What’s coming up in the Minerva this summer at Chichester Festival Theatre

Eileen Atkins and Sebastian Croft in 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog, directed by Richard Eyre, May 4-June 10, Minerva Theatre. Late one night, 21-year-old Leo arrives without warning at his grandmother’s Manhattan apartment – the furthest point on a momentous bike ride across America. Vera is 91 and lives alone, her independence undimmed by the challenges of modern living. Baffled by each other at first, this odd couple slowly edge across the distance between them. Amy Herzog’s award-winning drama is a warm, wry and compassionate story about love, loss, memory and moving on. Eileen Atkins was last at the CFT in Vita and Virginia in 1992.

Chichester Festival Theatre season unveiled – click here for full details

Click here for your full guide to the main-house season at Chichester Festival Theatre

Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? by Adrienne Kennedy and Adam P Kennedy, directed by Diyan Zora, June 16-July 8, Minerva Theatre, Chichester. Playwright Adrienne Kennedy impulsively leaves New York for London with her young son, intent on adapting John Lennon’s book In His Own Write for the stage. In the heady atmosphere of the Swinging 60s, she finds herself rubbing shoulders with a dizzying array of celebrities. It seems like a dream come true. But slowly the stars seem to align in a different way.

Rock Follies, a new musical by Chloe Moss, July 24-August 26, Minerva Theatre. It’s the 1970s and feminism is on the rise. Fed up with the male-dominated entertainment industry, Anna, Dee and Q take the future into their own hands and form a rock band – the ironically named Little Ladies. And so begins the musical helter-skelter ride of a lifetime. With a book by Chloe Moss and original songs from the ground-breaking TV series by Andy Mackay and Howard Schuman, this punchy new musical is a rousing, riotous rollercoaster of woman power.

Alexandra Roach, Greg Wise and Susan Wokoma in Never Have I Ever, a new play by Deborah Frances-White, directed by Emma Butler, September 1-30, Minerva Theatre. Jacq and Kas’s boutique restaurant has gone bust, and telling their oldest friends Adaego and her rich husband Tobin that his investment is toast is only the start of the evening. Cash, class, identity and infidelity are all on the menu. As the last of the expensive wine flows, a dangerous drinking game reveal long-hidden truths and provokes an unspeakable dare.

The Inquiry, a new play by Harry Davies, directed by Joanna Bowman, October 13-November 4, Minerva Theatre. MP Arthur Gill is one of Westminster's rising stars. Still in his 30s, he’s just become the Secretary of State for Justice, assuming the role of Lord Chancellor too; and with a leadership race on the horizon, he’s a favourite to be the next Prime Minister.

But there’s a problem. An inquiry headed by Lady Justice Deborah Wingate is on the brink of publishing its findings about a public health disaster: a scandal that happened on Gill’s watch when he was environment minister. As leaks multiply and the waters grow murkier, how far will he go to hide his past and protect his future?

Priority booking for Friends of Chichester Festival Theatre opens: February 25 (online and booking forms only); February 28 (phone and in person).

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