Author: FairyPoweredProductions

“MAMMA MIA!”

TURNS 16 ON 6 APRIL

AT LONDON’S NOVELLO THEATRE

The global smash hit musical MAMMA MIA! at London’s Novello Theatre celebrates its 16th birthday in London on Monday 6 April. From West End to global phenomenon, MAMMA MIA! is Judy Craymer’s ingenious vision of staging the story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs with an enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolding on a Greek island paradise. To date, it has been seen by more than 54 million people in 49 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $2 billion at the box office. 

MAMMA MIA! originally opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre on 6 April 1999, before transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2004. The musical re-opened at the Novello Theatre in 2012.

The London production of MAMMA MIA! has been seen by more than 10% of the entire UK population. The show has celebrated over 6,500 performances in London and has broken box office records in all three of its London homes. In 2011, it became the first Western musical ever to be staged in Mandarin in the People’s Republic of China.

Produced by Judy Craymer, MAMMA MIA! The Movie, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, is the highest grossing live action musical film of all time.

MAMMA MIA! in London stars Dianne Pilkington as Donna Sheridan, with Kim Ismay as Tanya and Rebecca Lock as Rosie, Richard Trinder as Sam, Alasdair Harvey as Harry, Charles Daish as Bill, Alice Stokoe as Sophie Sheridan and Lloyd Green as Sky. Also in the cast are Rosanna Bates as Ali, Brodie McBride as Lisa, James Alexander Gibbs as Pepper and James Evans as Eddie. At certain performances, the role of Donna Sheridan is played by Shona White.

With music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material & arrangements by Martin Koch.

MAMMA MIA! is produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East & Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Novello Theatre

Aldwych

London WC2B 4LD

Monday to Friday Prices: £65.00, £37.50, £20.00, £15.00

Saturday Prices: £67.50, £52.50, £39.50, £20.00*, £15.00 *£25.00 from 27 April 2015 

Please note: Saturday pricing applies to all performances 25-30 May and 27 July-29 August

A £2.25 per ticket booking fee applies to tickets booked online, and a £2.50 per ticket booking fee applies to tickets booked by phone. No booking fee on tickets purchased in person at the Novello Theatre Box Office.

All prices include £1 restoration levy, which will increase to £1.25 for performances from 27 April 2015.

Early Bird Pricing – anyone booking four months or more in advance of the performance they are attending (Monday to Thursday performances only) will be able to purchase top price tickets for £45, a saving of £20 on the regular top price, but only through Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, either online, in person at the theatre, or by calling the Novello Theatre Box Office.

Performance Times:

Monday – Saturday 7.45pm

Matinees – Thursday & Saturday 3.00pm

Currently booking to 24 October 2015

The performance lasts 2 hours and 35 minutes (including a 15-minute interval)

Box Office: 0844 482 5115

http://www.mamma-mia.com/

http://www.facebook.com/mammamiamusical

http://twitter.com/MammaMiaMusical

A stage adaptation of one of the world’s best-selling novels is coming to Newcastle Theatre Royal in May. Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca will be brought to life on stage by Kneehigh – the company local audiences will know from the hugely popular recent production of Brief Encounter.

Conjuring Cornish romance and theatrical magic, Emma Rice’s production of Rebecca is a spellbinding adaptation of this famous novel, which has never been out of print since it first hit bookshelves in 1938. It plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal from 11-16 May.

Following the mysterious death of his first wife, Maxim de Winter returns to Manderley with his new young bride. Surrounded by memories of the glamorous Rebecca, the new Mrs De Winter is consumed by jealousy. She sets out to uncover the secrets of the house and a past fiercely guarded by the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers. All is not what it seems in Manderley…

The cast is led by Tristan Sturrock as Maxim de Winter, Emily Raymond as Mrs Danvers with Richard Clews, Katy Owen, Ewan Wardrop, Andy Williams, Lizzie Winkler and introducing Imogen Sage as Mrs de Winter.

Tristan Sturrock originated the roles of Alec in Brief Encounter and Tristan in Tristan & Yseult and has gone on to play both in the West End and across the UK, America and Australia. His one man show Mayday Mayday has played successful seasons in Edinburgh and New York.

Kneehigh Theatre is one of the country’s most celebrated companies. Based in Cornwall, just a stone throw’s from Daphne du Maurier’s home, the company has grown from humble beginnings and has carved a global reputation for their extraordinary shows. They have created productions with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company and their international hits include Trsitan & Yseult and Brief Encounter.

