripted projects in development including Bad Fairies for Locksmith Animation with Warner Brothers. Her new feature film, The Wishboard. is in pre-production with Redwave Films. Deborah’s television credits as a comedian include QI, Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week
and Question Time. She is a sought-after corporate speaker through her company The Spontaneity Shop and her Cambridge University TEDx Talk is available online. Deborah is an official ambassador for Choose Love and Amnesty International. She is currently the creative director of Amnesty’s legacy brand The Secret Policeman’s Ball and has directed and compered the recent Secret Policeman’s Tour shows. Lotte Hines CDG Casting Director Also this season at Chichester, The Vortex (Festival Theatre), Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? (Minerva Theatre). Lotte worked at the Royal Court Theatre as Casting Associate 2008-2012 and then as Deputy Casting Director 2012-2014. Theatre as Casting Director includes Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Lyric Hammersmith/ Sheffield Crucible/Playful Productions); Let The Right One In, Nora: A Doll’s House, The Mountaintop, Glee & Me (Royal Exchange Manchester); Closer, Jack and The Beanstalk (Lyric Hammersmith); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace Theatre/Sonia Friedman Productions); The Forest (Hampstead Theatre); Ivan and the Dogs, Things of Dry Hours, La Musica, Dirty Butterfly, The Island (Young Vic); The Dark (Oval House & UK tour); Hole (Royal Court); The Wolves (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Meek, Junkyard, Boys Will Be Boys, The Glass Menagerie, The Absence of War, Medea (Headlong); The Tempest, As You Like It, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); The Barbershop Chronicles (NT/ Fuel/WYP US tour); Elephant (Birmingham Rep); People, Places and Things (National Theatre/Headlong); Speech and Debate (Trafalgar Studios); The Iliad, The Weir (Lyceum Edinburgh); Brenda (HighTide/ The Yard); Pride and Prejudice (Sheffield Crucible); Another Place (Theatre Royal Plymouth); Pests (Clean Break/Royal Court); We Are Proud to Present (Bush Theatre); The Little Mermaid (Bristol Old Vic); Pieces
of Vincent (Arcola). As Casting Associate The Seagull (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Tipping the Velvet (Lyric Hammersmith/Royal Lyceum Edinburgh); Bull (Sheffield Crucible); as Casting Assistant Hamlet (Barbican); A View from the Bridge (Young Vic). Television and film includes Casting Director for the shorts Influencer, CLA’AM, Above, digital dramas Data, Unprecedented and Casting Associate for Lockwood & Co, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Chi-San Howard Movement Director Previously at Chichester, The Narcissist (Minerva Theatre), The Taxidermist’s Daughter (Festival Theatre). Movement credits include: Grenfell: in the words of survivors (National Theatre); 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 Emma Butler Chi-San Howard Deborah Frances-White
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); Homos, or Everyone in America; Bury the Dead and Adding Machine: A Musical
(Finborough Theatre). Films include Hurt by Paradise, Birds of Paradise and music videos for Orla Gartland (Pretending), Joesef (I Wonder Why). Dubheasa Lanipekun Associate Director Dubheasa is a multidisciplinary theatremaker, filmmaker and photographer. In her lens-based practice she was recently a Sundance Institute Fellow on the Ignite Programme with Adobe, winning a place with her debut short film Blue Corridor 15 (official selection Aesthetica, S.O.U.L. Fest, London Short Film Festival, BFI Woman with a Movie Camera Summit and Little Wing Film Festival; winner of the Film Futures Award, Little Wing and Shooting People, New Shoots round award). Theatre as Director includes Resurrections (Golden Goose Theatre); Glitz n Gutz and Mix Up Mix Up (Clean Break); Bone (Omnibus Theatre); Deb & Joan (Canal Café Theatre); Blind Date (Katzpace); A.I. In Wonderland (University of Warwick). As Assistant Director: Women, Beware
Deborah Frances-White Greg Wise
