I realize it’s been a while since I’ve actually written anything, but I haven’t been on many travels lately! Luckily for me, I recently went down to Chichester for a day to see Crazy For You at the Chichester Festival Theatre. This trip really came about because of my wanting to see the production, but that doesn’t mean that I simply went to the theatre and back!

Getting to Chichester

From London, getting to Chichester is pretty easy. It’s a 1.5 hour train from London Victoria, and Chichester has its own station. It was a train that split at Horsham, so important to make sure I was on the right half of the train! The day I travelled was a rail strike day, so naturally the train station was a bit hectic, but the train had air conditioning (thankfully as I was also traveling during a heat wave), and we didn’t face many delays. I purchased an open return ticket since I didn’t know how long the show would really last, but even with that, my ticket came in under £30 with a rail card.

Seeing the sights

My train departed London at 10:05, so I arrived in Chichester a little after 11:30. Since the show didn’t start until 2:30pm, I had some time to explore. I’ll be honest that I didn’t do as much as I may have liked, but it was a heatwave, and it was roasting outside!

From the train station, it’s a straightforward walk into the city center, and along that walk, I ran into the Cathedral. Never one to pass up any kind of sight, I popped inside to have a look around. It’s not as breathtaking as some other cathedrals I’ve visited, but it still has the impressive arches, stained glass windows, and quire that are worth seeing. The cathedral also has a still standing detached medieval bell tower, which is the only one of its kind in England.

Just next door, you’ll find The Novium Museum, which is home to exhibitions outlining Chichester’s history, its relationship with the arts, as well as a preserved Roman bath they’ve found on the site. It has some interesting things to see, as well as a lovely viewpoint of the Cathedral itself. It’s certainly not a super extensive museum, but it’s a great way to learn about the city, as well as to get out of the heat!

Heading to the Theatre

After having a quick meal deal from Tesco for lunch, I decided it was time to head to the theatre. I passed through Priory Park on the way, which was looking a little sad in the drought (although that didn’t stop the cricket match I saw), and saw some of the remaining walled city. I would’ve loved to have walked those more, but as they were in direct sunlight, I opted against it. The streets of Chichester are also lovely to wander around in general, with some nice little shops, and fun views of what would have been the old city walls. About a 30 minutes’ walk from the train station, you arrive at Chichester Festival Theatre. It’s in the park, which has a very different feel from West End theatres, but once you step inside, it feels no different than any other theatre.

The cafe and sitting areas were full over an hour before the performance as everyone was trying to escape the heat. They have lovely little lawn chairs outside that you can sit in to bask in the sun, or chat with your friends before a performance. Once they opened the actual theatre doors, I purchased a program (for the cheap price of £4, a price you never see in London), and headed to my seat. The show was in the Festival Theatre, but there is also the smaller, Minerva Theatre. When I purchased these tickets, I didn’t know much about the view, or about the theatre in general. I’m lucky to have access to Prologue tickets, which is a discount scheme for 18-30 year olds providing a select number of £5 tickets to each show. I nabbed one of them, and had an amazing view! I really appreciate that Chichester has such a scheme, and that they make it accessible to a wide range of ages.

The show itself was incredible, with phenomenal choreography by Susan Stroman. I’m always a big fan of any musical with tap dance in it, and this was no exception! They even had one of the ensemble members tap dancing on pointe shoes, which is mind boggling on so many levels. The costumes were beautiful, including the many Laducas the women were wearing, and the whole performance was just so well done. I can’t speak highly enough of it. I’m not a theatre review kind of gal, so I won’t write out every detail I loved, but you’ll have to take my word for it!

When the show let out, I walked back through the city (which at this point had mostly closed given it was after 5pm), and to the train station to catch a return train to London Victoria. The station itself isn’t very large, so few amenities, but I didn’t have to wait too long for the train luckily. It took a while to get home as there were some delays, but I did eventually make it.

I can absolutely see myself returning to the Chichester Festival Theatre, and while the theatre is an excellent thing to do there, you can still occupy a day before a show too in the city itself. I’m not sure if this is really a satisfactory post given I didn’t do that much beyond the theatre, but hey, it’s what I did!