The multi-award winning creative team is led by Emma Rice, Kneehigh Theatre’s Joint Artistic Director. Known for her “remarkably inventive, eye-catching theatricality” (San Francisco Chronicle), Emma’s credits include The Red Shoes, Don John,Brief Encounter and Tristan & Yseult.

Rebecca appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Monday 11 – Saturday 16 May 2015. Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Regent’s Park
Open Air Theatre

• FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR J.M. BARRIE’S PETER PAN AT REGENT’S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE, WITH LEAD CASTING CONFIRMED FOR THE SEAGULL AND SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS

• HIRAN ABEYSEKERA WILL PLAY PETER PAN ALONGSIDE DAVID BIRRELL AS CAPTAIN HOOK IN J.M. BARRIE’S PETER PAN

• JANIE DEE WILL PLAY IRINA ARKADINA WITH SABRINA BARTLETT AS NINA AND MATTHEW TENNYSON AS KONSTANTIN IN THE SEAGULL

• LAURA PITT-PULFORD WILL PLAY MILLY BRADON AND ALEX GAUMOND WILL PLAY ADAM PONTIPEE IN SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS

Casting for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s 2015 production of J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan has today been announced, with lead casting for The Seagull and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers also confirmed. The season opens for previews on 15 May.

The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is delighted to be unveiling a brand new impactful and atmospheric redesign of the Summer Café, Main Bar and Interval Café by B3 Designers in time for the 2015 season.

PETER PAN

Hiran Abeysekera will play the title role alongside David Birrell as Captain Hook, who returns to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre following roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ragtime. Also returning to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre will be Beverly Rudd (Smee) and George Bukhari (Nibs).Peter Pan will run from 15 May – 14 June.

Hiran Abeysekera recently performed in Behind the Beautiful Forevers at the National Theatre. Previous theatre credits include The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) and Rats’ Tales (Manchester Royal Exchange).

David Birrell previously appeared at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2012 as Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and as Father in Ragtime. He won Best Supporting Actor in the 2015 Manchester Theatre Awards for Journey’s End (Octagon Theatre), and won the Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland Best Male Performance for Sweeney Todd (Dundee Rep), for which he was also nominated for the TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical.

Beverly Rudd previously appeared at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre as Little Red Ridinghood in Into the Woods, and as Lucy Lockit in The Beggar’s Opera.

George Bukhari previously appeared as Piggy in Lord of the Flies, and as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Further casting includes Kae Alexander (Wendy), Patrick Osborne (John), Thomas Dennis (Michael),Rachel Donovan (Tinker Bell), Eben Figueiredo (Tootles), Thomas Pickles (Slighty), Richard James-Neale (Curly), Jacob James Beswick & Chris Lew Kum Hoi (Twins), Carl Prekopp (Gentleman Starkey), Okorie Chukwu, Owain Gwynn, Jonathan Holby and Arthur Kyeyune (Pirates), Melanie Pappenheim, Daniel Bradley, Candida Caldicot, Zands Duggan & Tamara Young (Musicians) and Joe Swain (Show Climber).

Peter Pan is directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel, who have previously worked together for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre productions of Lord of the Flies, Into The Woods (Oliver Award, Best Musical Revival) and the 2015 Olivier Award nominated production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. The set will be designed by Jon Bausor whose credits include Lord of the Flies, The Crucible, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ragtime and To Kill a Mockingbird (all for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre)and MAMETZ (National Theatre Wales) for which he won Best Design in the UK Theatre Awards 2014.

Peter Pan will have costumes designed by Olivier Award winner Jon Morrell, Puppet Design by Rachael Canning (Into The Woods), Composition and Sound Score by Nick Powell, Musical Supervision and Direction by Candida Caldicot, Lighting Design by Rick Fisher, Sound Design by Nick Lidster for Autograph and Polly Jerrold as casting director.

“I ran away the day I was born,” said Peter, “cause I heard Father and Mother talking of what I was to be when I became a man. I want always to be a little boy and to have fun, Wendy”. But this could not be for the Darlings; all children, except one, grow up.  1914 is a very different world. Faced with this reality, their only escape is to let imagination take flight to Never Land.

George Llewelyn Davies, killed in action in WW1, was one of the children who inspired this iconic character. Remembering him, and a generation of lost boys, Timothy Sheader and Liam Steelrediscover J. M. Barrie’s original stage play.