The Devil (Almeida Theatre); Paradise Now! (Bush Theatre); Handbagged (Kiln Theatre); WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT GRIEF (Donmar Warehouse). As Assistant Dramaturg: Clean Break Pathways Programme (Royal Court). Claire Llewellyn for RC-Annie Ltd Intimacy and Fight Director Claire is an Associate Fight Director with Rc-Annie Ltd. Recent Fight Direction credits: Peter Pan (Reading Rep); Around the World in 80 Days (Theatre by the Lake/Hull Truck); Kidnapped (National Theatre Scotland tour); Duet for One (Orange Tree); The Walworth Farce (Southwark Playhouse); Caucasian Chalk Circle, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel (Rose Theatre); Oklahoma! (West End); Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) (Criterion Theatre & UK tour); Evelyn (Metal Rabbit Productions); To Kill a Mockingbird (Gielgud Theatre); Wonder Boy (Bristol Old Vic); Macbeth (Leeds Playhouse); 71 Coltman Street (Hull Truck); Carmen (Opera North); Don Giovanni (Nevill Holt Opera);
Witness for the Prosecution (London County Hall); The Process (Bunker Theatre); Ages of the Moon (The Vaults); Frankenstein (NYT Rep); Whoddunit, Jack and the Beanstalk (Park Theatre); Wait Until Dark (Frinton Summer Theatre); King Lear (Progress Theatre); Love of the Nightingale (Salisbury Playhouse); Romeo and Juliet (China Plate Theatre); The Paradise Circus (Playground Theatre); Sense and Sensibility (Wokingham Players); Macbeth (Merely Players); Function, The Host, Zigger Zagger, Blue Stocking, Bitches (National Youth Theatre); When They Go Low (National Connections); La tragédie de Carmen (RAM); Cluedo Killing Club (Arcola); A Flea in her Ear, Things We Do for Love (Wolkingham Theatre); Bitched (Tristan Bates); Twist (Theatre Centre); Boom (Theatre503); Othello, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing (Scaffold State); Peter Pan: The Never Ending Story (Al Raha Beach Theatre, Abu Dhabi); Not a Game for Boys (King’s Head); Macbeth (Greenwich). Fight Associate credits The Prince of Egypt (Dominion); Witness for the Prosecution (County Hall).
Greg Wise Amit Shah
malakaï sargeant Dramaturg malakaï is an artist, educator and producer, working across theatre, literature, audio and live performance – creating and interrogating through an Afroqueer lens. As a dramaturg, malakaï’s work has been staged at venues including Guildhall School of Music & Dance, Shoreditch Town Hall and the National Gallery. They are currently New Work Associate at Talawa Theatre Company and Co-Creative Director of literary arts agency BORN::FREE LDN.
Events
Never Have I Ever Pre-Show Talk Tuesday 5 September, 5.30pm Join director Emma Butler and writer Deborah Frances-White for a fascinating insight into how their production came together, with a chance to ask questions of your own. They are in conversation with best-selling author Kate Mosse. Free but booking is essential.
Stage Presence and Confidence Saturday 9 September, 2 – 4pm Join Deborah Frances-White for this two-hour practical workshop. Whether you experience stage fright, are a public speaker looking to improve, or just want to up your confidence in conversations, this workshop will help you connect with your audience in a fun way with practical and insightful tips. Ages 18+ £10 (bursary places available, contact leap@cft.org.uk)
Masterclass: Never Have I Ever... Saturday 16 September, 10am – 1pm Never Have I Ever... applied to work at a theatre... auditioned for a show... designed a costume? Come behind the scenes with us a for a day of mini masterclasses and find out about some things you may have never done, but would like to. £5
Post-Show Talk Monday 18 September Stay after the performance to ask questions, meet company members and discover more about the production. Hosted by Kate Bassett, CFT Literary Associate. Free
Get Creative Whatever your interests or skill-set, there’s something for you in our programme of activities for adults. Everyone’s welcome, so join us and get creative. Get Into It! Learn new skills and socialise in our termly sessions in Acting, Dancing or Singing each Monday. Can’t make it every week? Try our Drop-Ins and join us when suits you. No experience necessary - everyone is welcome to Get Into it!
Mind, Body, Sing Fun and relaxing, our group singing sessions are open to everyone aged 18+ and are dementia friendly. We believe everyone is musical and there are no wrong notes, so join us and experience the health-giving properties of group singing.
