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# Sarah Siddons Fan Club

A Street Theatre group, based in Southampton, Hampshire, UK celebrating true local history

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Titanic!](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/titanic/) - We have done many shows over the years telling the story of the Titanic and its crew, this year we are offering a straight guided tour from one of our founding members, a tourist guide celebrating 50 years of guided tours in Southampton. With 3 ancestors who were on the fated ship - a cook,
- [For 2026 we are celebrating the events leading up to the American War of Independence!](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/for-2026-we-are-celebrating-the-events-leading-up-to-the-american-war-of-independence/) - Did you know Southampton funded the first attempt at colonising the Americas back in 1583 - almost exactly two hundred years later it all went wrong! So just in case our American Cousins are having second thoughts we thought we would make them at offer 'Make America George's Again!' We are packing two hundred years
- [Remember 2025! What a Year](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/remember-2025-what-a-year/) - I don’t think we’ve ever had a year quite like it with so many different shows and projects we’ve been involved with! January we performed a special one off celebrating the 150 year history of St John’s in Hedge End. February & March we filmed lots of Jane Austen promos and our latest feature –
- [Halloween on the SS Shieldhall](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/halloween-on-the-ss-shieldhall/) - Ghosts of the Sea Awaken on the SS Shieldhall this Halloween This Halloween, Southampton’s historic steamship, SS Shieldhall, drops anchor in the supernatural as the Sarah Siddons Fan Club takes audiences on a voyage through the city’s darkest maritime tales. Audiences are invited aboard for Halloween on the SS Shieldhall, a night of spine-tingling performances
- [Sarah Siddons All At Sea!](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/sarah-siddons-all-at-sea/) - In 2025 SSFC are excited to be working with SS Shieldhall for their 70th Birthday sailings - coming soon 14th June Titanic Cruise - icebergs not guaranteed 31st August -All At Sea with Jane Austen - a Jane Austen 250 event Jane Austen loved a sailor, the cruise includes a visit to Portsmouth the home
- [Partnership Projects](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/partnership-projects/) - The Sarah Siddons Fan Club Theatre is excited to be involved in three different research projects with the University of Southampton. The First is a continuation of our work around early black history, one of our early films, made during lock down, was 'Six Characters in Search of a History' set in a gallery where
- [Jane Austen 250](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/jane-austen-250/) - 2025 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the author and sometime Southampton resident Jane Austen and there are many events happening across the year. The Sarah Siddons Fan Club were formed originally as an homage to the author's favourite actor and we have been pleased to present several Austen related performances over the
- [The Armada Chronicle](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/the-armada-chronicle/) - Our next project is in development a film about Southampton in the time of the Armada in 1588 commissioned as part of the University of Southampton Maritime Britain research project. The script is written and cast and locations being sorted. The film will be premiered at City Eye on 24 May as part of a
- [Maritime Communities](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/maritime-communities/) - Check out the University of Southampton www.maritimebritain.org website, SSFC are one of the partners in a major research project which covers the period 1588 (Spanish Armada) to 1750 (The Seven Years War) when England went from being an insignificant country on the edge of the known world to a global superpower. We have produced short
- [SSFC and The United Voices Of Africa](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/ssfc-and-the-united-voices-of-africa/) - The Fan Club have had a very fruitful partnership with TUVAA creatively exploring Southampton's early black history, check out our films Six Characters in Search of a History The Chameleon & the Fly and our past production 'Bought' more recently we have worked with the University of Southampton to explore 19th and early 20th century
- [Welcome to the all new website](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/welcome-to-the-all-new-website/)

