Wide range of one-nighters in new Chichester Festival Theatre winter season

Among the shows coming up:

Julian Ovenden In Concert, Festival Theatre, October 13, 3pm. Julian Ovenden returns after his Olivier Award-nominated performance in South Pacific in 2021. Julian will perform some of his favourite songs of the last 75 years, including numbers by Bernstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Sondheim.

Sancho & Me, Minerva Theatre, January 9 and 10. Paterson Joseph offers an account of one man’s remarkable life. Part-biography and part-dramatised readings from Paterson’s novel The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, this evening of storytelling uses Sancho’s compositions and original music by co-creator, composer and musician Ben Park.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance, Festival Theatre, January 9-11. Tarantara has assembled a 50-strong company with singers to bring to life Donna Stirrup’s fresh new production conducted by Martin Handley.

Judy Carmichael, Minerva Theatre, January 11. Grammy-nominated American pianist and vocalist/songwriter Judy Carmichael is one of the world’s leading interpreters of stride and swing piano.

BBC Concert Orchestra: Friday Night Is Music Night, Festival Theatre, January 17. Conductor Richard Balcombe, presenter Petroc Trelawny and the BBC Concert Orchestra with a celebration of great British film scores.

Omid Djalili – Namaste, Festival Theatre, January 18. Omid “peacefully bows to his inner anger and unleashes a torrent of comedic vitriol upon the current state of this dangerously messed-up planet.”

The Life And Times Of Jelly Roll Morton, Minerva Theatre, January 18. Ferdinand Lamothe, self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, celebrated pianist and band-leader from New Orleans lived the most extraordinary life on the edge of the edgy world that characterised early 20th-century America.

Judie Tzuke – Jude The Unsinkable, Minerva Theatre, January 24. An intimate evening of old favourites and songs from Judie’s new album.

Lîla Dance – Fault Lines, Minerva Theatre, January 25. Survivors emerge from the rubble of a scorched earth. Fault Lines explores tensions in our relationship with nature, blending dance, imagery, writing and music.

The Last Train To Tomorrow, Minerva Theatre, January 27 and 28. To mark the tenth anniversary of Chichester Marks Holocaust Memorial Day, an opera composed by Carl Davis tells the story of the flight in 1938-39 of 10,000 children from the Nazis on Kindertransport rescue trains to London,.

Posting Letters To The Moon, Minerva Theatre, January 30. A romantic, funny and touching portrait of life during the Second World War, featuring readings of letters between Oscar-nominated actress Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) and her husband Peter Fleming.

Looking For Me Friend – The Music of Victoria Wood, Minerva Theatre, January 31. An “evening of pure joy” filled with Victoria Wood’s best-loved songs.

Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me), Minerva Theatre, February 6 and 7. A one-man staging of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost combining theatre, comedy and movement.

Vaughan Williams’s and JM Synge’s Riders To The Sea, Minerva Theatre, February 11. Live performance with projection in a tale of family, grief and love’s enduring power.

Lemn Sissay – Let the Light Pour In, Minerva Theatre, February 12. Spend an evening with the author, activist, performer and Sunday Times number one bestseller Lemn Sissay.

Fisherman’s Friends, Festival Theatre, March 5. On the back of albums and films.

Tickets on 01243 781312; online cft.org.uk. Public booking opens: Saturday, September 14 from 9am (online only); Tuesday, September 17 from 10am (phone and in person).