Scan to find out more cft.org.uk/get-creative
Wednesday Company and Friday Company For adults aged 25+ with learning disabilities to develop their artistic skills, meet new people and socialise in a fun and supportive environment. Wednesday Company takes place at The Capitol in Horsham and Friday Company takes place at St Paul’s Church in Chichester.
Chichester People’s Theatre Our community company work together to devise an original piece of theatre inspired by the work on our stages. The piece is then shared at a public performance. We’ll hold open auditions to become part of the company towards the end of 2023.
Join Chichester Festival Youth Theatre “For young people, knowing you can identify as whoever you really think you are is more and more relevant, and CFYT has always felt like a space where you can do that.” CFYT MEMBER
Every week, CFYT members meet at locations across the county to discover new skills and explore new stories, make friends, build confidence and, most importantly, “laugh until your sides hurt”* (*direct quote from a member). For ages 5 to 25 we have drama, dance, musical theatre and technical theatre sessions to choose from, as well as groups for young people with additional needs (CFYT Wednesday in Horsham and CFYT Friday in Chichester). Our weekly sessions take place in locations across West Sussex for you to meet like-minded people and find a space where you can just be yourself!
Find your group across West Sussex and join us! Scan to find out more
cft.org.uk/CFYT
Light a Spark Enjoying the show? Imagine if everyone could discover the magic of theatre. You can make it happen. Donate to our Light a Spark fundraising campaign and support a family to come to CFT for the first time or a young person to launch their career with us.
Scan to donate or find out more
cft.org.uk/LightASpark
Chichester Festival Theatre is a registered charity. Charity no. 1088552.
Staff Trustees Mark Foster Jessica Brown-Fuller Jean Vianney Cordeiro Victoria Illingworth Rear Admiral John Lippiett CB CBE Harry Matovu KC Caro Newling OBE Nick Pasricha Philip Shepherd Stephanie Street Hugh Summers Tina Webster Associates Kate Bassett Charlotte Sutton CDG
Sally Garner-Gibbons Chair
Literary Associate Casting Associate
Building & Site Services Chris Edwards Maintenance Engineer Lez Gardiner Duty Engineer Daren Rowland Facilities Manager Graeme Smith Duty Engineer Costume Kit Beaumont
Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Assistant Wardrobe Manager Assistant Wardrobe Dresser Senior Costume Assistant Dresser Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Manager Jessica Griffiths Wardrobe Manager Abbie Hart Assistant Wardrobe Dee Howland Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Assistant Kendal Love Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Manager Lucy Olorenshaw Dresser Natasha Pawluk Wig Daysetter Loz Tait Head of Costume Colette Tulley Wardrobe Maintenance Eloise Wood Wig Assistant Brooke Bowden Isabelle Brook Helen Clark Helen Flower Lysanne Goble Shelley Gray
Development Laura Blake Fundraising Consultant Nick Carmichael Development Officer Julie Field Friends Administrator Sophie Henstridge-Brown Senior Development Manager Sarah Mansell Development Consultant Charlotte Stroud Development Manager Karen Taylor Development Manager (Maternity Leave) Megan Wilson Events and Development Officer Directors Office Justin Audibert Kathy Bourne Patricia Key Keshira Aarabi Angela Buckley Sophie Hobson Aimée Massey Julia Smith
Zoe Ellis
