Chichester Festival Theatre has revealed its 2026 season running from March to December, featuring a mix of new plays, adaptations, and musicals. Highlights include Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady, and a theatrical debut from comedian Munya Chawawa.

The season opens on 9 March with Tom Wells’ stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, directed by Daniel Evans and featuring additional material by Jenny Worton. This production will run until 11 April in the Festival Theatre before transferring to Singapore, following a recent run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

David Haig presents the world premiere of his new play Magic, while John Morton writes and directs his debut stage play Eclipse in the Minerva Theatre from 8 May to 6 June. Eclipse stars Sarah Parish and Rupert Penry-Jones and explores a tense family gathering in a Devon rectory.

Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement is among the announced highlights. Geraldine James makes her Chichester debut in 45 Years, running in the Minerva Theatre from 12 June to 11 July, adapted from Andrew Haigh’s film and directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah.

For the first time at Chichester, Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady will be staged, while Emily White’s Atlantis plays in the Minerva Theatre from 18 July to 15 August. Stephanie Street’s a small and quiet light, based on SOE agent Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, runs in the Minerva from 21 August to 12 September before transferring to Richmond.

Munya Chawawa makes his theatrical debut playing Bottom in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream inspired by ’90s rave culture. The play runs in the Festival Theatre from 18 September to 17 October, directed by Justin Audibert and Hannah Joss, with Jemima Rooper as Titania.

Nina Segal’s Antigone Exits plays the Minerva from 26 September to 17 October, and the festive season includes Hey! Christmas Tree in December along with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre’s Peter Pan musical adventure in the Festival Theatre.

The season will offer more than 21,000 tickets priced from £10 to £15, plus 10,000 £5 Prologue tickets for audiences aged 16 to 30. The venue’s studio space The Nest continues to support emerging artists, alongside a companion programme of talks, backstage tours, live music, and family events.