Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2024 – the first season programmed by new Artistic Director Justin Audibert – has been announced today, to include seven world premieres and a fully reconceived summer production of Oliver! from 8 July-7 September.

This spectacular new production of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical will be directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, and promises to be one of the most unforgettable shows ever at the Festival Theatre.

Initial casting includes Simon Lipkin (Derren Brown’s Unbelievable, Avenue Q) as Fagin, Shanay Holmes (Miss Saigon, The Bodyguard) as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell (Henry VI, Wicked) as Bill Sikes, Billy Jenkins (Les Misérables, BBC’s Dodger) as the Artful Dodger, and Philip Franks (The Rocky Horror Show, Witness for the Prosecution) as Mr Brownlow.

Oliver! will be co-directed by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, with design by Lez Brotherston, musical supervision and conducting by Graham Hurman, lighting by Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs, sound by Adam Fisher, video design by George Reeve, original orchestrations by William David Brohn, orchestral adaptation by Stephen Metcalfe, casting by Felicity French CDG and Paul Wooller CDG, and children’s casting by Verity Naughton CDG.

Other productions in the new season include The Other Boleyn Girl, The House Party, Coram Boy, The Caretaker, The Promise, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Redlands, The Cat and the Canary, Hey! Christmas Tree, and Cinderella.

For more information, please click here.