Actor and director Daniel Evans took over as Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre in 2016. His inaugural season in 2017 included two musicals: Fiddler on the Roof, starring Omid Djalili and Tracy-Ann Oberman in the Festival Theatre, and Caroline, Or Change starring Sharon D. Clarke in the Minerva.

Mixing blues, soul, Motown, classical music and Jewish folk songs, Caroline, Or Change is a deeply moving portrait of America during the civil rights movement. Michael Longhurst's production earned five star reviews and transferred to Hampstead Theatre and then the West End's Playhouse Theatre, with Clarke winning the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical; she was to recreate the role when the production transferred to New York, where it was nominated for three Tony Awards. Watch Clarke's stunning performance of 'Lot's Wife' at the Olivier Awards below, along with the pre-show talk at CFT with director Michael Longhurst.