Challenges, changes and thoughts for the future as a Chichester Festival Theatre era nears end

Daniel will step down from his role at the CFT at the end of April 2023 – by which time he will have put the 2023 Chichester summer season in place to carry on without him. By then, his successor will have taken charge.

“It is a big wrench for me to leave CFT,” Daniel admits. “I love it here. I love everything about it but these jobs just don't come along very often. And also it is going to be a big challenge. The RSC is one of the two big national organisations and it has a huge breadth of work both in London and in Stratford and it really does have an international reputation and function. And really it is an extension of everything that I have done at Sheffield and in Chichester in a way.

“I started my career there. I left drama school early to go there. I managed to do everything I needed to get my degree but I left in the February of my last year because I was offered a job at the RSC. It was somewhere I used to go and watch whole seasons and I always loved it so there is something for me about returning there which is very special and very personal.

“And in a way I think I've been preparing for this job for the past 13 years. The job is going to be tough. There's no practising for it. Basically you learn on the job but running Sheffield and then Chichester will definitely help. The other thing is that I will be going to the RSC as a partnership with Tamara Harvey (as co-artistic director) and what is going to be useful for us is to have the conversations together and to work out our approach together.”

Daniel will leave Chichester in April and then start at the RSC in June with just a month in between to get ready. Importantly, as he says, he will have no part in appointing his successor in Chichester. People might approach him to ask whether they should apply; equally he might suggest to people that they do apply. But he will not be part of the appointment process which will be wholly a board decision.

“But the great thing is that it is one of the best jobs in British theatre and I'm sure there will be a long list of people wanting to come here. It could be a mixture of people that were already running buildings or they might be freelance directors or maybe it might be an actor who's wanting to become an actor manager. Or there might even be partnerships coming, wanting to work together here.”

However, Daniel won’t leave without putting the 2023 Chichester Festival Theatre summer season in place. And of course, as he says, he will be popping back from time to time.

“And that is how it often works. I had that with (his predecessor as CFT artistic director) Jonathan Church when I arrived. I arrived in the June or July and Jonathan’s season ran until October. I oversaw the double Shakespeares and the season ended with This House. Jonathan popped back and forth and it's a very good way to do it. It was a great chance for me to see how things worked.”

The point is also that the change is good for everyone.

“A theatre always needs new people, new energy, new ideas. The American model is where an artistic director stays for life and I really do think that's a mistake. Whether you like it or not you can't just regenerate yourself sufficiently by staying in the same place. I think people become stale. You've only got to look at the current government and in fact I'm glad to be going while the going is good. We're coming out of Covid. We've had a good season even though it has been challenging here and there. But it is good to go when we are in a strong position.”

As for theatre post pandemic, Daniel believes the theatre – though it has certainly been changed by what has happened – is almost back to where it was before: “Just as we're coming out of Covid of course we have had the energy crisis and people’s home bills going up and up. It is definitely a challenge but I think the season this summer showed that people have had a real appetite for coming out to see uplifting shows but also to see thought-provoking drama. I do think that people are starting to get back into the habit of going to the theatre. Theatre-going is a habit and you can get out of the habit but we're really starting to see all our regular audience members again.

“I do think there is still a little bit of hesitancy and you can see Covid hospital rates are now going up again but also the issue is now about how people spend their money but I do think the theatre is back now.”

But the theatre has certainly been changed by what has happened:

“Lots of things came up during the pandemic not least how we look after our freelance community, those people that make theatre work. They were the people that were hit the hardest. There is no government support for them and that's one of the areas that has really changed. There is a huge amount of caring and diligence now for the freelancers who are invited now to become more a part of the building, to come along to staff meetings, to use the facilities which are now more accessible to them. It is a journey and there is still a long way to go but we have started.

“Also things have changed massively digitally which has meant that we can have an audience now from around the world. It has been amazing in that respect but also it is about sustainability. With the cost of materials going up, for instance wood from Ukraine, we have to think about ways to make our sets sustainable and for our production of Local Hero we have been implementing the set design under the Theatre Green Book (an independent, national initiative to increase sustainability in theatre) making sure that most props are found props rather than bought or created specifically as much as possible.”

The move across to mobile ticketing is also part of the general move towards greater sustainability.”

As for the plays: “I do think theatre is different in that respect too. The audience response is going to be different and the audience's needs are going to be different but it has been interesting to see how the audiences have really wanted a laugh this summer with plays like The Unfriend and have also wanted to be uplifted by gorgeous tap dancing in shows like Crazy For You. That has been a huge boon but it's also interesting to see how they have wanted thought-provoking plays as well and I do think we're lucky that we have had that balance built into our audience already. They don't just want uplifting works. They also want pieces that's make them think.”

Local Hero runs in Chichester’s Minerva Theatre from October 8-November 19.

Tickets from the theatre.