HOME By David Storey
KATHY BOURNE AND DANIEL EVANS PHOTOGRAPH BY SEAMUS RYAN
WELCOME
A warm welcome to the final production of Festival 2021, David Storey’s Home. As Jasper Rees notes in this programme, our revival is the first since Storey’s death in 2017 and the posthumous publication of his powerful and revealing memoir A Stinging Delight, which sheds fresh light on the themes of the play. We are delighted to welcome director Josh Roche to Chichester for the first time, alongside a talented young creative team – two members of whom have been recruited according to the principles of OpenHire, the initiative Josh co-founded to widen the opportunities available to freelance creatives. It is also a pleasure to greet our quintet of actors. Four – Leon Annor, Hayley Carmichael, Daniel Cerqueira and Doña Croll – are also new to Chichester, while John Mackay makes a welcome return to the Minerva. It has been thrilling
to see companies once again inhabiting our stages after so many dark months. We’re also glad to see our community participants returning to live activity. An Elders Company will be presenting their short piece of original work responding to the themes of Home on 30 October. Josh Roche will be in conversation with Kate Mosse on 12 October, and the company will provide further insights at a post-show talk on 28 October. Of course, the culmination of Festival 2021 doesn’t mean the end of engrossing theatre! Our packed Winter season of visiting drama, dance, comedy and music opens in November with the National Theatre/Birmingham Rep anniversary revival of Ayub Khan Din’s comic drama East Is East. And don’t miss our own revival next January of another modern classic: John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Doubt: A Parable, with Lia Williams directing Monica Dolan and Sam Spruell. Thank you for joining us this season, and we hope you enjoy this performance.
Executive Director Kathy Bourne
cft.org.uk
Artistic Director Daniel Evans
WINTER 2021 - 22
EAST IS EAST By Ayub Khan Din Direct from its London run, the smash hit modern classic of comedy drama celebrates its 25th anniversary in a new co-production from Birmingham Rep and the National Theatre.
3 – 6 November #EastIsEast
cft.org.uk
WINTER 2021 - 22
DOUBT A PARABLE
By John Patrick Shanley Lia Williams directs Monica Dolan and Sam Spruell in Chichester Festival Theatre’s revival of the celebrated, Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
22 January – 5 February #Doubt
cft.org.uk
LEAP
Our Learning, Education and Participation (LEAP) programme is a beacon of excellence and inspiration to our local audience, providing
ACTORS & CREATIVES INSIGHT
A new pilot project from the LEAP team, Actors and Creatives Insight, is delivering creative learning experiences to students in local schools through interactive and lively workshops, giving them an insight into different areas of the arts. A public call-out to professionals from any discipline of the arts in the local area received an enthusiastic response from 20 talented artists. Between them, they will be leading over 100 workshops during the summer term at primary and secondary schools across the region, from Lancing to Hampshire. The project was the brainchild of actor Edward Bennett, who appeared at Chichester Festival Theatre as Benedick in Much Ado
About Nothing and Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2016. Edward, who now lives near Chichester, is himself delivering a number of workshops, which respond to curriculum needs – from Shakespeare for English students to directing techniques. Other workshops on offer include technical, movement, mask, physical theatre and composing. The project has been enabled by the government’s Culture Recovery Fund grant, helping CFT transition back to full activity, employ freelance artists and maintain our commitment to the community. We intend to evaluate and develop the project for the future.
‘I could see the confidence in the pupils building throughout the session. They learnt vital teamwork skills and their wellbeing was significantly affected in a positive way’. Teacher, The Academy Selsey
‘I learnt how to apply knowledge and skills from theatre to multiple real-life scenarios and roles’. Year 10 student, Felpham Community College
COMMUNITY
opportunities for over 62,000 people throughout the year. We create and deliver practical workshops, projects and special events for everyone,
regardless of age, culture and social background, ensuring all are given an opportunity to be engaged and excited by the arts.
KEEPING YOUNG CARERS CONNECTED
Young Carers Connect is CFT’s major project to help reconnect young carers in West Sussex with vital support services, their education, fellow young carers, and creative activities. Every day, more than 6,000 young caregivers in West Sussex under the age of 18 take on substantial responsibilities. Covid-19 left many isolated and unable to access support or their schoolwork because they couldn’t afford a computer or internet access. After a successful fundraising appeal, CFT has now distributed 300 laptops to young carers most in need, through their schools and The West Sussex Young Carers service. Young Carers Connect also provides internet
access, a programme of online arts activities to entertain and inspire, and safely connects young carers with each other. Free bursaries are also available to any young carer aged 5-25 in West Sussex to join their local Chichester Festival Youth Theatre group (run in nine locations across the county). Young Carers Connect has been made possible by the generous support of The G D Charitable Trust and many private donors. To find out more, please visit cft.org.uk/young-carers-connect
‘We cannot thank CFT and all of their kind donors enough for this amazing offer. 12 of our families will be able to access online learning at home and will be able to complete all of their homework. Being part of the Young Carers Connect project also enables them to take part in virtual creative activities with CFT. What an amazing project.’ Andrew Strong, Headteacher, Portfield Primary Academy
cft.org.uk/leap
CFT BUDD Recently, Chichester Festival Theatre mounted its first-ever Dementia Friendly performance. A South Pacific matinee featured adjustments to sound and light levels, a live introduction to the plot, and a relaxed approach to audience movement. And on hand were a team of CFT Buddies, to offer support where needed. Since its inception in 2017, CFT’s volunteer companion scheme has significantly grown and evolved. While Buddies continue to be available free of charge to accompany individuals to attend any performance or event at the Theatre, thanks to ongoing support from Rathbones Investment Management its remit has expanded well beyond that original concept.
