On Saturday 18th July 2026, 28 of us went to Chichester Festival Theatre to see a musical, and ended up as witnesses to a drama!
We all enjoyed the first act of My Fair Lady, with some great acting and famous songs like Wouldn't It Be Luverley, With A Little Bit of Luck and The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain. We came back for the second half for the scene at the Ball, the orchestra struck up, and then the music was drowned out by what sounded like 3 or 4 attempts by a novice to get a note out of a trumpet. The music stopped, the stage manager came out to say there was a technical issue they needed to resolve, and the performance would restart in a few minutes. Three more false starts and half an hour later, the performance was called off.
Hopefully if you were one of the attendees, you will know by now whether you can attend a different performance or await a refund.
In the morning, 20 of us did a backstage tour which was very enlightening. In retrospect, we realise how much work goes on backstage to make the theatre's performances work, and how much different equipment there is that can cause a disaster for the event if just one element misbehaves!