The 40th anniversary of Chichester Festival Theatre in 2002 was also Artistic Director Andrew Welch’s final season. The programme featured revivals of past successes alongside pioneering contemporary productions.

One such production was a new take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, starring London Newcomer of the Year Emily Blunt opposite Lex Shrapnel in the Festival Theatre. Directed by Indhu Rubasingham, the production was set in the old Istanbul of the Ottoman empire to reflect the clash of East and West. Against the backdrop of 9/11, the programme noted: 'the danger inherent in the play can be discharged and compared with our modern world, beset by anti-Islamic tension'. Read more in the digital programme below.