The Chichester Festival Theatre, in Oaklands Park north of the city centre, runs a season of plays from April to October that has become one of the country's most consistently strong programmes. Many productions transfer to the West End and Broadway; the in-the-round main house and the smaller Minerva Theatre alongside between them stage classics, new writing, and large-scale musicals.
Year-round, there are smaller productions in the Minerva and a steady programme of touring events. Tickets for the main festival productions sell out months ahead.