Recommended for all ages 9+. By arrangement with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

THE SEAGULL

Olivier Award winner Janie Dee will star as Irina Arkadina in Chekhov’s The Seagull, with Sabrina Bartlett as Nina and Matthew Tennyson as Konstantin. The Seagull will run from 19 June – 11 July and will be directed by Matthew Dunster with set design by Jon Bausor.

Janie Dee has previously starred in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre productions including Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night. Janie won the Olivier, Evening Standard and Critic’s Choice Awards for Best Actress for Alan Ayckbourn’s Comic Potential which she performed in London and New York, and the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for Carousel, directed by Nicholas Hytner at the National Theatre. She appeared alongside Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit, and has just finished a run as Helene Hanff in 84 Charing Cross Road (Salisbury Playhouse). She is currently in rehearsal for Ah, Wilderness! at the Young Vic and, following The Seagull, will play the title role in Mrs Henderson Presents at Theatre Royal Bath.

Sabrina Bartlett can currently be seen playing Keren Daniel in BBC1’s drama Poldark and recently starred in BBC1’s Passing Bells.

Matthew Tennyson won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Newcomer for Making Noise Quietly (Donmar).

Further casting for The Seagull to be announced.

Matthew Dunster’s directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, The Love Girl & The Innocent and You Can Still Make a Killing (Southwark Playhouse).  As a playwright, his play Children’s Children premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2012 and his re-imagining of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Most Incredible Thing, a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys and choreographer Javier de Frutos, opened at Sadler’s Wells in 2011.

As guests assemble at a country house for the staging of an avant-garde open air play, artistic temperaments ignite a more entertaining drama behind the scenes, with romantic jealousies, self-doubt and the ruthless pursuit of happiness confusing lives, loves and literature.

Celebrated as one of the most important plays of the nineteenth century, The Seagull will have movement by Charlotte Broom, Lighting Design by Philip Gladwell, Sound Design by Christopher Shuttand casting by Julia Horan and Lotte Hines.

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS

Featuring Alex Gaumond as Adam and Laura Pitt-Pulford as Milly, director Rachel Kavanaugh reunites the creative team behind 2013’s award-winning production of The Sound of Music. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers will run from 16 July – 29 August.

Laura Pitt-Pulford played Maria in The Sound of Music at the Curve, Leicester and also appeared at the Curve in Piaf and Hello, Dolly!, as well as The Light Princess at the National Theatre.

Alex Gaumond recently played opposite Robert Lindsay in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy), and played Miss Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical (Cambridge Theatre). Previous credits include Top Hat, We Will Rock You and Legally Blonde.  He is currently playing Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd at the ENO.

Rachel Kavanaugh directed The Sound of Music (Best Musical Revival, WhatsOnStage Awards) for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and her production of Oklahoma! is currently on UK tour. Rachel was Artistic Director at Birmingham Rep, directing productions including His Dark Materials, Racing Demon,The Madness of George III and A Doll’s House, and for Chichester Festival has directed An Ideal Husband, The Way of the World and Love Story.

From the Golden Age of the movie musical, this much-loved musical includes Bless Your Beautiful Hide, Goin’ Courtin’, Wonderful, Wonderful Day, and the dance spectacular, Barn Dance.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers will have Set and Costume Design by Peter McKintosh, Choreography by Alistair David, Musical Supervision and Dance Arrangements by Gareth Valentine, Musical Direction by Stephen Ridley, Lighting Design by Tim Mitchell, Orchestration by Larry Blank, Sound Design byNick Lidster for Autograph and Casting by James Orange.

LORD OF THE FLIES

2015 dates have been confirmed for the UK tour of Lord of the Flies. William Golding’s classic story of survival, superstition and immorality, adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams. Timothy Sheader’s acclaimed 2011 production returns to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre for just 14 performances from 3 – 12 September prior to a UK tour which starts at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking on 16 September 2015. Tour dates can be found below.

Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel will reunite to co-Direct with Set Design by Jon Bausor and Music composed by Nick Powell. Lighting Design will be by Paul Keogan, Sound Design by Avgoustas Psillas for Autograph and Casting by Pippa Ailion.

Casting and 2016 dates are still to be announced.

