Dame Patricia Routledge launches the 2025 Festival of Chichester

Video by Matt Goddard

Transcript

00:00As happy as can be. All good friends and jolly good company.

00:07What a privilege to be invited to set off this 13th year of the Chichester Festival,

00:21which used to be the festivities and this grew out of it, didn't it?

00:26Entirely independently, yes.

00:28Last Saturday night, after a superb concert by the Chichester Symphony Orchestra,

00:41I had a conversation with a gentleman and we asked each other what brought us to Chichester in the first place.

00:52In my case, I was invited in 1969, anybody alive who remembers that,

01:02to be part of the festival theatre programme and I came down here to be in three places.

01:14And I asked the gentleman what brought him here because he had a busy working life elsewhere in the country

01:24and he said, quite simple, the arts. And that of course is true.

01:30I think we go beyond the famous Cheltman, who has heard that they have several arts occasions, celebrations.

01:44We have those celebrations all in one at the same time.

01:52The variety of programmes is quite astonishing and also the prices that are asked for seating are extraordinary.

02:07Really amazing. I don't know how you keep things going really on £7 a seat, £12, even £20.

02:19A friend of mine was in the West End the other week where he often goes up to London

02:27and in the afternoon he thought he'd see a show and the price asked for a ticket was £235.

02:43Absolutely disgraceful. Now at the theatre here we know that costs are going up and inflation goes on abounding.

02:54But everything is available within our limits and I always think you spend your money where your heart is.

03:07There is, as Phil has told us, a wonderful variety of events and a larger variety than ever, I think you said.

03:21And also making the practicality of the place aware, not just the arts.

03:33The arts are the soul of the nation and we honour them here more than anywhere else, I think, in the country.

03:47So God bless and on we go and bonjour.