This week marks the 70^th birthday of Charles Holloway OBE, our Minerva Season Principal and one of British theatre’s most dedicated philanthropic supporters.

As Minerva Season Principal since 2024, Charles’s generosity has helped bring an extraordinary range of work to life on our intimate stage. From Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and David Eldridge's adaptation of John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold to new plays ranging from The Promise and Safe Space to Hey! Christmas Tree; and from the music-filled Choir, Marie and Rosetta and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry to the current season world premieres Eclipse, 45 Years, Atlantis, a small and quiet light and Antigone Exits, his support has been woven into many memorable productions. In 2025 he also supported Anna Karenina in the Festival Theatre.

Charles’s love of the arts is said to trace back to his first visit to the pantomime at the age of five. His early career was spent as a stage manager and then Front of House manager in repertory theatre. In October 2024, he was awarded an OBE for services to charitable fundraising in the arts, a recognition thoroughly deserved.

Justin Audibert and Kathy Bourne, Artistic and Executive Directors of Chichester Festival Theatre, say: ‘We are proud to call Charles a friend of Chichester Festival Theatre, and could not be more grateful for his remarkable philanthropic support. His warm enthusiasm and keen interest in our productions, artists and company make a huge difference to us all. On behalf of everyone at CFT, we wish him a very happy birthday.’