Previously unseen highlights from Chichester Festival Theatre's archive will feature in a free exhibition Parkland to Performance: Highlights from Chichester Festival Theatre's archive, touring the region from February.
The exhibition is part of the Pass it On project that exists to capture and share the Theatre's heritage with the help of the community. Since 2013, the Pass it On team has been working with the West Sussex Record Office to organise Chichester Festival Theatre's records into a public archive. This exhibition will present some of the highlights that have emerged so far, including footage of Laurence Olivier at the topping out ceremony and props from past productions.
Parkland to Performance begins at the Capitol, Horsham on 17 February and will then tour to venues around West Sussex and South East Hampshire throughout 2015.
Sophie Shaw, Heritage Activities Manager at Chichester Festival Theatre, said, "we're really excited about the exhibition because it is our first opportunity to share some of the huge number of objects that make up the CFT archive. We want to share them with as many people as possible.
"If you haven't visited the Festival Theatre before, we hope that the exhibition will be an interesting introduction to the building's extraordinary story. For regular visitors it is a chance to gain a greater insight into the backstage working of the Theatre and productions they have seen."