Alfred Enoch to Star in Chichester Festival Theatre’s “Crave” in Global Livestream

In a new first for British theater, Chichester Festival Theatre will be performing Sarah Kane’s play Crave for a socially distanced audience and a global digital audience simultaneously. While a limited number of visitors will be allowed to watch the production live, the play will also be livestreamed from October 30 to November 7 for international theater lovers to enjoy.

Crave, a one-act play by British playwright Sarah Kane, was first performed in 1988.

‘Here I am, once again, here I am, here I am, in the darkness, once again.’

In a damaged world, four characters search for the light. Angry, funny, defiant, kind and cruel, ‘Crave’ is a deeply personal meditation on the meaning of love. Pulsing with loss and longing, its resonance will be doubly powerful as we begin to reconnect our lives after the loneliness and seclusion inflicted by a global pandemic.

The stars of the play are Erin Doherty (The Crown) and Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film series), both of whom are seasoned theater veterans. Doherty has received much praise for her performances in Jack Thorne‘s Junkyard and Alan Ayckbourn’s The Divide, while Enoch has acted at the historic National Theatre multiple times, including Timon of Athens, Coriolanus, and Red. Tinuke Craig directs the production, which will feature a “sensory sound and videoscape” created by Craig, designer Alex Lowde, and sound designer Anna Clock.

Alfred Enoch shines in the London production of Tony-winning play “Red” (Credit: Marc Brenner)

Chichester Festival Theatre’s artistic director, Daniel Evans, expressed his excitement for Crave:

I can’t wait to see what the brilliant Tinuke Craig and her design team create, [for both] the live and [the] digital audience. I’m also curious to discover how the play might shine a light on our experiences over the last months of isolation and disconnection.

For the first time in its history, Chichester Festival Theatre was forced to cancel its summer productions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following an outdoor musical concert in August, this play will mark the theater’s careful road to reopening.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the theater industry, with regional and renowned theaters alike struggling to stay afloat, and Chichester Festival Theatre has not been spared either. Evans believes that “it is vital that theatre doesn’t lose its appetite for risk-taking – I believe both artists and audiences are hungry to be challenged.”

Prices and performance details can be found on the Chichester Festival Theatre website, which is also the place to book your tickets. Chichester Festival Theatre encourages interested audience members to pay the amount that they ordinarily would for physical performances since all proceeds will go a long way in helping tide them over until the end of the pandemic.