CFT Lates: Words Out Late

A smiling woman with long brown hair stands on stage, reading from a large black book.. She wears a white top with black spots, and black trousers. She is wearing a microphone on her face. To the left, a blonde woman is looking towards her, smiling. This woman is in a long black dress and holds another book.

About CFT Lates: Words Out Late

Local wordsmiths Words Out Loud present an evening of Tales of the Extraordinary. Join us for spoken word and poetry that conjures those unique and bizarre moments in life that only a creative expression can truly communicate. Some real, some imagined, all brand new and from the heart.

Bringing together an eclectic mix of stories, tales and extraordinary happenings, it promises to be an inspiring, moving and entertaining evening.

It’s fresh, it’s fun and it’s a little bit different. From cabaret to comedy, drag to music, our late night series is in the Minerva Bar is fast becoming the place to be. And why not sweeten the deal with our signature £6 cocktails and prosecco, exclusive to CFT Lates.

Doors open from 9pm for a 9.30pm start.

Ages 16+

The performers

Charlie Rosse
Charlie is a spoken word poet who performs her poetry in venues around the south (most recently as part of Victorious Music Festival, Brighton Pride and BBC Radio) and online over at her popular bookish Instagram The Roaming Reader. She also writes features for a number of national publications, reviews theatre and has completed her first novel. She is currently exploring the avenues towards literary representation.

Geoff Allnut
Has performed all over the UK from poetry clubs to music and literature festivals and is the winner of numerous poetry slams including Glastonbury Festival. He was a founder-member-of poetry’s first pop group, Atomic Lip and co host for Pure Poetry at Soho Theatre He is lyricist and vocalist for the band Radio K W G 2014 to present. His Dr Seuss inspired parody book The Twat in the Flat was published by Burning Eye in 2015, and his one man show An Adult Dr Seuss a mixture of fast paced poetry and music sold out its run at Brighton Fringe 2019. During lockdown he formed his second band The Invisible Hats and their debut album was released on Irregular Records in 2022 they are currently writing the sequel. A new poetry show Fragments From Home is currently in development incorporating film, poetry and music it features the the true life stories of a family of Latvians and their friends displaced in WW2 with echos to the current situation in Ukraine. “an excellent slice of comedy lampooning”. The Reviews Hub

Piers Rowlandson
Retired Paediatrician who worked for nine years in Swindon and seventeen years on the Isle of Wight. Twelve years ago he stopped work and sailed in their gaff cutter to festivals of the sea in Brittany and the South West of England. Over the past decade, Piers has written five novels, three volumes of poetry and one book of short stories. All have been self-published.

Erika Loch
Erika Loch is a poet, lyricist, and wordsmith currently working on a new book in the realm of narrative non-fiction where time is the central character.

The piece she is performing this evening, Off the Wall, explores the extraordinary in what stems from stillness….and suggests that the act of being still is, in and of itself, extraordinary.

Roz Hodgkiss
Ros writes fiction, memoir and poetry. She loves nature and wild swimming, though she prefers to think of this as ‘swimming in the sea’.

Chris Hardy
Chris Hardy has lived and travelled all over the world and is now in Sussex. His poems have won prizes and been widely published in print and online. His latest collection, 'Key to the Highway' was published by Shoestring Press. He is a musician, in LiTTLe MACHiNe, ‘The greatest poetry and music band in the world’ (Carol Ann Duffy), and is secretary of the Chichester Poetry Stanza.

Pratibha Castle
Pratibha Castle, an Irish born working class poet living in West Sussex, is widely anthologised and published in journals and ezines including: Agenda, High Window, Stand, Tears in The Fence, The Friday Poem, One Hand Clapping, Orbis and Spelt. A Pushcart nominee, short listed in The Bridport Prize 2023, her work has been highly commended and shortlisted in numerous other poetry competitions including those run by:Indigo Dreams; Repton, Bray, Slipstream and Binsted ArtsLiterary Festivals; the King Lear Award and the Welsh Poetry Competition. She headlines at poetry events online and live, including the Cheltenham Poetry Festival 2022 where she read alongside with Ruth Padel and Jonathon Porritt. She is a featured reader at Tears in The Fence Festival September 2024. Her latest pamphlet, Miniskirts in The Waste Land(Hedgehog Press) a Poetry Book Society Winter Selection 2023, explores a young woman’s search for identity and healing in Notting Hill and India in the late 60s/early 70s.

