The Promise By Paul Unwin
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to this performance of The Promise, our third world premiere of Festival 2024. Sometimes, ‘events, dear boy, events’ – to coin Harold Macmillan’s famous phrase – bestow an even greater relevance on a new production. That’s certainly the case with Paul Unwin’s new play; we knew that 2024 was likely to be an election year, but we didn’t foresee that The Promise would open in the immediate aftermath of a seismic general election. So, as we absorb the results and witness a transformed House of Commons, it’s particularly apt to re-examine the dramatic political struggles of Clement Atlee’s post-war Labour government which defined the Britain we live in today. Paul – the co-creator of BBC’s Casualty – reveals the fragile individuals behind these audacious public figures, true titans of the Labour movement, and their personal and public battles to create the revolutionary NHS. And in Ellen Wilkinson, he restores to the spotlight a radical outsider (chiming with one of the themes of this season). We’re delighted to welcome the distinguished cast; some, such as Clare Burt, Andrew Woodall and Suzanne Burden returning to CFT, others including Reece Dinsdale, Richard Harrington and Clive Wood making their debuts here. And it’s a particular pleasure to have director Jonathan Kent – whose many outstanding Chichester productions range from Gypsy and Sweeney Todd to Private Lives and The Young Chekhov Trilogy – also back working on our stages. It’s hard to believe we’re already over half way through the Season, but we still have two more world premieres to come: David Eldridge’s adaptation of John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Charlotte Jones’s Redlands, both of which also evoke different aspects of British history. We hope that you’ll enjoy this performance and to see you again soon.
Justin Audibert Artistic Director
Kathy Bourne Executive Director
Kathy Bourne and Justin Audibert Photograph by Peter Flude
These kids – they’re taking over the world – they’re the new aristocracy, man and the old guard don’t like it.
Redlands Festival Theatre 20 September – 18 October Sending the season out with ‘a bigger bang’ in the Festival Theatre, Charlotte Jones’s new play Redlands catapults us back to the Chichester of the 1960s and a moment of local history: the trial of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. CFT Artistic Director Justin Audibert is at the helm, and tells us: ‘This is a local story with national resonance. It tells the dramatic story of the drugs bust at Keith Richards’ house in the Witterings, and explores how Michael Havers QC manages to get the Rolling Stones acquitted; and how for his young son, the esteemed actor Nigel Havers, the experience changes his life forever.
‘As a dedicated Rolling Stones fan myself, it gives me enormous ‘Satisfaction’ to be directing this colourful, vibrant piece of ensemble theatre which will be supported with a live band onstage and some absolutely brilliant R&B songs.’
One minute to midnight. It’s time. Ladies and gentlemen, take a seat and I shall begin...
The Cat and the Canary Minerva Theatre 27 September – 26 October The Cat and the Canary, adapted by Carl Grose from the play by John Willard, is a hilariously chilling mixture of Agatha Christie and gothic horror that will have you shrieking with laughter and fear in equal measure. And there’s nobody better than the genius shape-shifting company Told by an Idiot, and director Paul Hunter, to tell it. Justin Audibert says: ‘Who doesn’t love a brilliantly scary ghost story as the nights get darker and chillier? This will be a physically entertaining piece of storytelling which centres around a motley group of characters who gather in a remote house in Cornwall to hear the reading of a will.
‘It has the perfect mixture of spooks, belly laughs and thrills to end the season.’
