After the best winter season ever in its history in terms of money and audience numbers, Chichester Festival Theatre is now relishing a great response so far to the summer shows ahead.
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00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Always really
00:06 lovely to speak to Cathy Bourne, Executive Director at Chichester Festival Theatre. Now,
00:11 really truly exciting time at the Festival Theatre, new Artistic Director Justin O'Debow
00:16 about to see his very first season. But you're saying there's been a fantastic response to
00:21 booking to that new season once it was announced on the back of a really brilliant winter.
00:26 Festival Theatre is in a good place, isn't it? Yeah, it really feels to us like we have
00:30 bounced back post-Covid and there's a really good buzz around the site. I think people
00:37 really enjoy what we had to offer around the Christmas period with kids shows and the Santa
00:42 Scrotta, which was a new thing for us last year. And always when a new Artistic Director
00:48 starts there's an intrigue and a curiosity around what they're going to put into their
00:52 first programme. And this is definitely no different from that.
00:57 What do you think we're seeing of Justin in this programme? What's typically him?
01:02 I think big, I think bold in the Festival Theatre. He's had a real focus on the Festival
01:08 Theatre in particular this year. We know that even last year the Minerva Theatre was back
01:13 and our audiences were coming to the shows in the Minerva Theatre. It's always a, it's
01:17 sort of weirdly I suppose because it's only got the 310 seats, as you know, it's easier
01:22 to fill. Whereas I think what we recognised is that that 1,300 seat theatre, the Festival
01:29 Theatre is much harder to fill. So you have to find...
01:32 And it matters more, doesn't it?
01:33 And it matters more, absolutely matters more, not least because Festival Theatre subsidises
01:38 the Minerva Theatre. So we need to find those plays in particular that are going to really
01:42 land well, which means that you're looking for populist product and something that people
01:48 are going to really understand or stories that you might have heard of that you've got
01:51 an interest in. So The Other Billing Girl is a prime example of that. It's a good history
01:57 drama. You might have seen the film, you might have read the book. Philippa Gregory, of course,
02:01 such an incredible writer, bringing that story to our stage, I think will have mass appeal.
02:07 Absolutely. And it sounds like you've made the right choices because as you're saying,
02:12 booking is significantly up on last year and...
02:15 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And so it feels like finally we're getting to the
02:21 stage, year on year we move forward in this post-pandemic world, but definitely we've
02:26 seen the curve in the direction of the pre-pandemic levels that Chichester was experiencing, which
02:31 is really exciting and...
02:32 It's getting back straight on the team.
02:33 It's heartening. It's just a good thing. And certainly it's reassuring for us because...
02:43 And if I look across the industry, if I look at other regional theatres, they are struggling.
02:48 And they're struggling with drama in particular. And it doesn't feel like we are in the same
02:57 way as they are.
02:58 And a slight change of emphasis then, insofar as you are 20% up, but with two fewer plays.
03:04 What was the thinking there to have fewer productions?
03:06 So the thinking there is about possibly not giving as much choice as you might necessarily
03:13 get. What we found post-pandemic is that people are choosing fewer shows to go to see. So
03:18 if you've only got a certain amount of money, it can only stretch so far. So let's condense
03:22 the season, have fewer shows, particularly in the festival theatre, and hope that you're
03:27 then filling the houses that we've got there, that people will come and see the work that
03:31 you've got. If you're only going to choose three, then it should equate to more people
03:38 coming to see shows per night, if that makes sense.
03:41 So fewer people, people are booking fewer tickets. That means you've got to open up
03:45 all those people who are not coming.
03:47 Exactly, exactly that.
03:48 So how do you reach them, particularly the younger people? Because that's going to be
03:51 a big emphasis, isn't it?
03:53 Yeah, for us, it's about making sure that we always have affordable prices. So of course,
03:57 we have our prologue scheme, which is 16 to 30 year olds, ÂŁ5 tickets for any show, and
04:02 always ensuring that we've got those 10 to ÂŁ10 or ÂŁ15 tickets for every show. So you're
04:08 making it. You can't buy a McDonald's for less than five quid, as far as I know. So
04:14 actually, this is a whole evening out that you can pay ÂŁ5 to be part of. We think that
04:20 that's a real appeal. And the other thing is making sure that we are providing product
04:24 that's going to interest a younger audience and be relevant for them too. So sticking
04:28 Oliver in the middle of the season, we know that's going to be a big banker in terms of
04:32 families. A family show will appeal to all audiences. You've got the tickets for under
04:36 16s that are just half the price. Whereas if you go to London and you're buying a family
04:41 ticket for four, you're going to pay ÂŁ200, ÂŁ300 to take your family to see a show like
04:46 that. So I think, you know, we keep our tickets affordable and we provide product that's going
04:51 to excite them and feels relevant for them.
04:55 So as the new era dawns, then you're feeling very encouraged by the response to the box
04:59 office so far?
05:00 Yeah, really, really excited about it and reassured by it. And we already know because
05:08 we're booking winter earlier than we used to, we've got some great shows coming this
05:13 winter as well. So let's hope that the fall year for us is going to be another cracker
05:18 for Chichester.
05:19 Well, congratulations on the season. There's so much that I personally am really, really
05:23 truly looking forward to, particularly that Stones one. So lovely to speak to you. Good
05:28 luck with everything.
05:29 Great to see you.
05:30 Thank you.
05:31 Thank you so much. See you soon.
05:32 Bye.