Chichester Festival Theatre cricket match to be played at Goodwood cricket ground

Special guests and staff from shows past and present, alongside members of Goodwood and Chichester Priory Park Cricket Clubs, will make up the visitors team; CFT artistic director, Justin Audibert, will be captaining the CFT crew. The full line-up will be announced nearer the date. Gates open 1.30pm, match starts at 2.30pm (expected to finish by 6pm). Free to attend.

A spokesman said: “This is a free event so friends and families are encouraged to come with rugs, chairs and picnics. Cakes, ice-creams, teas, coffees and soft drinks will be on sale in the marquee. There’ll also be a chance to enter a raffle to win a night at Goodwood Hotel, lunch at restaurant Farmer, Butcher, Chef, and two tickets to the press night of Redlands at CFT.

“There have been regular cricket teams at Chichester Festival Theatre over the years; famously, the director Sam Mendes owed his first job at Chichester to his prowess at the game. He is one of the patrons of CFT’s fundraising appeal for The Nest, a new 120-seat studio theatre created to be a vibrant hub for talent development and innovative and community performances. All funds raised from the cricket match and raffle will contribute to The Nest Appeal.

“Cricket is the oldest of the sports played at Goodwood, having been played there since at least 1702 and has been supported by all the Dukes of Richmond.” For all the details of the match, including how to get there, visit https://www.cft.org.uk/news/cft-charity-cricket-match-at-goodwood-sunday-1-september

Designed to complement Chichester Festival Theatre’s existing spaces and sited between the Festival Theatre and Northgate car park, The Nest will offer a dynamic venue to support artists and technicians at the beginning of their careers, including local writers and performers, and offer entertainment for a younger audience. It will also provide a space for CFT’s ever-increasing community programme, such as work with vulnerable adults, the Technical Youth Theatre and early years (ages 0-3) activities.

Sam Mendes, the director of Hollywood blockbusters such as 1917 and Skyfall, who began his career at Chichester, is a patron of the appeal: ‘Nurturing the next generation of artists is vital to ensure that theatre in the UK maintains its international reputation for excellence. I am delighted to support Chichester Festival Theatre – a place dear to my heart – as they embark on creating this exciting new space. I cannot wait to see the work that is incubated in The Nest.” For more details and how to donate, visit https://www.cft.org.uk/support-us/the-nest-appeal

Cricket is the oldest of the sports played at Goodwood and has been supported by all the Dukes of Richmond. It has been played at Goodwood since at least 1702, as evidenced in a receipt for brandy. The oldest set of rules in the world, still in existence, were written for a match involving Goodwood in 1727.