Chichester Festival Theatre postpones planned production of Benefactors

Chichester Festival Theatre postpones planned production of Benefactors

Chichester Festival Theatre is very sorry to announce that the new production of Michael Frayn’s Benefactors, which was due to open on 5 February, has been postponed due to the renewed COVID-19 lockdown.

The production was to have been directed by Charlotte Gwinner, with a cast headed by Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner, and scheduled to tour to Bath, Cambridge, Canterbury, Salford and Cheltenham after its Chichester run.

Kathy Bourne and Daniel Evans, Executive and Artistic Directors of Chichester Festival Theatre respectively, said: ‘‘We are bitterly disappointed by the postponement of Benefactors, which promised to be an outstanding revival of a play which would have been a real tonic for audiences around England. With the new lockdown, it’s become clear that it’s simply not possible to mount a touring theatre show over the next few months.

‘It’s been wonderful to welcome audiences back to the Theatre intermittently over the Autumn and to see how much they relished the live and streamed performances we were able to offer – from Crave to our Christmas concerts, Dear Santa and Pinocchio.

‘We are now focusing all our energies on planning for Festival 2021, which will open in April, and we look forward to sharing what’s in store for our audiences this Spring in due course.’