An adaptation of Andrea Levy’s The Long Song and Steven Moffat’s debut play starring Amanda Abbington and Reece Shearsmith lead the Chichester Festival Theatre’s massive 2020 season.
Long-time Doctor Who collaborator Mark Gatiss will direct Moffat’s The Unfriend, while Cherrelle Skeete heads up the cast for The Long Song, adapted by Suhayla El-Bushra.
The plays are two of five world premieres that also includes Kate Mosse’s adaptation of her own book The Taxidermist’s Daughter.
The theatre also announced a number of revivals in the season, including two musicals and five modern dramas: Polly Findlay will direct Sondheim’s Assassins., while Chichester artistic director Daniel Evans is set to helm Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific starring Julian Ovenden.
Tom Stoppard, whose new play Leopoldstadt opened last night in London, will have The Real Thing – one of the critics’ favourites – staged, with Simon Evans directing the drama. Tinuke Craig will direct a production of Sarah Kane’s Crave, while Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie will also come to the stage, adapted by Jay Presson Allen.
Penelope Skinner’s Evening Standard Theatre Award-winning play The Village Bike, will be revived with Emilia’s Nicole Charles directing.
Evans and executive director Kathy Bourne said they were proud to achieve a fifty-fifty gender balance among playwrights and majority female directors in the season.
For the full season programme, head to cft.org.uk
London theatre to look forward to in 2020