Marketing, Communications, Digital & Sales Josh Allan Box Office Supervisor Caroline Aston Audience Insight Manager Becky Batten Head of Marketing Laura Bern Marketing Manager Jessica Blake-Lobb Marketing Manager (Corporate) Helen Campbell Deputy Box Office Manager Lydia Cassidy Director of Marketing & Communications Jay Godwin Box Office Assistant Lorna Holmes Box Office Supervisor Mollie Kent Box Office Assistant (Casual) James Mitchell Box Office Assistant James Morgan Box Office Manager Lucinda Morrison Head of Press Brian Paterson Distribution Co-ordinator Kirsty Peterson Box Office Assistant Ben Phillips Marketing & Press Assistant Catherine Rankin Box Office Assistant (Casual) Luke Shires Director of Marketing & Communications Jenny Thompson Social Media & Digital Marketing Officer Joshua Vine Box Office Assistant (Casual) Claire Walters Box Office Assistant Joanna Wiege Box Office Administrator Jane Wolf Box Office Assistant People Paula Biggs Jenefer Francis Naziera Jahir Emily Oliver Jenny Sherriff Gillian Watkins
Artistic Director Executive Director PA to the Directors Projects & Events Co-ordinator Projects & Events Co-ordinator Creative Associate Diversity, Inclusion & Change Consultant Company Secretary & Board Support
Finance Alison Baker Payroll & Pensions Officer Sally Cunningham Purchase Ledger Assistant Amanda Hart Finance & Operations Director Krissie Harte Finance Officer Katie Palmer Assistant Management Accountant Amanda Trodd Management Accountant Protozoon Ltd IT Consultants LEAP Helena Berry
Apprenticeship Co-ordinator Matthew Hawksworth Head of Children & Young People’s Programme Hannah Hogg Senior Youth & Outreach Manager Shari A. Jessie Creative Therapist Louise Rigglesford Senior Community & Outreach Manager Dale Rooks Director of LEAP Abi Rutter Youth & Outreach Co-ordinator Angela Watkins LEAP Projects Manager
Heritage & Archive Manager LEAP Co-ordinator
Head of People HR Officer (maternity leave) Interim People Manager Accommodation Co-ordinator Recruitment & HR Administrator HR Officer
Production Amelia Ferrand-Rook Producer Claire Rundle Production Administrator George Waller Trainee Producer Nicky Wingfield Production Administrator Technical Steph Bartle Deputy Head of Lighting James Barnes Stage Crew Victoria Baylis Props Assistant Daisy Vahey Bourne Stage Crew Finley Bradley Technical Theatre Apprentice Serena Christian Stage Crew Leoni Commosioung Stage Technician Sarah Crispin Senior Prop Maker Elise Fairbairn Stage Technician Zoe Gadd Assistant Lighting Technician Ross Gardner Stage Crew Sam Garner-Gibbons Technical Director Jack Goodland Stage Crew & Automation Fuzz Guthrie Senior Sound Technician Lucy Guyver Production Manager Apprentice Laura Hackett Stage Crew Dan Heesem Lighting Technician
Katie Hennessy
Props Store Co-ordinator Tom Hitchins Head of Stage & Technical Mike Keniger Head of Sound Andrew Leighton Senior Lighting Technician Matthew Linklater No.1 Sound Technician Finlay Macknay Stage Crew Ian Murphy Stage & Automation Technician Chris Murray Stage Crew Charlotte Neville Head of Props Workshop Stuart Partrick Transport & Logistics Neil Rose Deputy Head of Sound Ernesto Ruiz Prop Maker Anna Setchell (Setch) Deputy Head of Stage James Sharples Senior Stage Crew & Rigger Molly Stammers Senior Lighting Technician Ben Steel Stage Crew Graham Taylor Head of Lighting Dominic Turner Lighting Technician Bogdan Virlan Stage Crew Elliott Wallis Sound Technican Linda-Mary Wise Sound Technician Theatre Management Janet Bakose Theatre Manager Judith Bruce-Hay Minerva Supervisor Charlie Gardiner Minerva Supervisor Ben Geering 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, Izzy Arnold, 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, Jay Godwin, Anna Grindel, Caroline Hanton, Justine Hargraves, Joseph Harrington, Joanne Heather, Marie Innes, Keiko Iwamoto, Flynn Jeffery, Joan Jenkins, Pippa Johnson, Julie Johnstone, Ryan Jones, Jan Jordan, Jon Joshua, Sally Kingsbury, Alexandra Langrish, Judith Marsden, Emily McAlpine, Janette McAlpine, Fiona Methven, Chris Monkton, Ella Morgans, Susan Mulkern, Isabel Owen, Martyn Pedersen, Susy Peel, Kirsty Peterson, Helen Pinn, Barbara Pope, Fleur Sarkissian, Nicola Shaw, Janet Showell, Lorraine Stapley, Sophie Stirzaker, Angela Stodd, Christine Tippen, Charlotte Tregear, Andy Trust, Sue Welling, James Wisker, Donna Wood, Kim Wylam We acknowledge the work of those who give so generously of their time as our Volunteer Audio Description Team: Janet Beckett, Tony Clark, Robert Dunn, Geraldine Firmston, Suzanne France, Richard Frost, David Phizackerley, Christopher Todd
