Chichester Festival Theatre will take you fully into the world of The Rolling Stones and mid-1960s Chichester with a special immersive, experiential exhibition later this summer.
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers.
00:05 Now, lovely to speak to Helena Berry at Chichester Festival Theatre.
00:09 It's going to be fabulously exciting this summer, later this summer,
00:12 when there's a play about the famous Rolling Stones' drugs bust, Redlands.
00:17 Now, Helena, your job is Archive and Heritage Manager at the Festival Theatre,
00:23 and your role is put together an exhibition to go with this.
00:27 What are you envisaging? It's going to be in the foyer, isn't it?
00:30 What are you hoping?
00:32 Yes, so we're curating a foyer-wide exhibition in our massive Festival foyer,
00:36 which those who've been in it will know how vast it is to fill that space.
00:40 And we're hoping to do an exhibition that looks into the themes of the play.
00:45 So many will know of the story of the Rolling Stones' drugs bust in 1967,
00:50 and we want to just deep dive and give people more of an insight into the period,
00:54 the trial, after the trial, before the trial.
00:58 And that'll be across the foyer, so we're having some interactive elements.
01:02 We're going to have some photo shoot opportunities for people.
01:06 And don't think of it as a traditional exhibition. It won't be.
01:10 It should be really fun, really fun experience.
01:13 What's that distinction? You say not a traditional exhibition.
01:16 Yes.
01:18 Tell me how that's going to happen.
01:20 I think so we're not going to be having, you know, museum-grade cases,
01:23 and we're not going to, it's not going to be like a gallery exhibition in the more traditional sense.
01:28 We've tried to kind of flip it on its head and say we're a theatre.
01:31 We want to do something that people can experience and engage with and interact with.
01:36 So, as I said, we're going to have some interactive screens, we hope,
01:39 with some wonderful archival heritage footage and photos that people can engage with and learn more about.
01:47 We're going to have some wonderful vinyl walls that people can create their own vinyl covers,
01:53 kind of inspired by the show and take their own photos with them,
01:57 as well as some more kind of information boards around the areas of the show that we're particularly focusing on.
02:03 Oh, that sounds great. Now you're in the happy position of having read the first draft of the play.
02:08 Do you really get a sense of the fact that this story was a really important one for Chichester, wasn't it?
02:14 Yeah, I mean, it's really actually hard to believe that Chichester, at that time,
02:20 a kind of small market town, became kind of spotlight on the international stage at one of the biggest trials.
02:27 I mean, one of the biggest trials of the century. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that.
02:32 So it's really interesting that that dynamic of having a small market town on the international stage
02:40 with one of the biggest bands at the time and your favourite band too, Phil.
02:46 Big Rolling Stone band in the house. So, yeah, I think we're just looking at that dichotomy and how,
02:52 what that meant for Chichester, how it influenced Chichester and how the people of Chichester remember it.
02:57 And, you know, reading contemporary accounts, the strength of the passions that were evoked and enraged, weren't they?
03:05 Absolutely. It was a real clash of the generation. Yeah, yeah. It was literally the clash of the generations
03:13 and really the start, really, of the demise of British establishment ideals that began around that trial,
03:22 where we had the kind of the rock and roll superstars up against the British establishment
03:28 and how there was a real turning point where, you know, members of the British establishment,
03:34 William Rhys-Mogg being one of them, wrote the article about in favour of the Rolling Stones that then tipped the balance in favour of them.
03:44 And yeah, all those circulating kind of cultural debates are so interesting and I think ever present, ever present today.
03:52 What's fascinating is all these years later, we're talking about Sir Michael Jagger, aren't we?
03:58 And the fact is, I've got them on the wall over there. The Rolling Stones, immortalised set of British postage stamps with the Queen's head on.
04:07 And these are the people that they were trying to send to jail. It's astonishing, isn't it?
04:11 Yeah. Rock and roll superstars turned knights of the realm.
04:15 Absolutely. Well, you've got a fabulous story to tell. Good luck with it.
04:19 Now, anyone who's wanting to help you and contribute should do what? How do they get in touch with you?
04:25 Yes. So we're hoping the people of Chichester can help us with this exhibition.
04:29 And we know that there's loads of memories out there of people remembering that time, or maybe it's their parents' memories.
04:35 And we're looking for anybody who has memories or even paraphernalia images, photographs, whatever, to email them in to us.
04:43 And we're hoping we can include those. Where do they email?
04:46 So the email address is heritage@cft.org.uk and send anything you like, even if it's just a comment, a sentence, we would love to hear it.
04:57 Well, I envy you. The task ahead of you is going to be brilliant, isn't it?
05:01 Lovely to speak to you and good luck with everything. Thank you.
05:04 Thank you.