Chichester Festival Theatre has announced its new Festival 2025 season, from Artistic Director Justin Audibert and Executive Director Kathy Bourne.
Highlights include a major new revival of Hollywood musical Top Hat, (14 July – 6 September 2025), directed and choreographed by Tony and Olivier Award-winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes). Read more about the Top Hat news.
Other productions for their main house include a hilarious revival of The Government Inspector (25 April – 24 May 2025), in a new adaptation by Phil Porter, directed by former RSC artistic director Gregory Doran, and starring actor and comedian Tom Rosenthal.
The high calibre cast also features Joe Dixon, Joe Eyre, Nick Haverson, Lloyd Hutchinson, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Christopher Middleton, Laurie Ogden, Oscar Pearce, Paul Rider, and Miltos Yerolemou.
Also coming to the main theatre is a lavish new production of Anna Karenina (7 – 28 June 2025), starring real-life married couple Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games) and David Oakes (Victoria, Vikings: Valhalla).
Tolstoy’s romantic masterpiece is presented in a new adaptation written and directed by Phillip Breen. Read more about Anna Karenina here.
William Golding’s classic adventure Lord of the Flies (19 September – 11 October 2025) is coming to Chichester, adapted by Nigel Williams, directed by Anthony Lau (The Crucible, Miss Saigon).
Finally, in the Festival Theatre, the first stage adaptation of Matt Haig’s contemporary classic A Boy Called Christmas (15 – 31 December 2025) will be performed by Chichester Festival Youth Theatre to celebrate their 40th anniversary. The show is adapted by Philip Wilson and directed by Dale Rocks, with music by Tom Brady.
In their Minerva studio theatre, Chichester has four new premieres.
First up is a musical version of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (5 May – 14 June 2025), starring Jenna Russell (Hello, Dolly!) and Mark Addy (The Full Monty).
The new musical is adapted by Rachel Joyce from her bestselling novel, with music and lyrics by Passenger, and directed by Katy Rudd (Ballet Shoes). Read more about this news.
Already-announced is new play-with-music Marie and Rosetta (25 June – 26 July 2025) starring Beverley Knight. Written by George Brant, the show is directed by Monique Touko in a co-production with Rose Theatre and ETT.
Also coming up is uplifting new show Choir (2 – 30 August 2025), a new play by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti (A Kind of People, Silence) celebrating music and togetherness, directed by Hannah Joss.
A whip-smart new comedy called Safe Space (11 October – 8 November 2025), written by West End star Jamie Bogyo (Moulin Rouge!), is coming in the autumn. The play delves into volatile campus politics, and is directed by Roy Alexander Weise (The Hot Wing King, Untitled Fck Mss S**gon Play).
A major new production of Hamlet (6 September – 4 October 2025) is staged in Chichester later in the year, starring Olivier Award-winner Giles Terera (Dr. Strangelove, Hamilton, Blues for an Alabama Sky), and directed by Chichester artistic director Justin Audibert. Incredibly, this will be Chichester’s first-ever production of Shakespeare’s great tragedy.
December in the Minerva will see The Three Little Pigs (6 – 28 December 2025), Stiles and Drewe’s much-loved family musical, in a co-production with the Unicorn Theatre.
New this year, Chichester Festival Theatre is also launching its new studio space The Nest, for work by emerging artists, creative development and community projects, opening in summer 2025.
Looking ahead into 2026 and already announced is Roald Dahl’s The BFG (16 March – 12 April 2026), adapted by Tom Wells, in a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Roald Dahl Story Company, directed by Daniel Evans.
Justin Audibert and Kathy Bourne said in a joint statement: “A sense of lives and society in flux is central to many of the dramas this season, with vivid characters facing momentous change – making for compelling storytelling. We’re particularly excited to have attracted an outstanding list of directors, writers and actors. Our wonderful company includes Mark Addy, Natalie Dormer, Beverley Knight, Tom Rosenthal, Jenna Russell and Giles Terera; keep an eye on our website and social media for further casting updates. It’s a pleasure to be working in partnership with Rose Theatre, ETT, the Unicorn Theatre and – looking ahead to 2026 – the RSC and Roald Dahl Story Company on our forthcoming co-production of The BFG. Meanwhile, Oliver!, our collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, continues its triumphant run in the West End; and our co-production with Headlong, The House Party is on tour in the UK – taking Chichester’s work to audiences across the country. There’s truly something for everyone this year; and we look forward to welcoming you.”
Read more
More about Anna Karenina
More about Top Hat
More about The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
More about Marie and Rosetta
More about Roald Dahl’s The BFG
More about Hamlet tickets starring Giles Terera
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