Chichester Festival Theatre announces 2021 reopening plans including outdoor events

Chichester Festival Theatre has unveiled reopening plans for this summer.

As covered here, the venue will reopen with its eagerly anticipated revival of South Pacific, which will play to slightly reduced capacity, while also introducing streamed performances.

A weekend of open-air concerts and family events in Oaklands Park will take place in early June, with details to be revealed.

The venue will also stream a specially made filmed version of its hit production of Crave, starring Erin Doherty, Alfred Enoch, Wendy Kweh and Jonathan Slinger. It will be available from 18 to 29 May, and feature footage from the stage show alongside new, more recently filmed items.

Tinuke Craig's production is designed by Alex Lowde, with lighting by Joshua Pharo, composition and sound by Anna Clock, film by Ravi Deepres, movement by Jenny Ogilvie and casting by Charlotte Sutton. Filmed by The Umbrella Rooms.

Executive director Kathy Bourne and artistic director Daniel Evans said: "Seldom can a summer have been as eagerly anticipated as this one. We are so proud and thankful to be able to say: we are re-opening, we will be producing work on our stages and digitally, and we will continue to serve our community of audiences and theatre-makers.

"We know that Chichester's summer musical is a highlight of the year for people locally, regionally and nationally. South Pacific should have been the centrepiece of Festival 2020; we couldn't be more thrilled that it will finally open this July, with a superb cast and creative team who've waited a year to bring it to fruition.

"We're also delighted to offer a specially made film of our Autumn highlight, Sarah Kane's Crave – giving audiences around the globe a second chance to see Tinuke Craig's revelatory production.

"‘While South Pacific will initially be booking with a reduced capacity auditorium and a dedicated socially distanced performance every week, our hope is that, later in 2021, we will see the return of non-socially distanced audiences with a renewed confidence and appetite for live performance. We'll announce further productions for Festival 2021 later this spring."