I was surprised not to find anything about the Chichester Festival Theatre on site!
For over 50 years this theatre has been producing world – class performances. Originally, opening in 1962, this now Grade II, listed building has undergone refurbishment, re-opening in June 2014.
I hadn’t been for some time, but last week went to see ‘Way Upstream,’ a brilliant, adventurous play by Alan Ayckbourn about four old friends who went on a 2 week holiday on a cruise boat, on the River Orb. The cast included Jason Durr, Peter Forbes, Jill Halfpenny, Jason Hughes, Sarah parish, Emily Laing and Nicola Sloane.
There have been some amazing ‘stage sets’ in the past, but this one beats all, in my opinion. The stage was transformed into a river with a real 21 foot, 1 ton boat. Over 65,000 tons of water was used in the tank and 1,000 litres of water in a rainfall scene. 34 Douglas Fir trees were installed from the nearby Goodwood Estate to make up the woodland.
There was a 30 – 40 minute post show chat talk afterwards, hosted by the writer Simon Brett, where you had the opportunity to discover more about the production. This was a chance to have burning questions answered, as the cast and team members join the audience.
Although ‘Way Upstream’ ends on 16th May, there are some more great productions on the calendar.
