CFT in London and across the UK

News 18 Dec 2025

News Story

No less than six productions which premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre will be playing in London or on tour across the UK over the coming months. While all our shows are made in West Sussex for our local community and regional visitors, sharing them with audiences further afield is an added joy. From brand-new and classic musicals to gripping drama, these transfers showcase the full range of our work. So, if you missed them here (or want to see them again!), here's your chance - or tell your friends and family to check out dates in their area. Click on the title links for more details.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry 
Named one of the Guardian's top ten theatre productions of 2025, the five star 'pitch-perfect musical' (The Times) transfers to the Theatre Royal, Haymarket for a strictly limited season from 29 January - 18 April, with Mark Addy and Jenna Russell reprising their roles in Katy Rudd's production.

Top Hat
The elegant and exhilarating Irving Berlin extravaganza is playing a Christmas season at the Southbank Centre, London before heading out again on a UK tour until April. Philip Attmore plays Broadway star Jerry Travers in Kathleen Marshall's spectacular staging.

Oliver! 
Our spectacular production of Lionel Bart's iconic musical, fully reconceived by director and choreographer Matthew Bourne and co-producer Cameron Mackintosh, which played to full houses at Chichester last summer, is now booking in the West End until October 2026.  

  • An older man wearing casual clothes is stood inside a worn-down red telephone box. His hands are clasping the doorframe, and he is looking slightly worried. To his right, a young man dressed in an almost threadbare green jumper with a crown of leaves in his hair is gazing up at him inquisitively. On the other side, a shaggy dog puppet operated by a puppeteer is also looking at the man in the phone box.
  • A company of dancers are all wearing refined 1930s outfits. The men have cream fedoras, matching waistcoats and trousers, striped shirts and polka ties. The women have mini A-line dresses and fascinators with striped bows. Front and centre, a man in a cream suit and matching hat with a mustard waistcoats dancing with his arms above his head and has legs kicking. The set is a detailed art deco arch with skyscrapers in front.
  • A man stands alone with his arms spread wide open in song. He has long black hair and a thick black beard. He wears a layered collection of well-worn clothes.

Marie and Rosetta 
After their sell-out Minerva run, Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu reprise their acclaimed roles in the uplifting and music-packed tribute to the godmother of rock 'n' roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and her beloved singing partner, playing at London's @sohoplace for a limited season from 28 February - 11 April.

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 
Another Minerva hit, the first ever stage adaptation of John le Carre's gripping thriller plays in London until 21 February before embarking on a nationwide tour until August 2026. 

Shadowlands 
Returning to the role he played to great acclaim at CFT in 2019, Hugh Bonneville is Narnia writer C.S. Lewis in this moving tale of his unexpected love for an American poet, played by Maggie Siff. The production is at London's Aldwych Theatre from 5 February - 9 May.

  • Two Black women are in the centre of a stage covered with teal shag carpet. The younger woman on the left is sat on a box with her hands in her lap, looking over her shoulder at the older woman on the right who is confidently stood with one foot propped up on the box. She is singing powerfully, facing away from the other woman with one arm raised.
  • Two men stand on a stage that looks like a war map. The man in the foreground wears a long trench coat and smokes a cigarette. The man in the midground wears a smart suit and striped tie.

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