Ben Williams has put together a special series of events for this year's Festival of Chichester looking at a different side to the city and its thinking.
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00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor of First Sussex Newspapers and
00:06also Chairman of the Festival of Chichester. Now lovely to speak to Ben Williams, not least
00:10because Ben, you've come up with something very, very exciting for this year's Festival
00:14of Chichester. It's like your own mini-series, isn't it? Your own mini-thread with, is it
00:20six events running through the Festival of Chichester this year? And starting off with
00:26Samana on June the 16th. But tell me first, what's the linking thread behind these six
00:32events? What connects them? My own vision, I suppose, of what we could offer to the people
00:47of Chichester and what might be interesting, challenging, just a way of seeing things
00:54differently, opening things up a bit. And as you were saying, it's about the sort of
00:59non-traditional, almost alternative thinking? Yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Yes, a
01:08different take on normal. Absolutely. So you have a Professor of Economics from Oxford,
01:16Richard Verner speaking, world-class regenerative designer, Jenny Anderson. But as they say, starting
01:22June the 16th with Samana in the Guildhall, tell me about them and also about the venue,
01:27because the venue is significant, isn't it? Yes, yeah, absolutely. So they're a group of
01:35musicians who make very powerful music, and they call it music for the soul. So it addresses
01:44some of the heavier elements of life and experience of being alive, but in a transcendent way. That's
01:55how they describe themselves. But for them, the environment is really important, where they play
02:05the music. And we've found the Guildhall in Priory Park as the perfect spot. They're really excited to be playing in that
02:16old building with such a lot of heritage, that they can produce this atmosphere for us. They'll be playing in the
02:25round in a very subdued lighting. And in a way, will that set the tone for all the other events that you've got coming
02:31the next five? Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. Yes, it's a good way to kick off. Yeah, it's impactful. I think it'd be an
02:40impactful way to kick off. Fantastic. Well, it sounds a brilliant addition to the Festival of Chichester. As I'm saying, I love
02:47festivals within our festival. I think it makes the whole thing seem coherent. So fantastic that you've done this. May you keep on
02:54doing it. And good luck. Good luck with those five or six, six events that you've got in the Festival of Chichester
03:002025. Lovely to speak to you. Thank you all so much. Okay, great. Thanks, Phil. Appreciate it.