The UK tour of Lord of the Flies is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

• PUNCHDRUNK ANNOUNCE PUBLICATION OF THEIR FIRST EVER BOOK – A COFFEE TABLE SIZED COLLECTION OF PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIAN ABRAMS CAPTURING THEIR LANDMARK SHOW THE DROWNED MAN: A HOLLYWOOD FABLE

In the spirit of Mr Stanford’s wish that the cameras keep rolling and the action never stops, two years after the doors of Temple Studios first opened for The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, Punchdrunk release their first ever book; a collection of extraordinary images by renowned interiors photographer Julian Abrams capturing the world of the show and its inhabitants.

The Drowned Man, Punchdrunk’s biggest show to date, was seen by over 200,000 people during its year long run.  Inspired by Büchner’s fractured masterpiece Woyzeck, the production took place in a vast building in Paddington transformed into a seedy Hollywood underworld filled with dreamers from the fringes of the movie industry.

Published to create a lasting memory of Temple Studios, the new hardback book, which will be 330mm x 280mm, will feature over 130 full colour and never before published photographs taken in the final few months before the doors of the studios closed forever.  It will be released in June as a Limited First Edition print run to mark the anniversary of the show. It is possible to pre-order copies of the book by visiting: http://www.tdmbook.bigcartel.com/

Working in close collaboration with Punchdrunk, photographer Julian Abrams has perfectly captured the otherworldly aesthetic of Temple Studios in his strikingly cinematic images.  Specialising in photography for interiors and architecture, Abrams has a passion for light that evolved from a love of shooting nocturnal landscapes. Working with key architectural lighting practices he has developed a specialist technique which allows him to shoot projects without additional lighting.  This technique has enabled him to capture the atmospheric worlds created by Punchdrunk like never before.

Led by Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk is the internationally acclaimed theatre company whose previous award-winning productions include Faust, The Masque of the Red Death, Tunnel 228, It Felt Like A Kiss, The Duchess of Malfi, Sleep No More and The Crash of the Elysium. Their current New York show Sleep No More won a 2011 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and a Special Citation For Design And Choreography at the 2010-11 Obie Awards.

New book The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable will be published as a landscape hardback with debossed cover.  The book is priced £49 + delivery – and as a self-published title, is available to buy athttp://www.tdmbook.bigcartel.com/

SOUL LEGENDS

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Thursday 8 October at 7:30pm

SOUL LEGENDS With special guest Jaki Graham. Brand-new from the producers of Magic of Motown. . . it’s the smash-hit, Stateside spectacular featuring more soul classics than any other production.

Special guest Jaki Graham dips into her  collection of classic soul hits which includes Could it Be I’m Falling in Love, Ain’t Nobody and Set Me Free.

A huge, all-star cast of talented singers and musicians bring to life hits by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Barry White, Wilson Pickett, Earth Wind & Fire, George Benson, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, The Emotions, Kool & the Gang, Chaka Khan, Edwin Starr in “soulsational” style.

Elaborate costumes and jaw-dropping choreography truly revive everyone’s favourite soul classics: Respect, Soul Man, Ain’t Nobody, Knock On Wood, Midnight Hour, Sex Machine, Proud Mary, You’re My First My Last My Everything, Best Of My Love, River Deep Mountain High, Ain’t No Stopping Us Now, Beat It, Three Times a Lady, Get Down on It, I Feel Good and more.

It’s all aboard the soul train for the show of the year, embarking from soul’s heady Sixties origins. . . steaming, non-stop, through to the present day. . .via everyone’s favourite Seventies and Eighties dance classics it’s the feel good show of the year!

www.easytheatres.com

“. . . a packed stage. Together they belted out Respect, Soul Man, Ain’t Nobody, Midnight Hour and Ain’t No Stopping Us Now. . . excellent musicianship and decent voices” Liverpool Echo

Jaki Graham – “She made it all look so easy as she showed off genuine star quality” Liverpool Echo

 Tickets: £25.50

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

Following a brief hiatus…of 8 years, the greatest 5-a-side tournament you never heard of is rising like a Phoenix from the flames!

All proceeds will go to three cancer charities; Macmillan, Cancer Research and CLIC Sargent, as part of the ‘Three in Three’ campaign, in which Simon will be running three marathons in three weeks.

We can’t guarantee sunshine, a contract with your favourite Mancunian team or even a trophy, but we can promise you an amazing day of footballing antics
followed by a swift beer or two.

Please do sign up and get stuck in – either enter your company or grab some mates and get involved. There is a minimum recommended donation of
£90 per team of up to 9 players. 
(Please do feel free to donate more!).

SPREAD THE WORD! TELL YOUR PALS!!! 

