Chichester Festival Theatre pays tribute to the late Sir Michael Gambon

Sir Michael, who played Professor Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, was at the CFT in one of the landmark early productions.

A Chichester Festival Theatre spokesman said: “Michael Gambon appeared at Chichester only once, in 1964, in the world premiere of Peter Shaffer’s The Royal Hunt of the Sun. The cast for that play was led by Robert Stephens and also included actors like Derek Jacobi, Christopher Timothy and Edward Petherbridge: the dazzling young company which Laurence Olivier gathered for the early years of the Festival Theatre. ‘The Great Gambon’, as he came to be fondly referred to, became one of the UK’s most acclaimed actors, lauded for both classical and contemporary roles on stage and screen, from Shakespeare to Dennis Potter and of course Harry Potter. He was equally cherished by colleagues for his wicked sense of fun behind the scenes, and will be hugely missed.”