Chichester Festival Theatre announces Spring season of streamed musical events
With the UK still in lockdown, Chichester Festival Theatre (CFT) has announced that its Facing The Music interviews and the previously-streamed, critically-acclaimed concert Celebrating Sondheim will be broadcast to audiences at home.
Writer and broadcaster, Edward Seckerson interviews Patricia Routledge, Philip Quast, Imelda Staunton and Giles Terera in a new series of Facing The Music interviews, filmed at the Chichester Festival Theatre in February and March. The actors discuss their careers in musical theatre, illustrated by treasured recordings of their performances. The Damehood of beloved actress Sheila Hancock, celebrated in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List, will be marked by an encore streaming of her interview from November.
The interviews will be streamed as live in March with one released every Wednesday at 7pm. The series will begin with Imelda Staunton (Gypsy, Sweeney Todd) on 3 March, followed by Giles Terera (Hamilton) on 10 March, Philip Quast (Les Misérables) on 17 March and is rounded off with the encore stream of Sheila Hancock’s interview on 24 March.
To mark Stephen Sondheim’s 91st birthday on 22 March, CFT is giving viewers the chance to watch the acclaimed Celebrating Sondheim concert, first broadcast last autumn. The concert starred Gabrielle Brooks, Daniel Evans, Clive Rowe, Jenna Russell, and Hannah Waddingham and featured performances from Sondheim’s most-loved and lesser-known productions. The encore stream will be available at 7pm on 22 March and will be available to stream until 25 March.
CFT will also continue to offer its weekly online Get Into It! sessions to adults wanting to stay connecting to the theatre, learn new skills and socialise online. Little Notes, the weekly introduction to live music for 0–4 year olds is also running, led by classically-trained opera singer and musician Mark Bradbury. The award-winning Chichester Festival Youth Theatre is also continuing to run via Zoom.
Tickets for the streamed events are available to buy here.