To sign up or for more information then email [email protected]

SUNDAY : 3rd MAY : 1100HRS

Lucozade Powerleague, Manchester South, M16 8GW
www.threeinthree.com

BAY CITY ROLLERS

Starring LES McKEOWN

Grand Opera House York

Tuesday 10 November 2015

The Rollers’ first hit single Remember reached No. 6 in the UK charts in 1973; that was quickly followed by Shang-A-Lang, Summerlove Sensation and All Of Me Loves All Of You all hitting the Top 5. Bye Bye Baby was their first UK No. 1 in May 1975 followed by Give A Little Love in July. Their first album, Rollin’, was the first debut album to top the charts. Between 1975 and 1978, they toured all over the world and played to sold out crowds in the across the world. Les McKeown put together a new band of talented musicians in the early 90s and today audiences are treated to all the old BCR hits reworked for the new millennium, alongside exciting new material.

Tickets: £18.50 & £19.50

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Monday 14 September

“We are not equipped for this century, it’s too hard, too fast, and too full of fear; we just don’t have the bandwidth. Our brains can’t take so much information in a world where we’re bombarded by bad news and force-fed information. I can just about take in the weather then I’m exhausted. You open a newspaper, everyone’s dead. We’re only supposed to know what our neighbour is up to; if the woman next door to you is having sex with the man next door to her we need to know; but four doors down and it’s none of our business.”

Sane New World – The Tour helps us understand why we sabotage our own sanity and provides a manual on how to survive the 21st century, using Ruby’s knowledge from her recent Masters Degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University spiked with comedy.

Ruby Wax – comedian, writer and [/mental-health.html]mental health campaigner – shows us how our minds can jeopardize our sanity.  With her own periods of depression to draw from, she explains how our busy, chattering, self-critical thoughts drive us to anxiety and stress.  If we are to break the cycle, we need to understand how our brains work, rewire our thinking and find calm in a frenetic world.

RUBY WAX: SANE NEW WORLD – THE TOUR will visit venues across the UK and Australia in 2015.

Tickets on sale Wednesday 8 April at 10am

Performance: 7:30pm

Tickets: £19.00 & £21.00

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

Pick Me Up Theatre present

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

The perfect Halloween treat for all the family – Pick Me Up Theatre bring Andrew Lippa’s Broadway musical version of The Addams Family to York’s Grand Opera House

Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 October

The loveable family of creepy kooks is alive and well and living in their super spooky mansion in Central Park.

Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice

Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa

Based on characters by Charles Addams

As the curtain rises, the last dead leaf of autumn falls from the Family Tree, and all is right with the morbid, macabre world of Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and Lurch.  They’ve gathered – where else? – in the family graveyard, to celebrate life and death in a yearly ritual to connect with their past and ensure their future.  They seem at peace, not just with each other and their inimitable, unchanging Adams-ness, but with their dead ancestors, too – who emerge from their graves on this night each year to join in the celebration of continuity.

But, at the end of the ritual, Fester blocks the ancestors’ return to their graves. Those unchanging Addams family values are about to be tested. Fester enlists their help to set things right, just in case a new family secret goes terribly wrong.  What’s the secret? Wednesday Addams, that irresistible bundle of malice, has grown up and found love.  So what’s the problem? The young man, Lucas Beineke, is from Ohio, and his parents are coming to dinner to meet the family. Two different worlds are about to collide.  Will love triumph, or will everyone go home vaguely depressed.

Performances: Wed, Thur, Sat 7:30pm, Fri 5pm & 8pm, Thu & Sat mats 2:30pm

Tickets: £11.00 – £25.00

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking:  www.atgtickets.com/york

Artistic Director Jonathan Church and Executive Director Alan Finch announced today that they are to step down from their respective roles at Chichester Festival Theatre at the end of September 2016, following Festival 2016.

Both Church and Finch joined Chichester Festival Theatre in 2005, overseeing the organisation’s 50^th anniversary in 2012 and the recent £22 million redevelopment of the Festival Theatre. Under their tenure, the company has produced over 100 productions including 22 new plays, winning over 40 awards for the work and more than doubling audience numbers, playing to 95% capacity in 2014.

The Theatre has also enjoyed significant success beyond Chichester during their leadership with 48 productions transferring to the West End or securing international and UK tours. These include Lucy Prebble’s ENRON, Macbeth with Patrick Stewart, Singin’ in the Rain, Sweeney Todd, Private Lives, King Lear with Frank Langella, The Pajama Game and, more recently, Jonathan Church’s production of Taken at Midnight and Gypsy directed by Jonathan Kent.

