Kim Cattrall in Chichester Festival Theatre's 50th anniversary season

CHICHESTER Festival Theatre has today (Monday, February 6) announced its 50th anniversary season.

The announcement was due to take place on Thursday, February 9, but was made today following leaks on social networking site Twitter.

Actress Kim Cattrall, perhaps best known for her role in Sex and the City, will play the role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra.

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Michael Pennington will play the role of Antony in the production, set to run from September 7 to September 9.

The anniversary season aims to echo the theatre’s past.

Uncle Vanya, part of Chichester’s very first season in 1962, will be revisited during this year’s celebrations.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the play will open this year’s season, running from March 30 to April 28.

The Way of the World, performed in 1984, will also feature again this year.

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The witty restoration comedy will run from April 13 to May 5.

Heartbreak House, by Bernard Shaw, will run from July 6 to August 25. The production will star Derek Jacobi, as Captain Shotover.

Many actors and directors who have played an important part in Chichester’s recent success will take part in the landmark season.

Directors Philip Franks, Angus Jackson, Rachel Kavanaugh, Jonathan Kent and Trevor Nunn and actors Roger Allam, Henry Goodman, Penelope Keith and Michael Pennington will all be taking part.

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New work will also feature in Theatre on the Fly, a temporary third auditorium to be built on Oaklands Park, echoing the days of The Tent, the 1983 predecessor to the Minerva Theatre.

A Chichester Festival Theatre special feature will appear in this week’s Observer series (out Thursday, February 9).

For more information on this year’s season, visit www.cft.org.uk/festival-2012.