Your visit

Getting here

Coming by public transport?

To plan your journey from door to door on public transport visit traveline.info for the quickest route.

Rail

Chichester Station is a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute taxi ride away, with regular direct links to London Victoria, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Gatwick Airport. Connect to London Waterloo trains at nearby Havant. Visit nationalrail.co.uk or call 08457 484950 for timetables, restricted services and other details.

Walking directions from the station (20 minute walk):
Head out of the main entrance towards The Foundry Pub, walk past the pub with it on your left and straight up South Street until you come to The Cross (stone monument) which indicates an intersection of four streets. Continue straight ahead up North Street. At the top of North Street is a ring road, take the pedestrian underpass to North Gate Car Park and continue through the car park to reach the Theatre on the far side.

Bus

The number 60 Stagecoach bus stops near the Theatre. Visit the Stagecoach website for more information.

Bringing a coach group?

Coming with a large group? The coach drop-off point is outside the Festival Theatre with a coach park in Via Ravenna.

Planning a bike tour?

We're linked to the city’s cycle lane network and our bike park can hold 26 bicycles. It's right next to the Pimlott Building by the park, just off the Theatre’s access road. chichester.gov.uk/cycling

Car-pooling with friends?

The M27 and A27 run along the coast, linking Hampshire, Sussex and Kent. The M3, A3, A29, A259 and A24 connect Portsmouth, Southampton, Mid-Sussex and London. Use the map above for directions to Chichester Festival Theatre. It's also worth looking out for scheduled roadworks on the West Sussex Council website.

We'd encourage you to think green and minimise car travel where possible but recognise that driving may be your only travel option. If so, you have the option to carbon-offset your journey for £1, when booking your tickets. This £1 goes directly to Ecologi to support carbon-offsetting projects and international tree-planting programmes. Read more about this partnership here.

Parking

Northgate Car Park (PO19 6AA) is a 900-space council-run pay and display car park right on our doorstep, which charges from 8am until 8pm Monday - Saturday and 10am until 5pm on Sundays. You can pay by cash, card and contactless and the MiPermit app - chichester.gov.uk/mipermit

As we're so conveniently located, the car park can get very busy, and often full with city centre shoppers as well as our audiences. Allow plenty of time to park (especially if you're coming to a matinee!) and consider alternative car parks in Chichester. You can find all options at chichester.gov.uk/parking.

Parking for disabled patrons

If you have a Blue Badge you can park anywhere in Northgate Car Park free of charge. There are 9 non-reservable spaces close to the Theatre entrance. Visit Chichester District Council for other available car parks.

We have a 'drop off' area in front of the Theatres, which you can access from the Broyle Road entrance.

What does CFT have in place to help me?

Accessible performances

You can filter what's on by access need and you can find accessible performances on each of the separate production pages as well. We hope this will make it easier to find what you need but if you have any queries or suggestions let us know at hello@cft.org.uk. We'd love to get your feedback!

For those who are D/deaf or hard of hearing

At BSL interpreted performances a British Sign Language interpreter stands on or at the side of the stage and interprets the spoken word and sound effects.
Stagetext captioned performances provide English subtitles either on a screen above or to the side of the stage, or on a personal tablet in specific seats. Our Box Office can make sure you're booked into a seat that gives you a good view of the captioning units so contact them on 01243 781312.
We record and caption many of our pre-show talks and make them available on YouTube.
Both theatres are equipped with Infra-Red audio enhancement system and you can pick up a headset at our cloakrooms before the show for free.
Hearing aid user? Switch to the 'T' position once inside the auditorium to use our induction loop system. Handy tip: this system works best if you're sat in the centre of the auditorium so chat to our Box Office (01243 781312 or box.office@cft.org.uk) when booking if you'd like to use this service.
We have a chat function available on the website and can answer questions via email if helpful at access@cft.org.uk

We carry out regular checks on these systems but sometimes technology unfortunately fails us. If you're having any difficulties whatsoever, make sure you speak to a member of staff as soon as possible so we can try to fix the problem.