One of the ‘This is a friendly, welcoming space and my son loves it. I have actually developed my own confidence too!’ Each year, thousands of families are welcomed to Chichester Festival Theatre – many of them to shows such as Oliver! or our Christmas shows. But there are also plenty of fun-filled events and creative activities. Discover our wide range of pop-up one-day events for children and families, ranging from crafts with Creation Station, Lego with The BRICK People and origami with Fold Our City to musical moments for little ones with Baby Broadway, to name a few. Many are free or at minimal cost. Parents and carers can relax in our family friendly space in the Festival Theatre foyer while little ones make full use of the
Photos Richard Gibbons, Tim Hills
toys, games, craft and dressing up. Other free events this summer include Storytime Saturdays and live music Summer Sessions on Oaklands Park. And check out The Big Hoot Art Trail, running until 1 September, when 30 owl sculptures will swoop into public green spaces in Chichester and Arundel, including our very own ‘Owliver’ at CFT! Knees-up on the Park on Sunday 11 August will be a day of pure excitement for all ages. Dance like no one is watching at the silent disco, unravel the secrets of our heritage treasure trail, and ignite your creativity in a workshop. With live local music, plus delicious food and drink, there’ll be free and paid-for events – check out our website for full details. Last year, we introduced a brand new programme specially designed for underfives. ‘Mini Makers and Shakers’ includes regular weekly workshops such as Little Artists, Boogie with Baby and Mini Movers, and outreach sessions in local nurseries where children can explore their creativity through dance, singing,
he family playing instruments and art. In 2023 we also launched Chichester’s first Family Arts Network, uniting six cultural organisations across the city who want to shout out about all the wonderful family friendly things there are to do here. You can find out more at Facebook.com/ ChichesterKidsApproved familyarts.co.uk/chichester-network
We’ve recently partnered with HomeStart Chichester to enable vulnerable families to take part too. The sessions not only provide creative experiences for the children, but opportunities for parents and caregivers to connect socially with other adults, and develop new skills to support creative play at home. So – we hope you’ll ‘be back soon!’ cft.org.uk/families
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
- Tempus Cured Meats - Charlie’s Smokehouse - Cadd Oxshott Pizza
- Slade Farm Asparagus - Secretts Farm Leaves - Surrey Watercress
Discover more
The Promise By Paul Unwin
One The First World War is devastating. Nearly a million British and Empire soldiers are among the 20 million people killed. Barely a family in Britain is left untouched. For all the talk of a ‘land fit for heroes’, very little changes with the peace.
Two Having fought and been injured in Gallipoli, Clement Attlee returns from the war and, rather than become a family solicitor, commits himself to politics. In 1922 he’s elected MP and marries Violet Millar, the daughter of a Hampstead businessman. They will go on to have four
children. Famously lacking charisma, Attlee will become one of Britain’s great post-war leaders.
Three Between the First and Second World Wars, a generation of left wing and socialist politicians emerge. They all have different backgrounds – the trade union movement, suffragettes, internationalism, protest marches, personal trauma – but share the conviction that Britain is an unequal and unfair society. Through years of struggle, they sharpen their sense of a future Britain, learn how to operate as politicians and develop deep personal ambitions.
Clement Attlee and Violet Millar on their wedding day, 10 January 1922.
Four
Five
In the 1920s and 30s the divisions in British society grow. The rich get richer, the poor poorer. The conditions and life chances of the working class are, if anything, worse than they were before the First World War. By the early 1920s unemployment is soaring. The Conservative government responds brutally to the General Strike of 1926. Three years later, the Wall Street Crash leads to the Great Depression. There is mass unemployment and desperation.
The poor are terrified of sickness, accidents and disability as they have to pay for treatment and care. Families save pennies for emergencies and dread the ‘poor’ hospitals. GPs charge both for appointments and prescriptions. Without money, it’s not unknown for patients to turn up at doctors’ practices carrying a few eggs to barter. The mentally ill or neurodivergent are often incarcerated in mental hospitals. Women deliver their children in ‘lying-in hospitals’ and pay for the privilege.
Workers demonstrate during the General Strike, May 1926. Photo Shawshots/Alamy.
Children in east London outside the wreckage of what was their home following a German air raid, September 1940. Photo New Times Paris Bureau Collection.
Seven
Six Britain relies on its empire for raw materials, a market in turn for manufactured goods, and a source of global power and status. Soldiers from the empire have fought alongside British servicemen, and this shared experience – for better or worse – has sharpened the desire for independence. India, the Middle East, Canada, parts of Africa and the Caribbean all have growing independence movements. The Second World War – when, again, Britain calls on the empire – makes independence almost inevitable.
At home, the Second World War transforms Britain. For the first time the population are on the front line. For all the talk of ‘stiff upper lips’, the fear of invasion, the bombing of cities and the war economy radically changes British society.
Eight Looking forward to the peace, Ernie Bevin commissions the Liberal politician William Beveridge to write a vision of future social welfare. The Beveridge Report goes on to define the five great evils – squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease – that Britain must rid itself of. Full of detailed criticism and idealism, the report receives broad political support and eventually forms the basis of Labour’s post-war social policy.
Above: William Beveridge confronts the five great evils identified in his 1942 report.