A statement by the Board of Trustees

Introduction 

A central mission of Chichester Festival Theatre (CFT) is to bring together people from all walks of life in a communal space where everyone can explore, create and share experiences. It is a space where artists and audiences can develop new perspectives and gain insights into their own lives and communities and into the lives of individuals and communities different from themselves.

CFT is proud of its artistic heritage; of the broad span of its work on and off stage; of the strong support and engagement of its audiences; and of its far-reaching role in the local community.

The Board of Trustees wishes to reaffirm the fundamental artistic and corporate values of the Theatre. These are values which we seek to live as a Board, and we are confident that all who work at CFT, all freelancers who are engaged on any production, all external organisations who are our partners, and all who advise the Theatre in any capacity, will also accept and uphold them in their dealings with CFT. We also trust that our audiences and supporters will share in these values as they interact with us.

Our values

These are the values which define us:

Creatively ambitious - Creativity is at the heart of everything we do. We aren’t afraid to push boundaries in pursuit of our vision and to take risks, delivering artistic excellence and shaping the future of theatre.

Community-minded - We are rooted in our community, aiming to inspire and delight through our work on and off the stage. We bring people together and encourage everyone to try something new.

Inclusivity champions - We are welcoming, open and inclusive to all, fostering a collaborative and respectful environment.

Sustainably responsible - We support and strengthen sustainability on all fronts: artistic, environmental, societal, organisational and financial.

Our culture

• A culture of respect and openness

Creativity and imagination are at the heart of everything that we do at CFT. These qualities flourish in a culture of respect and openness: respect of difference, and openness to challenge and to the unfamiliar. Such a culture enables all our staff, our freelance artists, advisors and audiences to get the best out of their engagement with CFT, and we welcome everyone on this basis.

• An inclusive culture

CFT champions diversity and inclusivity in all its activities, in the work presented on stage and in the audiences we seek to welcome to our spaces. This is affirmed by the enthusiastic engagement of our audiences with the work we present, whether it be new work by contemporary writers or new insights into and productions of work from the established canon. We warmly welcome this.

• An anti-discriminatory culture

The open-minded, open-armed culture of CFT and its audiences also demonstrates that there is no place for discrimination of any sort – including the use of discriminatory language – towards any individual or group on the grounds of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other protected characteristics. Not only is such behaviour unlawful under the Equality Act; it is not who we are.

Our work

• Freedom of expression and mutual respect

At CFT, we are creatively ambitious, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards in our work on stage. Artistic excellence is our goal. The work is a reflection, not only of our production values, but also of the culture in which it is developed.

Our work is created and received in a spirit of respect, and of intellectual and emotional engagement, curiosity and openness to different experiences which offer fresh insights into our own. Both the creative process and the resulting production should ask searching questions of actors, directors, and audiences alike. Those questions are explored in the rehearsal room and on the stage in an environment of mutual respect, freedom of expression and experiment.

All actors and creatives, all staff, management and trustees working at CFT do so in a spirit of mutual respect. Those involved in the creative process do not seek to assert their own views and experiences above all others. This enables us to present work of complexity, insight and challenge – work which will achieve the emotional response that every actor and playwright seeks from an audience, and every audience member hopes for from a production.

• Audience engagement

CFT is proud of its audiences, and we warmly encourage and value respectful debate and reaction to the work presented on our stages. We appreciate that our performances take place in an environment which respects our creative processes, artistic efforts and constructive intent.

We seek to attract new audiences through the creativity, relevance and ideas that we present in our work. We aspire that these new audiences share in the respect for the processes that underpin the delivery of our work.

• Our work in the community

CFT is rooted in the local community, and the huge variety of programmes and events that we run throughout the year in our industry-leading educational and participatory programme (LEAP) are a core part of our work as a theatre and a charitable organisation. We are passionate about our community, and we are determined to do everything we can to bring the magic of theatre, and participation to everyone, including those who are disadvantaged or who may not otherwise have access to the arts.

We want to create inspiring experiences, to bring joy and to light a spark in everyone who experiences our shows and events – our fabulous Youth Theatre, our communities of all ages and ethnicities, those with physical and mental health difficulties and those facing life challenges of other kinds. As with the presentation of our work on stage, we do all of this in an atmosphere of respect, understanding, warmth and care, and without judgment.

We at CFT expect this of ourselves, and of our partners and all who work with us. We do not compromise on these values, because we know that our audiences, our supporters, and those whom we serve through our LEAP programme are entitled to and expect nothing less.

The Board of Trustees, Chichester Festival Theatre

April 2025