The Nest: Chichester's third theatre takes shape among the trees

A successor to The Tent, Theatre on the Fly and The Spiegeltent, it will – just as they did – give the CFT the chance to do something a little bit different to their usual programming.

Nestled among the trees next to the Festival Theatre, The Nest has been designed to complement its sister theatres with both a thrust stage and an end-on stage in a 119-seater studio which will be fully wheelchair accessible and usable year-round, offering a new venue which will support artists and technicians at the beginning of their careers, including local writers and performers. Plus, it'll be perfect for staging entertainment for a younger audience. The Nest will also provide a much-needed space for the CFT’s growing community programme, including creative activities for adults, its Technical Youth Theatre and work for early years (ages 0-4), all inside a structure previously used by The Pleasance at the Edinburgh Festival. Construction comes after the CFT successfully completed The Nest Appeal, raising more than £1,800,000 in one year.

Project director Dan Watkins previously oversaw the huge CFT RENEW project in 2012-2014, including the creation of the Theatre in the Park – the perfect background for bringing The Nest to life now.

As Dan says: “We have been talking about the possibility of a third space at the theatre for a long time and it has been subject to lots of testing. But this actually came about in an opportunistic kind of way. We had been talking about what the organisation needed and this structure became available just as (CFT artistic director) Justin Audibert joined. He was very excited at the prospect.

“The structure itself was developed and designed by Triple E who are known for stage engineering. They had just started importing this American product called ModTruss which is basically Meccano for grown-ups. It's infinitely flexible, a bit like trussing but more Meccano-esque, and it is a very, very versatile product.

“The Pleasance Theatre had commissioned a flexible temporary space and the idea was that it could be taken up to Edinburgh and used for four weeks and then deconstructed and brought back down to London. That was very successful and they did that two or three years before Covid hit. It then came to rest in London in a smaller version of itself and it was at that point that I was talking to the Pleasance about it and they said that they had to let it go because they needed the space. They asked did I know of anybody that would be interested in a temporary flexible theatre.”

Chichester Festival Theatre most definitely was.

“Chichester has bought the structure and put it in the park. We have planning permission for five years in that location. That gives us time enough to use it as a test bed for new audiences and then we will think about the next move. I would like to think that it would stay here or somewhere else. Where it is now is the preferred choice. There was another location that might just work, just north of the theatre and off to the east but it's very tight and out of the way. What is brilliant about where we are is that it's nestled amongst the trees.”

The perfect location for The Nest.

“And obviously the name is informed by the work which will be coming out of it which will be fledgling work which it will be supporting. It has also got a wonderful slightly raised bit just in front which just sinks the structure nicely. It has reduced the volume a bit. It looks like it is nestled in there. But the biggest challenge was setting this structure within those trees. The absolute necessity was that we didn't want to lose any of the trees – and that it should be very carefully located among the root protection zones.”

Fortunately, there was no need to dig foundations: “Instead we have secured it with ground screws. There are 50 to 60 four-foot screws which brings two main advantages. You screw them in and screw them out and leave no trace after five years but it also means you can screw very carefully among the tree roots. It has been very kind to the roots.”

Another key challenge was that the structure was originally designed for four weeks a year in the Scottish summer: “But now, as soon as you say 365 days a year for five years, it becomes very different and you've also got to apply the modern building regs. We bought the ModTruss exo-skeleton and the cladding but that was only about 50 to 60 mil thick. We have had to strengthen the two central ModTruss beams and we have built another insulating layer around it and then put on rainscreen cladding.

“The key is the sustainability and the careful installation but flexibility is also very important. By design the two other spaces in Chichester are quite inflexible in some ways though we have given them a good go over the years! But for this we wanted both a thrust stage which Chichester is obviously synonymous with and we also wanted it to be end-on. It takes between 100 and 120 people depending whether you've got it thrust or end-on, and it will take maybe a day to change between the two, but the flexibility is important. The seats we bought with the structure, and they have been refurbished and recovered. They are tip-up two-seater benches.

“But we also wanted somewhere that was not just an intimate performance space but a space that could be used during the day when there will be all sorts of other user groups. So we installed some windows so that we could get some light into the box. It is going to be a very different feel to the other spaces. It's very honest. You see exactly what is holding the roof up above your head! There is nothing hidden. But it should feel like a permanent theatre.

“We aim to bring the construction to a head by the end of May and then we will have a series of fitting out and testing events in June and July and then we will have some public-facing events maybe in late August and then we hope to get up to full speed in the autumn.”

If you'd like to discuss supporting the project or learn more about it, call the theatre on 01243 212869 to chat to a member of the team.