Louise Rigglesford, Senior Community and Outreach Manager, explains: ‘Throughout lockdown, anyone who had used the scheme, or members of our community groups who were at risk of isolation, were offered a weekly phone call from one of our Buddies to help keep their spirits up. We also signposted them towards support services where necessary, such as help with their shopping or medication. ‘Since we’ve come out of lockdown, in 2021 we’ve further expanded the remit of the Buddies scheme through a growing connection with Chichester District Council’s Social Prescribing Team. If someone goes to their GP presenting symptoms that are best dealt with creatively rather than medically –
DIES loneliness, for example – they’ll be referred to the Social Prescribing Team, who have a network of community and wellbeing groups to help combat the issues they’re experiencing. ‘In addition to coming to see a show or getting a phone call, we’ve added two extra options. People can be referred to us for monthly tea and coffee visits, to have some social interaction and friendly contact. Whereas previously Buddies were only available to take people to see a show at CFT, we’re now offering activities anywhere across the district from Petworth and Pulborough down to Selsey. ‘That might be one of our own events or workshops; or if there’s something at
a local cultural organisation or a community centre, for example, the Buddies will support the individual going there as well, at least initially – to make sure that crossing that threshold isn’t a barrier.’ Victoria Homer, Client Service Executive and Regional Marketing Co-Ordinator for Rathbones Investment Management, cites the company’s sponsorship of CFT Buddies as the highlight of their six-year partnership with the Theatre and one way in which they are giving back to the community. ‘CFT is our local theatre which is attended by our staff and clients, some of whom would like to make use of this scheme; others may require the Buddies scheme in the future.’ Not simply financial partners, Rathbones are actively involved too; Victoria is one of the Rathbones staff who are themselves being trained as volunteer Buddies. ‘Our whole remit is about getting people to engage with the arts,’ says Louise. ‘The social prescribing movement equally values the importance of arts and creativity within wellbeing and people living fulfilled lives. So for me it’s a natural fit. It’s about connecting our volunteers with people in need through shared interests. This is a place for everyone – yes, we put on fantastic shows, but this organisation does so much more.’
If you know someone who might benefit from the CFT Buddies scheme, visit cft.org.uk/buddies
FOOD AND DRINK Enjoy delicious food and drink at our welcoming café and restaurant. Whether you’re having a meal before the show, simply relaxing with a coffee or powering up using our free Wi-Fi, we can’t wait to welcome you.
DINE BEFORE THE SHOW
GREAT COFFEE IN A GREAT LOCATION
Enjoy a contemporary British menu featuring local and seasonal ingredients, a selection of excellent wines and top-notch service in our stylish and award-winning restaurant The Brasserie – the closest restaurant to the Theatre.
A great spot for barista coffee, freshly made sandwiches, delicious cakes and a range of drinks. Our newly revamped Café on the Park is now open with extra outdoor seating overlooking Oaklands Park and new family friendly areas in our spacious foyer.
And if you’re planning festive family dining, look no further than The Brasserie this Christmas.
Open Monday to Friday from 10am and from 9am on Saturday so ParkRunners can stop by for much needed refreshment.
Visit cft.org.uk/eat for opening times, reservations, menus and more.
HOME By David Storey
DAVID STOREY A GIANT OF POST-WAR ENGLISH CULTURE There is a famous tale about David Storey. It’s set in 1976 at the Royal Court, where a new play of his opened in the same week that his novel, Saville, had won the Booker Prize. With unrivalled success across fiction, theatre and cinema, Storey was a giant of post-war English culture. He was also, compared to most writers, an actual giant. This Sporting Life, his novel made into a groundbreaking film, grew out of his experience of playing professional rugby league.
His genuine modesty seemed to grow out of guilt that, while his father toiled down a pit in the South Yorkshire coalfield, he had escaped into the arts. Unlike Saville, his play Mother’s Day was greeted by a raspberry fanfare. A night or two later, Storey was giving the demoralised cast a stirring pep talk in the Court’s bar when he noticed the presence of the very critics who had just dumped on his play. ‘I thought they were all queuing up to apologise,’ he told me when I first met him 25 years ago, ‘but then the one at the front asked me to get out of the way.’ They were queuing to get past him and into the theatre. ‘I stepped aside, and I just couldn’t resist verbally abusing them and I got carried away. I only really hit DAVID STOREY IMAGE COURTESY OF FAMILY OF DAVID STOREY
hard at Michael Billington. I was rather soft with the others. It was on the back of the heads, reproachful, like you do with school children. With Billington I hit him each time I came to a vowel. “I-di-ot.” I just remembered the first sentence of his review, which only had two words in it. “A stinker.” I knocked his glasses across the floor.’ For all his brawn, David Storey was a quiet and Eeyorishly wry teller of wonderful tales against himself. His genuine modesty seemed to grow out of guilt that, while his father toiled down a pit in the South Yorkshire coalfield, he had escaped into the arts. He trained as a painter at the Slade. When This Sporting Life was published in 1960 his name was made. Only later, and almost by accident, was he to become a playwright. ‘I don’t think I’d been to the theatre more than a dozen times in my life,’ he told me. ‘All the plays were written with no knowledge of the theatre at all. The only plays that have ever worked are when I start with the first line and a vague idea of what they might be about, and they write themselves.’ Storey’s first play, about his life as a teacher, languished in a drawer for eight years. When The Restoration of Arnold Middleton was eventually staged in 1967, it earned him a share of the Evening Standard Award for most promising playwright. It had a galvanising effect. While his co-winner, Tom Stoppard, needed four years to come up with a full-length follow-up to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, in four months Storey wrote several of the plays on which his dramatic reputation still rests: In Celebration, The Contractor, The Changing Room and Home. Home still feels like an anomaly. It is not simply that, for all its melancholy, it’s also funny. It doesn’t – or didn’t seem to – follow