THE CHALK GARDEN By Enid Bagnold
WELCOME
DANIEL EVANS AND RACHEL TACKLEY PHOTOGRAPH BY TOBIAS KEY
Welcome to The Chalk Garden. We are delighted to present this remarkable drama by Enid Bagnold, a writer best known for her 1935 novel, National Velvet. Enid was born in Kent and brought up mostly in Jamaica but as an adult she lived at North End House in Rottingdean, East Sussex, with her husband Sir Roderick Jones and their children. That house and its surrounding coastal landscape inspired the setting for The Chalk Garden; so it’s a play perfectly made for the Festival Theatre, set as we are between the South Downs and the sea. We are thrilled to welcome Dame Penelope Keith back to Chichester to play Mrs St Maugham. Her roles here encompass The Apple Cart, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Way of the World, Entertaining Angels and Mrs Pat. Amanda Root returns
too, following The Deep Blue Sea (2011), to play Miss Madrigal; Oliver Ford Davies, who appeared in Goodnight Mister Tom (2011), makes his Festival debut. Alan Strachan also returns to direct. His previous work for us includes Entertaining Angels (2006) and Mrs Pat (2015), both with Penelope Keith; his many West End productions range from plays by Coward and Ayckbourn to Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare. If you have your own problems with chalky soil, or any other aspect of gardening in the South Downs area, we are here to help. Our panel discussion, A Chalk Gardener’s Question Time, is on 2 June and brings together award-winning garden designer Annie Guilfoyle and an expert panel from West Dean College to answer your gardening queries. We hope you enjoy today’s performance.
Artistic Director Daniel Evans
cft.org.uk
Executive Director Rachel Tackley
COMING SOON
Matt Lucas Caroline Quentin Clive Rowe Alex Young
ME AND MY GIRL Book & Lyrics by L Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber Book revised by Stephen Fry with contributions by Mike Ockrent Music by Noel Gay
2 July – 25 August #MeAndMyGirl
cft.org.uk
COMING SOON
Clare Burt Joanna Riding Gary Wilmot
FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS Based on the novel by Paul Gallico Book by Rachel Wagstaff Music & Lyrics by Richard Taylor
8 – 29 September #FlowersForMrsHarris
cft.org.uk
FESTIVE-ALL Every spring, Chichester Festival Theatre is plunged into a welter of activity as booking opens for the much-anticipated Festival season. But alongside the glossy brochures, star names and brand new productions, work of a different kind – but just as important – is in progress. ‘We are constantly thinking about how we can involve and reach people who may not find it easy to watch – still less take part in – a performance in the traditional way,’ says Louise Rigglesford, the Theatre’s Community Partnerships Manager. ‘Perhaps you know someone who used to come to the Theatre but, due to advancing years or disability, they don’t feel up to coming on their own anymore. Maybe they don’t have a partner or theatre-going friend and don’t fancy having nobody to talk to in the interval. On the other hand, someone may never
have been before and feel a bit nervous about what to expect.’ That’s where the CFT Buddies scheme comes in. Launched last year, this free companion service is for anyone who doesn’t feel physically able or comfortable attending a performance alone. It may benefit elderly or socially isolated people, those with learning difficulties or who are on the autistic spectrum, and anyone with physical disabilities or eyesight and hearing difficulties. The Buddy is not a replacement for a carer but is there to offer assistance and companionship for semi-independent people. Members of CFT’s Access List receive a 40% discount on tickets, and the Buddy’s ticket is free. Among other new initiatives, in March FestivAll celebrated the performing arts
activities of local young people with additional needs. Two performances of their own original material were given by Theatre Inc, who are based at Chichester College; Stopgap Dance Company from Farnham Maltings; Delta 7, a band from Eastbourne; and CFT’s own CFYT Friday Late group, who showed off their gift for physical comedy with a piece inspired by a silent movie set in a train station. They also presented a piece exploring what they’d like to change about the world and what inspires and encourages them. ‘FestivAll was a chance for people with disabilities or additional needs to perform in front of a welcoming audience in a professional venue. We hope it will prove to be a transformative experience for the performers,’ Louise says.