Jonathan Church said: “It has been a privilege and a joy to have been the custodians of this very special theatre for the last decade and to have worked alongside some of the country’s most skilled actors and creative teams. I hope, between us, we have helped contribute to the current strength of British theatre and demonstrated the important role of subsidy in creating vibrant regional arts organisations that are rooted in their community but also have the ability to provide national and international impact. It will be painful leaving a theatre that feels like our creative home but regional theatres thrive on new ideas and new energies. I like to think we will hand this wonderful theatre over to its next caretakers in an excellent position to build further on its extraordinary history.”

Alan Finch said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have some of the most loyal audiences, generous supporters and sponsors I have ever come across. Without their support, Jonathan and I would never have been able to achieve what we have. I’m immensely proud to have led the team that delivered our renewed Festival Theatre and Steven Pimlott Education Building, both on time and on budget. These past ten years have been the most exciting and rewarding of my career but it’s the right time for us to pursue new opportunities and pass the baton to a new leadership team.”

Sir William Castell, Chairman of Chichester Festival Theatre, said: “Jonathan Church and Alan Finch have led Chichester Festival Theatre to extraordinary levels of success, and our artistic standards and reputation have never been higher. They are inspiring leaders and it has been a pleasure to work with them both. We will be sad to see them leave but they are committed to our phased succession plans and will deliver the next two Festivals to ensure a smooth handover as we head into the Theatre’s next chapter.”

The formal process to appoint a new Artistic Director will begin in August with the Board expected to announce a successor at the end of 2015. The new Executive Director will be appointed once the Artistic Director Designate is in place. The selection committee will be advised by Genista McIntosh who has worked extensively with the RSC and National Theatre.

JONATHAN CHURCH
Artistic Director

As Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre Jonathan has directed: Taken at Midnight, Amadeus, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Singin’ in the Rain, The Critic/The Real Inspector Hound (co-directed with Sean Foley), The Grapes of Wrath, The Circle, Hobson’s Choice, Pravda and, co-directed with Philip Franks, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

West End productions include Taken at Midnight (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Singin’ in the Rain (Palace Theatre), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Duchess Theatre), Of Mice and Men (Savoy Theatre and The Old Vic), The Witches(Wyndhams Theatre), A Busy Day (Lyric Theatre) and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Gielgud Theatre).

National touring productions include Singin’ in the Rain, The Grapes of Wrath, The Crucible, The Witches, Of Mice and Men, The Diary of Anne Frank, Hobson’s Choice, God and Stephen Hawking, Romeo and Juliet, The Circle and Master Class.

International productions include Singin’ in the Rain (Tokyo, Australia, New Zealand), The Last Confession (Toronto, Los Angeles, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney) and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Princess of Wales Theatre Toronto).

Jonathan trained as Assistant Director at the Nottingham Playhouse. He was Associate Director of Derby Playhouse (1994-1995), Artistic Director of Salisbury Playhouse (1995-1999), Associate Director of Hampstead Theatre (1999-2001) and Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre (2001-2006).

ALAN FINCH
Executive Director

Alan Finch joined Chichester Festival Theatre in 2005 as Executive Director and, together with Artistic Director Jonathan Church, has been responsible for the programming and management of the Festival and Minerva Theatres since Festival 06.

He has spearheaded the £22 million RENEW project to refurbish and develop the Festival Theatre, culminating in its reopening during Festival 2014. He has also played a pivotal role in building CFT’s reputation, facilitating production transfers to the West End, Toronto and New York, as well as national tours.

The roll-call of successes in recent seasons includes acclaimed productions of Macbeth, ENRON, South Downs and The Browning Version, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, King Lear, Another Country and The Pajama Game which have all gone on to enjoy success beyond Chichester. During 2015, Taken at Midnight, Stevie and Gypsy have all transferred to London while Singin’ in the Rain continues its international tour.

Alan led the project to open the Steven Pimlott Education and Rehearsal Building at CFT in 2009. The new building has substantially increased CFT’s capacity to work with disenfranchised young people and other communities across the region.

Born in Nottingham, Alan started his career in theatre at the City’s Playhouse Theatre, and was later appointed Head of Production for Plymouth Theatre Royal. In 1999, he took up the post of the Theatre Royal’s General Manager, overseeing the creation of TR2, Plymouth’s award-winning £8.2 million production facility.