For those who are Neurodivergent

Our Relaxed Performances are aimed at those who enjoy a quieter more chilled out environment. These performances include small changes to create a more comfortable experience. You're welcome to come and go during the show, we'll reduce the volume and keep our houselights at a low level.
If you would like more information go to the Relaxed Performances page.

For those with visual impairments

Audio described performances provide friendly live commentary over discreet headphones. Pick up your headset from our cloakrooms in the Festival Theatre or outside the Minerva auditorium. (And as an added bonus, we'll share a "pre-description" with you before the show just to give you a taste of what's to come.)
Free touch tours are available 90 minutes before audio described performances so you can explore the set and costumes. Make sure you book your space in advance.
All seat row ends and individual seats have Braille signage and we can provide a Braille or large print cast list for all Festival season productions.
Our season brochures are available in different formats. You can download the large print version here or listen to our audio brochure here (or contact access@cft.org.uk and we'll send you a CD).

Can't make our audio described dates? Let our House Manager know (housemanager@cft.org.uk) and we'll see if it's possible to arrange an alternative.

Audio described activities are kindly sponsored by CI Optometrists

For wheelchair users

There is level access across the CFT site with lifts available to other levels.
The Café on the Park and our restaurant, The Brasserie, are wheelchair accessible and offer brilliant coffee and great dining experiences.
16 wheelchair spaces are available across two levels in the Festival Theatre and we have two spaces in the Minerva Theatre. Call or email Box Office on 01243 781312 or box.office@cft.org.uk to book your space (or register as an Access member to book online).
Want to transfer from a wheelchair into a theatre seat? Let us know in advance when you book and we can help you.
Wheelchairs are available to borrow if you need one when you get here; email box.office@cft.org.uk to reserve yours. It's best to do this in advanced as they are subject to availability.
Not in a wheelchair but have limited mobility? Walking sticks, crutches and walking aids can all be taken into the theatres and if you can't fit them safely under your seat we'll store them for you in a safe location. We'll do our best to get them back to you swiftly at the end of the performance but please allow extra time in case our Front of House team are busy elsewhere.

If you find an area of our building where access is restricted (unfortunately there are a few), our Box Office and Front of House team members have all completed accessibility training so have a chat to them. They'll happily answer questions or take on feedback to share with the rest of the organisation.

Seat widths

In the Festival Theatre, seats vary from 500mm wide to 560mm wide. In the Minerva Theatre they are either 515mm wide or 520mm wide. All our seats have fixed armrests. Click here to download plans for both venues showing the widths of the different seats.

Please give our Box Office a call on 01243 781312 or email access@cft.org.uk if you would like any further information.

Step-free access

In the Festival Theatre, the foyer, café and toilets are at ground level with no steps to negotiate. When booking your seats you'll want to choose Row L from the Front and Side Stalls or Row W in the Rear Stalls. We have lifts on either side of the auditorium with level access to both of these rows.

In the Minerva building the Theatre and Minerva Bar are on the first floor - once you go through the doors, head behind the stairs to find a lift ready to take you up a level. If you'd like step-free access to your seat in the Minerva, book Row A. The Brasserie is on the ground floor if you're stopping for something to eat before the show.

Toilets

Toilets, washrooms, bathrooms or loos - whatever you call them, it's likely that you'll want to visit ours while you're here.

We have two accessible toilets in the Festival Theatre Foyer (one on each side) and another in the Festival Theatre (auditorium left, adjacent with row L), plus one on each level of the Minerva Theatre.

We also have two sets of ladies and gents in the Festival Theatre and another two sets in the Minerva (offering a total of 63 cubicles, four of which are ambulant, and 27 urinals), so there's no shortage of places to spend a penny.

The nearest Changing Places toilet is in Northgate car park where it is managed by Chichester Council. You can find more information here on the Changing Places website.