Chichester Festival Youth Theatre's "amazing" buzz and atmosphere

For Bishop Luffa student Alex Webb, it’s all about the fun, the buzz, the environment, the atmosphere and the growing confidence.
Alex WebbAlex Webb
Alex Webb

He is loving his time with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre – and looking forward to playing a Policeman and Mercury the Dog in their Christmas production this year, a socially-distanced run of Pinocchio on the main-house stage (until January 2).

“I am still not quite sure where I want to go, but I know that I just love being in the theatre. There is so much about it that is great, the atmosphere, the people, the kinds of opportunities you get. There is something about the buzz of it I love.

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“I was in Sleeping Beauty and Crossing Lines (with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre). In Crossing Lines I was playing a German prisoner of war in the cloisters. It was such an amazing show and so different and so much fun to be part of.

“I joined the youth theatre when I was in year six which was five years ago now. I joined the youth theatre to build up my confidence which it has definitely done, and I have just loved it. In all areas of my life I feel so much more confident now. I used to be a bit shy when I was younger.”

Inevitably, it’s a very different experience, putting on a show in 2020, than it has been in previous years: “But it just great to be back together again. We have all missed the theatre so much. And I think not being able to do it has made us appreciate all the more the incredible work that (youth theatre director) Dale (Rooks) has done to enable this to happen.

“We have to stay distanced all the time. We have to wear masks and to sanitise our hands. But it is just exciting to be part of the show.”

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Exciting too to find new ways to express themselves in an era when touching and proximity simply aren’t possible.

“You have to create new ways to interact with each other. We have had to explore different ways to do things for when you want to hug but you can’t hug; for when you want to high-five and you can’t; for when you want to hold hands but you can’t hold hands. It has been really interesting to see.

“And we are doing the show with no interval so that the audience can feel as safe as possible. It is going to be different in that respect, but it is also really nice for the story to be continuous.

“I am playing Mercury the French dog. He has an insight into Pinocchio. He is there to pick up Pinocchio when he loses faith in himself. Our Pinocchio is the original story with a few extra magical twists. The story is all about finding what is inside you all along, that you don’t have to be someone different, that who you are is enough.

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“I think it is a show that Chichester audiences are going to love. I think it is really relevant to this time, and for a lot of the audience it will be their first time back in the theatre for a long time. But it is a show with such a lovely message that I think the audiences are going to really appreciate it.”

The show comes in a new adaptation by Anna Ledwich with music by Tom Brady from the original novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.

Anna’s previous work at Chichester includes The Butterfly Lion (2019), Crossing Lines (2019) and Beauty and the Beast (2018).

Dale Rooks previous work at the CFT includes The Butterfly Lion, The Midnight Gang and Running Wild.

Tickets from the theatre.