A View from the Chair: A Festival and a Theatre that helped to shape a city

Peter Williams has been involved in charitable and cultural initiatives in Kent for some 50 years, from the revival of the Canterbury International Arts Festival, which he chaired for 21 years, to the creation of the new Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. This book charts those 50 years.

"Peter Williams describes in intriguing detail the factions, frictions, negotiations and sheer graft that re-created the Canterbury Festival and have kept it flourishing . Few people are better-qualified to do so. His book is a graphic example to other towns and cities of how determination and teamwork in the arts, can reap rewards for a community." Professor Michael Irwin, University of Kent

"This is a timely and revelatory book., which examines a particular Festival, and the tensions,personalities ,disasters and successes that surround its growth. Festivals have become increasingly important to the future of the arts in the UK, at a time when newspapers, the media, are reducing their coverage of the arts." Lord (Melvyn) Bragg

"The Canterbury Festival and the new Marlowe Theatre which the Festival encouraged and helped create, has brought joy, and more than a little prosperity, to East Kent. Peter Williams, as chair and president for four decades, has led his colleagues, many of them his friends, skilfully and with dedication.

This book is a good read." Sir Robert Worcester, KBE

"In exploring Festivals and the contribution theatre makes to the community,Peter follows "a thread that runs through the tapestry of history". This book is both informative and exciting and, at its heart, is the Canterbury Festival.Born in Canterbury Cathedral,it is as resilient and thought-provoking as ever. using the internet during Covid to beam performances in to peoples' homes." Richard Llewellin, former Bishop of Dover