The Nest Appeal

Nurturing the next generation of artists is vital to ensure that theatre in the UK maintains its international reputation for excellence. I am delighted to support Chichester Festival Theatre – a place dear to my heart – as they embark on creating this exciting new space.

Sam Mendes CBE

Incubating, hatching and showcasing the creative talent of the future

Do you remember The Tent, Theatre on the Fly and The Spiegeltent? These venues offered space for us to do something a little bit different to our usual programming. With an increasingly urgent need for more space to develop creative projects and support emerging artists, we are planning a new venue to do just that.

The great artists, performers, writers and curators of 2040 and 2050 need to be nurtured now: our investment in them is, at heart, an investment in a future that we believe can be brighter and better with culture and creativity at its core.

Let's Create Strategy, Arts Council England, 2020

With sustainability at its heart, we have found an ideal structure previously located at the Pleasance Theatre in London and used at the Edinburgh Festival. Usable year-round and fully wheelchair accessible, this 119-seater studio will have a thrust stage to match our sister theatres and removable stacked seating giving us plenty of flexibility.

Nestled in the trees beside the Festival Theatre, what better name for this space to incubate creativity in our community, hatch new work in progress and nurture growing artists, than The Nest.

I think this is a most exciting project and I am privileged to be associated with its potential success. Chichester Festival Theatre has been a significant part of my working life and to continue my support gives me enormous satisfaction

Dame Patricia Routledge DBE | President of the Nest Appeal

We now have planning permission! We need to raise at least £1,500,000 to make this dream a reality and have just reached the halfway point. Now we need your help to get us across the finish line.

Donate today and sign up to receive regular updates on our Appeal and ways you can get involved in fundraising events.

If you'd like to discuss supporting this project or learn more about it, we'd love to hear from you. Please email Sarah Mansell, Appeal Director or call 01243 212869 to chat to a member of our team.

Donate today and help us feather our nest!

We would like to thank the following major donors

Platinum

Backstage Trust

Mark and Sandy Foster

Charles Holloway OBE

Liz Juniper

Denise Patterson DL

Gold

Caro Newling OBE

Salomon Oppenheimer Philanthropic Foundation

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

John & Susie Wells

Angela Wormald

Silver

David and Jane Cobb

Veronica J Dukes

George Galazka

James and Anne McMeehan Roberts

Dame Patricia Routledge DBE

David and Sophie Shalit

Bronze

John and Joan Adams

Nick & Audrey Backhouse

Gay and Roger Bradley

Bernard Buckley and Christopher Casburn

Clive & Frances Coward

Yvonne and John Dean

David and Sue Foster

Sally and Vaughan Lowe

Nigel and Julia Maile

The Miles Foundation

Jacquie and Martin Ogilvie

Douglas and Lyana Peniston

Nigel & Viv Robson

Kate and John Siebert

Tricia Sloane

Dave and Christine Smithers

Hannah and Alf Strange

Howard M Thompson


And all those who wish to remain anonymous

Events in support of The Nest

  1. An Artist paints a small plaster eggs with blues and greens. In the background an artists workbench messy with paints and paraphernalia.
    Festival Theatre Foyer

    Eggshibition

  2. A headshot of a white man with blonde/brown hair in a black shirt against a dark blue backdrop.
    Minerva Theatre

    An Evening with Rob Wade