Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis to star in touring revival of Benefactors from next February

Chichester Festival Theatre has unveiled plans for the coming months after cancelling its November schedule due to the new lockdown.

The theatre has rescheduled its A Merry Little Christmas Celebration, with the event now taking place with socially distanced audiences from 3 to 5 December 2020 with a live-streamed show on Friday 4 December.

Rebecca Caine, Emmanuel Kojo and Rebecca Trehearn will join Simon Callow and Daniel Evans for the event, with Callow reading extracts from A Christmas Carol.

Outnumbered pair Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner will reunite on stage in Michael Frayn's hit show Benefactors, running from 5 to 27 February.

Directed by Charlotte Gwinner, the show will then visit Bath Theatre Royal, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Marlowe Theatre Canterbury, The Lowry Salford and Everyman Theatre Cheltenham after its Chichester run.

Over the next month there will also be live-sreamed chats with Sheila Hancock and Michael Ball as well as a concert from Joe Stilgoe.

The venue's production of Pinocchio is scheduled to go ahead with new dates from 16 December to 2 January 2021.