About:Pass It On

Pass It On is a three year heritage lottery funded community engagement project to celebrate and share the history of Chichester Festival Theatre through working in partnership with many local organisations.
Illustration of the proposed Chichester Festival Theatre building from The Daily Telegraph 1961
Illustration of the proposed Chichester Festival Theatre building from The Daily Telegraph 1961

Pass It On is here to collect and share the history of Chichester Festival Theatre. Over three years (2013-2016) we will be exploring all aspects of the Theatre’s heritage; the fifty years of theatre-making here, the architecture of our Grade II* listed building and the various different ways that life at the Theatre has changed in this time.

By the community for the community

This was one of the founding principles of the Festival Theatre, with all of the money for the original building rasied through private subscriptions, it’s creation just wouldn’t have been possible without enthusiastic local support. This principle runs through our project too. We are working in partnership with West Sussex Record Office to sort and preserve a paper archive for Chichester Festival Theatre; with an expert Oral Historian to capture living memories of the Theatre; with local schools to develop a series of teaching resources and with our own Youth Theatre to develop short plays and tours that draw on the Theatre’s heritage in a variety of different ways.

We’ll be putting on an exhibition in our final year – curated and designed by our volunteers – to bring out the best of what we’ve found. This website will be growing throughout the project as many people from our community research and write material for us from a range of different perspectives.

We are always keen to hear from anyone who would like to become part of this project, be that by sharing memories, working with us as a volunteer or by participating in our events. Find out more about the individual activities of Pass It On through the menu above, as well as more information about how to get involved. Contact us at [email protected]

Anna Mould  

Community and Heritage Officer