John Gale OBE, Artistic Director of CFT 1985 – 1989, has died at the age of 95. 
He is pictured above with Duncan Weldon, Kate Mosse and Patrick Garland.

Justin Audibert and Kathy Bourne, Artistic and Executive Directors respectively of Chichester Festival Theatre, said:

‘Today we are mourning the loss of John Gale, who came to Chichester as Executive Producer under Patrick Garland in 1983, and took over as Director of the Theatre from 1985 – 1989. He’d previously been a highly successful West End commercial producer, and not only put CFT on a firm financial footing but also programmed many memorable productions, ranging from John Osborne’s A Patriot for Me with Alan Bates to Noël Coward’s Cavalcade with 200 members of the local community, and from Nicholas Hytner’s production of The Scarlet Pimpernel with Donald Sinden to Sam Mendes’s staging of London Assurance with Paul Eddington.

‘But John’s two most lasting legacies were the firm establishment of Chichester Festival Youth Theatre in 1985, and the building of the Minerva Theatre which opened in 1989 with Sam Mendes as its Artistic Director. Today, it’s hard to imagine CFT without those twin pillars of its existence and we will all forever be in his debt.

‘John continued to be a frequent visitor to the Theatre from his nearby Sussex home. His passion for Chichester Festival Theatre never dimmed and we send our deepest sympathies to his wife Lisel, his wider family and many friends.’