The Other Boleyn Girl
By Mike Poulton Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory
Welcome
Welcome
We are delighted to welcome you to the opening production of Festival 2024: the world premiere of The Other Boleyn Girl. Philippa Gregory has won a worldwide following of devoted readers for her vivid historical novels; and what better story can there be to open Justin’s first season, which travels through English history from the Tudors to the present, than this fascinating look at power and sexual politics through the eyes of women at the heart of changing history? Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex where she is now a Fellow: a local link which makes this doubly gratifying. Playwright Mike Poulton began his stage career at Chichester with adaptations of Turgenev’s Fortune’s Fool and Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya – both winners of Tony Awards on Broadway – and went on to give us several more notable adaptations, so it’s a great pleasure to welcome him back. Director Lucy Bailey also returns to Chichester for her debut in the Festival Theatre. She has assembled a superb ensemble company, alongside a hugely experienced creative team. We hope you’ll make time to explore our free foyer exhibition, Dressing the Tudors, showcasing costumes from the CFT Archive on display for the first time, alongside others from the National Theatre and elsewhere (you can also book a special tour with the curator to delve deeper). And Philippa Gregory herself will be here for an in-depth conversation about her novel on 30 April. We’ll shortly open the Minerva Theatre season with another world premiere, Laura Lomas’s The House Party which spins Strindberg’s Miss Julie into fresh life for today’s generation. Following The Other Boleyn Girl into the Festival Theatre is the richly captivating Coram Boy; read more about it overleaf, as well as Justin’s own first production, Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker. We hope you’ll be able to join us again soon, and that you enjoy today’s performance.
Justin Audibert Artistic Director
Kathy Bourne Executive Director
Kathy Bourne and Justin Audibert Photograph by Peter Flude
What if he took him? What if he saved your baby and took him to Coram Hospital?
Coram Boy Festival Theatre 24 May – 15 June Following The Other Boleyn Girl into the Festival Theatre is Coram Boy by Helen Edmundson, based on the novel by Jamila Gavin. It tells a captivating and haunting tale of the dark side of 18th century society, but with a happy ending. Anyone who’s visited The Foundling Hospital in London, with its moving history of providing sanctuary for babies whose mothers were unable to care for them, will recognise Coram Boy’s message of hope and salvation, encapsulated in its use of wonderful music throughout, particularly Handel. Director Anna Ledwich, formerly Co-Artistic Director of Theatre on the Fly, as well as our previous Writer in Residence (The Butterfly Lion, Pinocchio), says: ‘I think it’s such a great choice for the Festival Theatre stage. It spans eight years from 1742 to 1750, a really exciting period of time. You have lost children, young love, betrayal, villains, angels, coincidences, reconciliations. We’re going to have a wonderfully large company of actors; music plays a huge role too.
‘It’s epic and rich and theatrical.’
I’m afraid you’re a born fibber, en’t you? You’re speaking to the owner. This is my room. You’re standing in my house.
The Caretaker Minerva Theatre 8 June – 13 July Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker established the arrival of one of the 20th century’s most distinctive and seminal voices, and still feels incredibly fresh and alive today. Offering a feast of acting skills and three memorable characters, we’re delighted that the great Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars, Six Characters in Search of an Author CFT, Faith Healer Almeida and Broadway) is returning to Chichester after 15 years, alongside Adam Gillen (Amadeus National Theatre, ITV’s Benidorm) and Jack Riddiford (Romeo and Juliet Almeida Theatre, Jerusalem West End). Justin Audibert, CFT’s Artistic Director, is at the helm. ‘This is a play as taut and electrifying and claustrophobic as it was when it premiered in 1960. It’s a play about people on the edge of society. Davies, Aston and Mick are all characters who are struggling to find their place in the world, and in this room they battle it out for supremacy against each other.
‘It’s exciting, challenging, funny and intense.’
Opening doors Chichester Festival Theatre has welcomed four early career individuals and one company to its pilot Artists Development Programme: a part-time, 10-month programme intended to develop their skills, make vital connections with other industry professionals, and enable them to deliver a creative project that will add to their emerging portfolio of work. Led by CFT’s Artistic Director Justin Audibert and Creative Associate Sophie Hobson, the programme includes a series of workshops and a focused period of research and development. ‘A lot of development programmes come at a cost, so this is unbelievably good on so many levels,’ says Shani Kantor, a Brighton-based dance and movement artist who’s exploring the intersection of queerness and working class experience through jazz. ‘I feel extremely lucky to have the support not only of a big institution and their resources, but also of a network of artists who are in a similar position, and an element of financial support.’ Ben Grant, a multidisciplinary artist who’s developing his first full-length solo show, a semi-autobiographical exploration of Mixed-Race identity through a Pop Culture lens, observes: ‘I came into this wanting to refine my skills as a writer and performer; and mentorship for me is really valuable – learning from people who have such different disciplines, such as marketing and fundraising.’ Former Youth Theatre member Alice O’Hanlon, a queer actress, writer and director who’s creating a piece of theatre inspired by her Dad’s journey with early onset Alzheimer’s disease,
adds: ‘I’ve got such a special connection to Chichester; so this opportunity, plus the fact that CFT has such a good relationship with their dementia community, seemed to me the perfect place to develop what I wanted to do.’ Maddie Bell and Hollie Jameson-Clarke are members of the feminist comedy group OnTheNose (along with Esther Dracott and Emily Benucci), working on a new parody musical. ‘We all graduated from Chichester University in October so it’s been really nice to have the city remain our creative home,’ says Maddie, while Hollie points to the lasting connections the programme is designed to engender: ‘You’ll always have a network of people to come back to,
Artists Development Programme participants with Sophie Hobson and Justin Audibert
which really appealed. I think we’re all going to be so much more developed and full of understanding of what we want our projects to be, but also who we are as performers, creators, writers and directors.’ The participants receive a grant to enable them to devote adequate time to the programme: an important factor since, Alice says, ‘We are all juggling other jobs because we have to pay our rent and eat. This is buying us the time to be creative which is a really rare opportunity.’ Phoebe Hyder, who’s employing visual storytelling, puppetry and multidisciplinary theatre magic to create her solo piece about flyfishing, trees and grief, points out: ‘I’ve been a freelance practitioner of the Festival
Theatre for about three years, and felt a real need of investment as a creative; so [the main advantage] is not even financial investment, it’s helping careers grow; investing in people who are local, who are building new connections with Chichester Festival Theatre which is invaluable and what people in our position need. One of CFT’s funders described what they do as opening doors; and that kind of summarises this. It’s empowering.’
The Artists Development Programme is kindly supported by the Dora Green Educational Trust and Garrick Charitable Trust.
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The Other Boleyn Girl
By Mike Poulton Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory