Our history
About usOur history
In 2022 we celebrated our 60th birthday (that's diamond FYI - and yes, we're happy to accept late presents!).
To mark the occasion we launched Digital Diorama, an exhibition full of the riches from our archive collection, looking at the milestones which have shaped who we are today. Dive in and take a look...
If you're hooked and want to know more about the history of CFT, you can visit our archive at the West Sussex Record Office or drop us a line at heritage@cft.org.uk.
2012 to 2021
- 2012: Theatre on the Fly
- 2013: RENEW
- 2014: Gypsy
- 2015: Running Wild
- 2016: Half A Sixpence
- 2017: Change at CFT
- 2018: Flowers for Mrs Harris
- 2019: Oklahoma!
- 2020: Pandemic
- 2021: Evolving Industry
Productions staged in Festival seasons during these years:
2012:
Festival Theatre -
The Way of the World
A Marvellous Year for Plums
Kiss Me, Kate
Heartbreak House
Antony and Cleopatra
Minerva Theatre -
Uncle Vanya
Canvas
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Surprises
Absurd Person Singular
Private Lives
Theatre on the Fly -
Blue Remembered Hills
Playhouse Creatures
Fred's Diner
CFYT Promenade (Oaklands Park) -
Noah
2013:
Minerva Theatre -
The Pajama Game
If Only
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Another Country
King Lear
Theatre in the Park -
Barnum
Neville's Island
2014:
Festival Theatre -
Amadeus
Guys and Dolls
Gypsy
An Ideal Husband
Minerva Theatre -
Double Bill: Miss Julie / Black Comedy
Pitcairn
Taken at Midnight
Frankie & Johnny at the Clair de Lune
2015:
Festival Theatre -
Way Upstream
A Damsel in Distress
Mack and Mabel
Young Chekhov: The Seagull / Platonov / Ivanov
Minerva Theatre -
The Rehearsal
Educating Rita
For Services Rendered
Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me
Mrs Pat
CFYT Promenade (Cass Sculpture Foundation) -
Running Wild
2016:
Festival Theatre -
An Enemy of the People
Ross
Half a Sixpence
Much Ado About Nothing (Love's Labour's Won) / Love’s Labour’s Los
Minerva Theatre -
Travels with My Aunt
First Light
FRACKED!
Strife
This House
2017:
Festival Theatre -
Forty Years On
Sweet Bird of Youth
Fiddler on the Roof
The Norman Conquests: Table Manners / Living Together / Round and Round the Garden
Minerva Theatre -
Caroline, Or Change
The Country Girls
The House They Grew Up In
The Stepmother
King Lear
Quiz
CFYT Promenade (Cass Sculpture Foundation) -
Grimm Tales
2018:
Festival Theatre -
Present Laughter
The Chalk Garden
Me and My Girl
Flowers for Mrs Harris
The Midnight Gang
Minerva Theatre -
random / generations
The Country Wife
The Meeting
Copenhagen
Cock
The Watsons
2019:
Festival Theatre -
Shadowlands
Plenty
Oklahoma!
Macbeth
Minerva Theatre -
This Is My Family
The Deep Blue Sea
8 Hotels
Hedda Tesman
The Butterfly Lion
CFYT Promenade (Chichester City Centre) -
Crossing Lines
The Spiegeltent -
Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads
2020: Season cancelled due to COVID 19 pandemic
Festival Theatre -
The Life of Galileo
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
South Pacific
The Taxidermist’s Daughter
Assassins
Minerva Theatre -
The Real Thing
The Village Bike
The Unfriend
The Long Song
The Narcissist
The Spiegeltent -
Crave (played in Festival Theatre 29 Oct - 4 Nov. From 5 - 7 Nov, the play was staged behind closed doors at the Theatre and streamed live to audiences at home because of national lockdown.)
2021:
Festival Theatre -
South Pacific
The Long Song
Minerva Theatre -
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Home
2002 to 2011
- 2002: 40th Anniversary/Romeo and Juliet
- 2003: Water Stages
- 2004: Out of this World
- 2005: Community Carnival
- 2006: Chichester Festival Youth Theatre
- 2007: Nicholas Nickleby
- 2008: National and International Tours
- 2009: ENRON
- 2010: Double Bills
- 2011: Singin' in the Rain
Productions staged in Festival seasons during these years:
2002:
Festival Theatre -
The Front Page
Wild Orchids
Cabaret
Romeo and Juliet
Minerva Theatre -
The Lady’s Not For Burning
Up On the Roof
Blunt Speaking
Song of the Western Men
Dead Funny
2003:
Festival Theatre -
The Gondoliers
The Merchant of Venice
The Water Babies
The Seagull
Minerva Theatre -
Nathan the Wise
Holes in the Skin
The Coffee House
I Caught My Death in Venice
CFYT Promenade -
Pinocchio
2004:
Festival Theatre -
Out of This World
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Just So
The Master and Margarita
Minerva Theatre -
Three Women and A Piano Tuner
Seven Doors
Cruel and Tender
CFYT Promenade (Minerva Theatre to Cathedral) -
Doctor Faustus
2005:
Festival Theatre -
How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying
Scapino or The Trickster
The Government Inspector
5/11
Minerva Theatre -
King Lear
Six Pictures of Lee Miller
The Scarlet Letter
CFYT Promenade (Goodwood Estate) -
Arabian Nights
2006:
Festival Theatre -
Entertaining Angels
Carousel
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
Pravda
Minerva Theatre -
In Praise of Love
Tonight at 8.30 Parts I&II
The Father
CFYT Promenade (Chichester Cathedral) -
Grimm Tales
2007:
Festival Theatre -
The Last Confession
Babes in Arms
Twelfth Night
Hobson’s Choice
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
Minerva Theatre -
Office Suite
Macbeth
Waltz of the Toreadors
I Am Shakespeare
2008:
Festival Theatre -
The Cherry Orchard
The Music Man
The Circle
Calendar Girls
Minerva Theatre -
Funny Girl
Collaboration
Taking Sides
Six Characters In Search of an Author
Aristo
CFYT Promenade (Rolls-Royce Goodwood)-
Toad of Toad Hall
2009:
Festival Theatre -
Hay Fever
Cyrano de Bergerac
Oklahoma!
The Grapes of Wrath
Separate Tables
Minerva Theatre -
The Last Cigarette
Taking Sides
Collaboration
Wallenstein
The House of Special Purpose
Enron
2010:
Festival Theatre -
Yes, Prime Minister
42nd Street
Pygmalion
Enron
A Month in the Country
Minerva Theatre -
Bingo
Love Story
Double Bill: The Critic/The Real Inspector Hound
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
The Master Builder
CFYT Promenade (Weald & Downland Museum) -
The Firework Maker's Daughter
2011:
Festival Theatre -
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Singin’ in the Rain
The Deep Blue Sea
Rattigan’s Nijinsky
Sweeney Todd
Minerva Theatre -
She Loves Me
Top Girls
The Syndicate
Double Bill: South Downs / The Browning Version
1992 - 2001
- 1992: Access
- 1993: Ice Stages
- 1994: Leslie
- 1995: The Hothouse
- 1996: When We Are Married
- 1997: Electra
- 1998: The John Hyland Award
- 1999: The Importance of Being Earnest
- 2000: Community Productions
- 2001: My One and Only - Musicals
Productions staged in Festival seasons during these years:
1992:
Festival Theatre -
Coriolanus
Venus Observed
King Lear in New York
She Stoops to Conquer
Minerva Theatre -
Me and My Friend
Double Take
Vita and Virginia
1993:
Festival Theatre -
Getting Married
Relative Values
Pickwick
The Matchmaker
Minerva Theatre -
Carrington
Rope
Elvira ‘40
1994:
Festival Theatre -
The Rivals
Pygmalion
The Schoolmistress
Let’s Do It!
Minerva Theatre -
A Doll’s House
Dangerous Corner
Three Sisters
1995:
Festival Theatre -
Hobson’s Choice
The School for Scandal
The Miser
The Visit
Minerva Theatre -
Taking Sides
A Word from Our Sponsor
Playing the Wife
The Hothouse
Monsieur Amilcar
1996:
Festival Theatre -
Love for Love
Mansfield Park
Beethoven’s Tenth
When We Are Married
Fortune’s Fool
Lock Up Your Daughters
Minerva Theatre -
Simply Disconnected
Talking Heads
Uncle Vanya
Hedda Gabler
Beatrix
The Handyman
It Could Be Any One of Us
Educating Rita
Oleanna
Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing
1997:
Festival Theatre -
The Admirable Crichton
Lady Windermere’s Fan
Blithe Spirit
Divorce Me, Darling!
Our Betters
The Magistrate
Minerva Theatre -
After October
Nocturne for Lovers
Tallulah!
Suzanna Andler
Misalliance
Electra
1998:
Festival Theatre -
Saturday, Sunday…and Monday
Racing Demon
Chimes at Midnight
Katherine Howard
Minerva Theatre -
Loot
Song of Singapore
The Glass Menagerie
1999:
Festival Theatre -
The Importance of Being Earnest
Semi-Detached
Easy Virtue
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Minerva Theatre -
The King of Prussia
Insignificance
Nymph Errant
The School of Night
The Retreat from Moscow
2000:
Festival Theatre -
The Recruiting Officer
Heartbreak House
A Small Family Business
Arcadia
Minerva Theatre -
The Sea
The Blue Room
Pal Joey
Aristocrats
Hysteria
2001:
Festival Theatre -
On the Razzle
The Winslow Boy
My One and Only
Three Sisters
Minerva Theatre -
Song of Singapore
Shang-a-Lang
In Celebration
The Secret Rapture
Putting It Together
Stairs to the Roof
Hock and Soda Water
1982 - 1991
- 1982: 21st Season
- 1983: A Patriot For Me controversy
- 1984: Forty Years On
- 1985: The Scarlet Pimpernel
- 1986: Sondheim
- 1987: Fun and Games
- 1988: The Tent
- 1989: Minerva Theatre Opens
- 1990: Born Again
- 1991: Tovarich
Productions staged in Festival seasons during these years:
1982:
Festival Theatre -
On the Rocks
Valmouth
Cavell
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
The Tent -
Alice in Wonderland
Henry V
Make Way for Lucia
Modigliani
Two Two One B
1983:
Festival Theatre -
A Patriot For Me
Time and The Conways
As You Like It
The Sleeping Prince
The Tent -
Dear Emma
Stag
The Final Furlong
Roughover Golf Club 1936
Yes and No
Say Something Happened
Aurora Leigh
The Iron and the Oak
Ball Boys
Oasis and After
Ronald Eyre – A Personal choice of Poetry & Music
Falkland Sound
The Late Light Revue
Bash's Backstage Boogie Band
1984:
Festival Theatre -
Forty Years On
Oh, Kay!
The Merchant of Venice
The Way of the World
The Tent -
Carmen
The Lady Or The Tiger
Frank
Soldiers Talking, Cleanly…
Derek
Women Are Bloody Marvellous
Red Devils
Chopped Hamlet
Killed: July 17 1916
Shades Of Grey
Break Dancing Active Crew & Corodata Robotic Dance Groups
Just Past The Equinox
Loitering Within Tent
Bash's Backstage Boogie Band
1985:
Festival Theatre -
Cavalcade
Antony and Cleopatra
The Philanthropist
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Tent -
Elmer Gantry
Twelfth Night
The Stronger
Success
Lavender Song
A Respectable Wedding
Revelations
Laughter From An Empty House
Ragged Streets
The First Deadly Sin
Passion
Cat Up A Tree
Down Cemetery Road
Canary Blunt
DH Lawrence In Sussex
Music In A Summer Tent
Encuentro
Talents Who Amuse
Amnesty International Campaign
Against Torture
Chichester Buskers
Stewart Ferris & Alistair Williams
An Evening Of Opera
Bash's Backstage Boogie Band
Meet Me At The Gate
Reggie The Dog
1986:
Festival Theatre -
Annie Get Your Gun
The Chalk Garden
The Relapse
Jane Eyre
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
The Tent -
The Spershott Version
Salonika
K2
Grock
The Tempest
The Maids
A Warning To The Curious
The Planet Of Doom
Love's Last Shift
The Late Light Revue
Constance Cummings 'Fanny Kemble At Home'
Alone Together
The Sea And The Mirror
Heart Of Oak
Full Circles
Through The Wilderness
Pietas
The Late Revue – The End Of The World Show
Yet Another Boogie Band Affair
From Mozart To Gershwin
Amnesty International
Fridge
Deep In The Mix
1987:
Festival Theatre -
Robert and Elizabeth
An Ideal Husband
A Man For All Seasons
Miranda
The Tent -
The Fire Raisers
The Game Of Love And Chance
The Human Error
Cheapside
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Two Dots With Dash
The Bear And The Proposal
Elaine Delmar In Concert
The Mayor Of Zalamea
Captain Stirrick
Listen To The Lyric
Stefan's Guide To Culture
The Oblivion Boys In The Wow Show
Shakespeare's Night Off Part II
Innocent's Day
The Recruiting Party
The Incomparable Max
The Boogie Band
80th Birthday Tribute to Christopher Fry
1988:
Festival Theatre -
Hay Fever
Major Barbara
The Royal Baccarat Scandal
Ring Round the Moon
The Tent -
Translations
Tissue
Mr Puntila and His Man Matti
Heartlands
Powder Monkeys
Our Day Out
The Real Inspector Hound
The Late Revue
1989:
Festival Theatre -
Victory!
The Heiress
London Assurance
A Little Night Music
Minerva Theatre -
Summerfolk
Culture Vultures
The Triumph of Love
Cloud Nine
Love’s Labour’s Lost
The Purity Game
War & Peaces
1990:
Festival Theatre -
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Power and The Glory
The Silver King
Rumours
Born Again
Minerva Theatre -
Thérèse Raquin
Eurydice
70, Girls, 70
My Mother Said I Never Should
Scenes From a Marriage
1991:
Festival Theatre -
Arsenic and Old Lace
Henry VIII or All Is True
Tovarich
Preserving Mr Panmure
Minerva Theatre -
Point Valaine
The Sisterhood
Valentine’s Day
Adam Was a Gardener
Talking Heads

1972 - 1981
- 1972: The Taming of the Shrew
- 1973: Wendy Toye
- 1974: Oedipus Tyrannus
- 1975: Michell's World Stage
- 1976: New Ventures
- 1977: Headline Names
- 1978: Working Front of House
- 1979: Challenges on Stage
- 1980: Terra Nova
- 1981: Underneath the Arches
Productions staged in Festival seasons during these years:
1972:
The Beggar’s Opera
The Doctor’s Dilemma
The Taming of the Shrew
The Lady’s Not For Burning
1973:
The Director of the Opera
The Seagull
R Loves J
Dandy Dick
1974:
Tonight We Improvise
The Confederacy
Oedipus Tyrannus
A Month in the Country
1975:
Cyrano de Bergerac
An Enemy of the People
Made in Heaven
Othello
1976:
Festival Theatre -
Noah
Twelfth Night
The Circle
Monsieur Perrichon’s Travels
New Ventures (various venues around Chichester) -
Albert's Bridge
Architruc
Between Heaven and Woolworths
The Canterbury Tales
Double Bill: The Stronger/Hello
From Bertha
Never Go Down to the End of theTown
Hamlet
Missolonghi
New Ventures Storytimes for Children aged 4
The Tremendous Ghost
1977:
Festival Theatre -
Waters of the Moon
In Order of Appearance
Julius Caesar
The Apple Cart
New Ventures (various venues around Chichester) -
An Evening with the Two Keiths
As It Comes Dear?
Battle of Britain
Byron
Full Moon and Little Frieda
Heil Caesar!
Murder in the Cathedral
O Brave New World
Punch and Judy Revisited
Yesterday the Struggle
The Zoo Story
1978:
Festival Theatre -
A Woman of No Importance
The Inconstant Couple
The Aspern Papers
Look After Lulu
New Ventures (various venues around Chichester) -
A Sleep of Prisoners
After Liverpool
Death Watch
Hitting Town
La Musica
Next Time I'll Sing to You
The Problem
The Stuffed Owl
1979:
Festival Theatre -
The Devil’s Disciple
The Eagle Has Two Heads
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Man Who Came To Dinner
New Ventures (various venues around Chichester) -
The Waiting Room
84 Charing Cross Road
A Resounding Tinkle
Boxes and the Refuge
Halfway Up the Stairs
Lord Byron's Love Letters
No Exit
The Peter Pan Man
The Telephone
Trevor
When Will They Ever Learn
1980:
Festival Theatre -
Terra Nova
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Much Ado About Nothing
Old Heads and Young Hearts
New Ventures (various venues around Chichester) -
A Phoenix Too Frequent
Bar and Ger
Blind Date
C20 Programme
Children's Show
Dispatches
Lovers Tiff
Passion Poison and Petrification
Return Journey
The Local Stigmatic
The New Quixote
The Public Eye
This Property Is Condemned
Triangle
1981:
Festival Theatre -
The Cherry Orchard
Feasting with Panthers
The Mitford Girls
Underneath the Arches
New Ventures (various venues around Chichester) -
A Visit to the Villa
The British in Love
Double Glazing
Howzat!
Just Liz
Napoleon and Josephine
Skinny Spew and Gum and Goo
The Typists
Stodge Podge and the Treasure
Hunt

1962 - 1971
- 1962: Opening Season Productions
- 1963: The Costume Department
- 1964: Stratford Festival Theatre
- 1965: Peter Shaffer
- 1966: The Scottish Play
- 1967: An Italian Straw Hat
- 1968: The Tempest
- 1969: Patricia Routledge
- 1970: Vivat! Vivat Regina!
- 1971: The Rivals Bomb Scare
Productions staged in Festival seasons during these years:
1962:
The Chances
The Broken Heart
Uncle Vanya
1963:
Saint Joan
Uncle Vanya
The Workhouse Donkey
1964:
The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Dutch Courtesan
Othello
1965:
Armstrong’s Last Goodnight
Trelawny of the ‘Wells’
Double Bill: Miss Julie / Black Comedy
1966:
The Clandestine Marriage
The Fighting Cock
The Cherry Orchard
Macbeth
1967:
The Farmer’s Wife
The Beaux’ Stratagem
Heartbreak House
An Italian Straw Hat
1968:
The Unknown Soldier and His Wife
The Cocktail Party
The Tempest
The Skin of Our Teeth
1969:
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Magistrate
The Country Wife
Antony and Cleopatra
1970:
Peer Gynt
Vivat! Vivat Regina!
Double Bill: The Proposal / Arms and The Man
The Alchemist
1971:
The Rivals
Dear Antoine
Caesar and Cleopatra
Reunion in Vienna