Our Supporters 2023 Major Donors Deborah Alun-Jones Robin and Joan Alvarez David and Elizabeth Benson Philip Berry George W. Cameron OBE and Madeleine Cameron Sir William and Lady Castell David and Claire Chitty John and Pat Clayton David and Jane Cobb John and Susan Coldstream Clive and Frances Coward
Trusts and Foundations The Arthur Williams Charitable Trust The Arts Society, Chichester The Bateman Family Charitable Trust The Bernadette Charitable Trust The Chartered Accountants’ Livery Charity The Dorus Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Elizabeth, Lady Cowdray’s
Festival Players 1000+ John and Joan Adams Tom Reid and Lindy Ambrose The Earl and Countess of Balfour Sarah and Tony Bolton Ian and Jan Carroll C Casburn and B Buckley CS and M Chadha David Churchill Denise Clatworthy Michael and Jill Cook Lin and Ken Craig
Festival Players 500+ Judy Addison Smith Mr James and Lady Emma Barnard (The Barness Charity Trust) Martin Blackburn Janet Bounds Pat Bowman Jean Campbell Sally Chittleburgh Mr and Mrs Jeremy Chubb Mr Charles Collingwood and Miss Judy Bennett
Yvonne and John Dean Jim Douglas Mrs Veronica J Dukes Melanie Edge Huw Evans Steve and Sheila Evans Val and Richard Evans Sandy and Mark Foster Simon and Luci Eyers 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 Mrs Sheila Meadows Elizabeth Miles Eileen Norris Jerome and Elizabeth O’Hea Mrs Denise Patterson DL Stuart and Carolyn Popham Dame Patricia Routledge DBE Sophie and David Shalit Simon and Melanie Shaw Greg and Katherine Slay Christine and Dave Smithers Alan and Jackie Stannah Oliver Stocken CBE Howard Thompson Peter and Wendy Usborne Bryan Warnett Ernest Yelf
Charity Trust Epigoni Trust The Foyle Foundation The G D Charitable Trust Hobhouse Charitable Trust The Mackintosh Foundation The Maurice Marshal Preference Trust Noël Coward Foundation Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour Theatre Artists Fund The Vernon Ellis Foundation Wickens Family Foundation
Deborah Crockford Clive and Kate Dilloway Peter and Ruth Doust Gary Fairhall Mr Nigel Fullbrook George Galazka Robert and Pirjo Gardiner Wendy and John Gehr Marion Gibbs CBE Rachel and Richard Green Ros and Alan Haigh Chris and Carolyn Hughes Melanie J. Johnson John and Jenny Lippiett Alan and Virginia Lovell Sarah Mansell and Tim Bouquet Patrick Martyn James and Anne McMeehan Roberts Mrs Michael Melluish Celia Merrick Roger and Jackie Morris 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
The de Laszlo Foundation Lady Finch Colin and Carole Fisher Beryl Fleming Terry Frost Stephen J Gill Dr Stuart Hall Rowland and Caroline Hardwick Dennis and Joan Harrison Karen and Paul Johnston Frank and Freda Letch Anthony and Fiona Littlejohn Jim and Marilyn Lush Dr and Mrs Nick Lutte Trevor & Lynne Matthews Tim McDonald Jill and Douglas McGregor Sue and Peter Morgan Mrs Mary Newby Margaret and Martin Overington Jean Plowright Robin Roads Dr David Seager John and Tita Shakeshaft Mr and Mrs Brian Smouha Elizabeth Stern Anne Subba-Row Harry and Shane Thuillier Miss Melanie Tipples Chris and Dorothy Weller Nick and Tarnia Williams
Richard Staughton and Claire Heath Ian and Alison Warren Angela Wormald
...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 and Festival Players
Our Supporters 2023 Principal Partners Platinum Level
Prof. E.F. Juniper and Mrs Jilly Styles Gold Level
Silver Level
Corporate Partners FBG Investment J Leon Group Jones Avens
Montezuma’s Oldham Seals Group Pallant House Gallery
Protozoon 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