Alongside the performances, a host of free workshops and creative activities were on offer. ‘These were primarily aimed at people with additional needs – whether a learning or physical disability; someone on the autistic spectrum or with access requirements such as a wheelchair or a walker,’ Louise explains. ‘But we didn’t want it to be exclusive; anyone was welcome to come along.’ Louise hopes that FestivAll will have inspired audiences to get involved with creative activities of their own or simply to have appreciated the skill and talent on show. ‘It was an opportunity for us to emphasise the fact that the Theatre’s doors are open to everyone; it was a real celebration of people you may see less frequently on stage. We are now planning similar initiatives for the future.’
CFT BUDDIES SCHEME To find out more about CFT Buddies, visit cft.org.uk. If you would like to request a Buddy, call the Box Office on 01243 781312 or email access@cft.org.uk for more details. The scheme is sponsored by Rathbone Investment Management.
TH E CAFÉ & THE FOYLE TERRACE The Café in the Festival Theatre is open daily from 10am serving freshly made sandwiches, soup, cakes and pastries. Enjoy our barista coffee or choose from a range of hot and cold drinks including wines and beers. The Café is light and airy and offers al fresco seating and free Wi-Fi. The Bar and The Foyle Terrace in the Festival Theatre are open 90 minutes before the show and both serve a selection of locally produced spirits, beers, lagers and wine by the glass or the bottle. The Foyle Terrace also serves pizzas, quiches, jacket potatoes and salads before the show.
The Brasserie in the Minerva Theatre is open for pre-show dining in new stylish and elegant surroundings. The restaurant serves a contemporary British menu using local and seasonal ingredients as well as an excellent choice of wines. Open 12.30pm - 2.30pm on matinee days and from 5.30pm for evening performances.
Enjoy either a main meal or one of our lighter food options before or after the show in the Minerva Bar & Grill upstairs, which offers a more relaxed atmosphere. Open 90 minutes before matinee performances, from 5pm for evening performances, during the interval and post-show.
RESERVATIONS
To reserve a table in the Brasserie or Minerva Bar & Grill visit cft.org.uk/dining for online reservations. Alternatively please call 01243 782219 or email dining@cft.org.uk
THE CHALK GARDEN By Enid Bagnold
ENID BAGNOLD IMAGE COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
ENID BAGNOLD: A SUSSEX LADY In the summer of 1952 Enid Bagnold, the Sussex-based author of the novel National Velvet, believed at last she might have stumbled upon a brilliant plot for a play. Aged 63, she was desperate to be recognised as a great playwright. Earlier that year she had travelled to New York for the opening of her play Gertie, starring Glynis Johns in the eponymous role. Gertie, like so much of Enid’s writing, was an autobiographical work about a young girl’s hunger for fame. But the Broadway play that resulted had not been judged a success. Bagnold had shot to youthful fame in 1917 on publication of her controversial memoir of World War One, Diary without Dates. Almost twenty years later, by then Lady Jones, she had another huge success with National Velvet, the story of a horse-mad girl from Sussex winning the Grand National by disguising herself as a boy. In 1944 this was turned into a hugely successful Hollywood film launching the career of then unknown 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor. But in 1952 Bagnold was deeply disappointed about the flop she had been unable to save, yet more determined than ever to write a play that was a critical and commercial success. Enid Algerine Bagnold grew up in a military family, first in Jamaica and later Blackheath, but considered herself a rebellious New Woman. She was proud that her first lover was Frank Harris, the notorious editor, with whom she ‘went through the gateway to life.’ She always mined her own life to find inspiration for her work and, now, as much of her time was taken up finding adequate domestic help, not always easy in post-war Britain, this was no different. Before she left for New York she was consumed with worry about leaving her retired husband, Sir Roderick Jones, the former head of Reuters ELIZABETH TAYLOR IN NATIONAL VELVET, 1944 IMAGE COURTESY OF ALAMY
News Agency, on his own to cope. On her return from America, the three servants she had left in charge immediately handed in their notice, so her first task was engaging replacements. However, the Jones’s newly enlarged household now included not only Sir Roderick but also their war-wounded son, Timothy, who had lost a leg at Anzio, his beautiful wife Pandora and their three-year-old granddaughter, Annabel. Pandora had been just seventeen at the time of the wedding in January 1948 and became a mother seven months later. Although her parents, Sir Bede and Lady Clifford, were rigidly opposed to the match, Enid decided that such young love was wonderfully romantic. She adored Pandora, loved all the paraphernalia associated with babies and giving birth -