The Inquiry
Deborah Findlay John Heffernan
Malcolm Sinclair
A new play by Harry Davies
–About The Inquiry
A political drama which twists and turns with reptilian dexterity and snake-like disquiet. A true tour de force; with perfectly crafted performances from the superb Deborah Findlay and John Heffernan
Sussex Express
Excellent performances, plus an intriguing premise and a powerful final confrontation
Chichester Observer
The theatrical equivalent of a page turner. Fans of Line of Duty and the like are in for a treat
Portsmouth News
Gallery
Offers thoughtful, refreshingly complex insight into the murky, morally corrosive atmosphere at Westminster.
The Stage
There's slow-dissolving delight in the way Davies constructs the play and Bowman paces it. An absorbing, often authoritative first play.
Fringe Review
MP Arthur Gill is one of Westminster's rising stars. Still in his 30s, he’s just become the Secretary of State for Justice, assuming the role of Lord Chancellor too; and with a leadership race on the horizon, he’s a favourite to be the next Prime Minister.
But there’s a problem. An inquiry headed by Lady Justice Deborah Wingate is on the brink of publishing its findings about a public health disaster: a scandal that happened on Gill’s watch when he was environment minister. As leaks multiply and the waters grow murkier, how far will he go to hide his past and protect his future?
The Inquiry is a gripping drama about the pernicious collision between politics, justice and ambition.
Harry Davies is a writer and an investigative reporter for The Guardian; this is his first play. Joanna Bowman (Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads, Festival 2022) directs.
The cast is led by Deborah Findlay (TV’s The Split, Separate Tables Festival 2009), John Heffernan (Much Ado About Nothing, Edward II National Theatre, Oppenheimer RSC/West End) and Malcolm Sinclair (This House Festival 2016, Pressure Festival 2014 & West End), with Shazia Nicholls, Macy Nyman, Nicholas Rowe and Stephanie Street.
Cast and creatives
Deborah Findlay
Lady Justice Deborah WingateJohn Heffernan
Arthur Gill MPMalcolm Sinclair
Lord Patrick Thorncliffe KCShazia Nicholls
Elyse LamyMacy Nyman
Donna BrookeNicholas Rowe
Jonathan Hayden KCStephanie Street
Helen Linwood
Joanna Bowman
Max Jones
Mark Henderson
Christopher Shutt
Yarit Dor
Charlotte Sutton CDG
Kate Bassett
Cory Hippolyte
John Page
Sabia Smith
Sharon Foley
Suzi Blakey
Gareth Newcombe
Isobel Eagle-Wilsher
Booking info
PricingPreviews / Press Night
- pink
- £10
- yellow
- £23
- blue
- £33
Monday evenings and weekday matinees
- pink
- £10
- yellow
- £31
- blue
- £42
All other performances
- pink
- £10
- yellow
- £37
- blue
- £55
Previews / Press Night
- pink
- £10
- yellow
- £23
- blue
- £33
Monday evenings and weekday matinees
- pink
- £10
- yellow
- £31
- blue
- £42
All other performances
- pink
- £10
- yellow
- £37
- blue
- £55
Offers
Friends
- Friends:
- £2 off full price tickets
Families
- Family tickets, except Saturday evenings:
- Half Price for up to four U16s with every full price paying adult. Tickets must be booked and paid for in a single transaction. Just select the U16 option for the under 16 tickets in the basket and discounts will be applied at the checkout stage (after the basket)
Groups
- Groups 8+, Wednesday - Friday:
- £5 off each ticket
- Groups 40+, Wednesday - Friday:
- £8 off each ticket, plus a £5 ticket for the Group Organiser
Schools and student groups
- Schools and student groups 10+, weekday performances:
- £10.00 per ticket; one free teacher ticket with every nine paid
Concessions
- Over 60s, weekday performances:
- £2 off full price tickets
- Full-time students in higher education, Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit claimants weekday performances:
- Half Price
- Full-time students in higher education, Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit claimants weekday performances:
- Standby from one hour before the performance: £10.00
Minerva Theatre
Discounts apply to top two price bands only
Some seating areas may not be available for all performances
Friends
Up to four discounted tickets per production
Access tickets may be available for Access Members
Log in to your account to see Access seats. Select the relevant Access tickets in the basket to receive your discount (where applicable)
£5 Prologue Tickets may be available for 16-30 year olds
Log in to your account to see Prologue seats
Your visit
Getting here
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.
By car
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 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.
If you're coming to the show on 18 or 21 October: on Wednesday 18 October the car park closes at 6pm in preparation for Sloe Fair and will remain closed until midday on Saturday 21 October.
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.
By coach
Coming with a large group? The coach drop-off point is outside the Festival Theatre with a coach park in Via Ravenna.
By bike
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
Accessibility
Accessible 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 fully 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.
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 [email protected]. We'd love to get your feedback!
For wheelchair users or people requiring step-free access
- 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 fully 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] to reserve yours in advance.
- 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.
For people 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 large print or audio format (we're on Soundcloud or contact [email protected] and we'll send you a CD).
Can't make our audio described dates? Let our House Manager know ([email protected]) and we'll see if it's possible to arrange an alternative.
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 [email protected]) 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 [email protected]
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.
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 [email protected] if you would like any further information.
Coming along to one of our audio-described performances?
Listen to the pre-description for the Audio Described performances before you get here.
The Cat and the Canary: The Audio Described performances will take place on Friday 25 October at 7.15pm and Saturday 26 October at 2.15pm.
The pre-description will also be available live before the audio described performances.