Into Christmas and beyond at Chichester Festival Theatre
n Christmas Concerts (Festival Theatre, December 2-7). The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth and Chichester Cathedral Choir promise the best possible musical start to Christmas. Traditional carols and perennial favourites combine with enjoyable new discoveries and Christmas cracker jokes for a night of winter cheer.
n Chichester Festival Youth Theatre – The Wizard Of Oz (Festival Theatre, December 14- 29). When Dorothy runs away from her home in Kansas with her faithful dog Toto, she’s caught up in a terrifying cyclone and finds herself in the strange and magical land of Oz. There she encounters a host of curious and enchanting characters. Accompanied by a Scarecrow, a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion, can Dorothy escape the Wicked Witch of the West, reach the Emerald City and find the mysterious Wizard of Oz?
This faithful adaptation of L Frank Baum’s novel features all the songs from the 1939 classic film, including Over the Rainbow, If I Only Had a Brain and We’re Off To
See The Wizard. Lucy Betts, who directed 2018’s Sleeping Beauty, takes the reins again for another festive production from CFYT.
n Moscow City Ballet:
The Sleeping Beauty (Festival Theatre, January 2-5).
Moscow City Ballet return to Chichester with their production of The Sleeping Beauty, presented in classic Russian style with full orchestra. The enchanting story of Princess Aurora, wicked Carabosse, the
Lilac Fairy and an array of fairytale characters is set to Tchaikovsky’s score.
n Six (Festival Theatre, January 14-19). Divorced. Beheaded. Live! Nominated for five Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s sell-out international smash hit Six is a phenomenon. From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII finally take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power.
n The Strange Tale Of Charlie Chaplin And Stan Laurel (Minerva Theatre, January 21-25). In 1910, the unknown Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel set sail for New York as part of Fred Karno’s famous music hall troupe, sharing a cabin and then spending two years touring North America together. Stan returned home to find success with Oliver Hardy; Charlie became one of the most famous figures in the world. In Chaplin’s autobiography, Stan Laurel is never mentioned. Stan talked about Charlie all his life. n Helen George in My Cousin Rachel (Festival Theatre, January 28-February 1). Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier and adapted by Joseph O’connor, this menacing psychological thriller has enthralled readers since it was first published in 1951. When wealthy landowner Ambrose Ashley marries a distant relation Rachel and dies in Italy shortly afterwards, his young ward Philip is convinced Rachel is responsible for his death. But when he meets Rachel in Cornwall and falls for her charms, he is torn between believing she is a gold-digging murderess or that she is a maligned victim of rumour and suspicion. Helen George, known for eight series of TV’S Call the Midwife, plays Rachel.
n A Monster Calls (Festival Theatre, February 6-15). Patrick Ness’s best-selling and critically acclaimed novel A Monster Calls (inspired by an idea by Siobhan Dowd) is brought to life in this Olivier Award-winning production by director Sally Cookson. Thirteen-year-old Conor’s mum is sick, his grandmother won’t stop interfering and the kids at school won’t look him in the eye. Then, one night, he is woken by something at his window. A monster has come walking, to tell Conor tales from when it walked before. And when it’s finished, Conor must tell his own story and face his deepest fears.