## Pages

- [Join the Mailing List](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/join-the-mailing-list/) - Never miss a Sarah Siddons production by signing up to our mailing list. We promise that we will never give your details to anyone else and only contact you to let you know about our productions and events we are involved with.
- [Past productions](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events-2/past-productions/) - Christmas Shows Halloween Shows Summer Shows
- [Maritime Communities](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/self-guided-walks/maritime-communities/) - The University of Southampton English Merchant Shipping, Maritime Communities and Trade from the Spanish Armada to the Seven Years War, 1588-1760 project see www.maritimebritain.org/english_merchant_shipping/ is an AHRC funded research project. The Fan Club have produced some video shorts about people who lived in Southampton during the period covered by the project see www.maritimebritain.org/english_merchant_shipping/impact_&_engagement/ We also
- [Audio Tours](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/self-guided-walks/audio-tours/) - The Ship Titanic For those who don't manage to get to our live performances the Fan Club are now branching out into Audio Tours. Working with Guidl we have constructed a dramatised audio tour all about Southampton and the ill-fated ship Titanic. Titanic sailed on its maiden voyage from Southampton on 12th April 1912 enroute
- [Footsteps of the Mayflower Pilgrims](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/self-guided-walks/footsteps-of-the-pilgrim-fathers/) - In 1620 The group of people who became known as the Mayflower Pilgrims set sail from Southampton for the New World, this walk will take you around the town that they knew and explain why they chose Southampton as their point of departure Self Guided Tour Map Self Guided Tour Map - mobile version Native
- [Self Guided Walks](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/self-guided-walks/) - The Fan Club often work in partnership with other heritage organisations, universities, and special anniversary projects, organising events, outreach programmes and putting together guided walks. We use the primary research that we use to create our film and theatre productions to develop historical walks that can be downloaded so that you can enjoy the history
- [Who Was Sarah Siddons](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/who-was-sarah-siddons/) - Sarah Siddons was the first superstar actor, a favourite of Jane Austen and King George III, she was so popular that her followers were accused of having "Siddonsmania". She was famous for her dramatic attitudes and her interpretations of Shakespeare's tragic heroines. She also had a home in Southampton and visited frequently to stay with Sarah Siddons was a member of the Kemble Family acting dynasty and the leading Shakespearean Actress of the late 18th century.
- [Gallery](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/gallery/)
- [Feature films](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events-2/feature-films/) - In collaboration with the University of Southampton Maritime Community project, we are creating a new film about Southampton's response to the Spanish Armada. Check it out here
- [Events](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events-2/) - Check out our upcoming events
- [Privacy Policy](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/privacy-policy/) - Who we are Our website address is: https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk. Comments When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided

## Events

- [Make America George's Again! Street Theatre](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/make-america-georges-again-street-theatre-3/) - This summer, history gets a mischievous rewrite as the Sarah Siddons Fan Club proudly presents a delightfully irreverent celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence. In a twist worthy of the stage, King George III himself returns to Southampton—not to reclaim the colonies (he’s been advised against it), but to witness the grand unveiling
- [Make America George's Again!  Street Theatre](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/make-america-georges-again-street-theatre-2/) - This summer, history gets a mischievous rewrite as the Sarah Siddons Fan Club proudly presents a delightfully irreverent celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence. In a twist worthy of the stage, King George III himself returns to Southampton—not to reclaim the colonies (he’s been advised against it), but to witness the grand unveiling
- [Make America George's Again! Street Theatre](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/make-america-georges-again-street-theatre/) - This summer, history gets a mischievous rewrite as the Sarah Siddons Fan Club proudly presents a delightfully irreverent celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence. In a twist worthy of the stage, King George III himself returns to Southampton—not to reclaim the colonies (he’s been advised against it), but to witness the grand unveiling
- [Make America George's Again!](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/make-america-georges-again/) - This summer, history gets a mischievous rewrite as the Sarah Siddons Fan Club proudly presents a delightfully irreverent celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence. In a twist worthy of the stage, King George III himself returns to Southampton—not to reclaim the colonies (he’s been advised against it), but to witness the grand unveiling
- [The Armada Chronicles Film Screening](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/the-armada-chronicles-film-screening/) - SSFC were delighted to partner with The University of Southampton's research project on Maritime Communities working on outreach events which included making this special film. Shot in locations around the old town which would have been used in 1588 and with characters drawn from Southampton Archives, The Armada Chronicles tells the story of Southampton's part
- [Around the Walls in 80 Minutes !?! Guided Walks](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/around-the-walls-in-80-minutes-guided-walks/) - Back in 1976 when the first official guided walks around old Southampton took place it was all about the medieval town, at that time a hidden part of Southampton’s long history. In the last fifty years, more of the walls have been made more accessible, landscaped and presented. In 2026 it will take a bit
- [The Sailing of the Mayflower Guided Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/the-sailing-of-the-mayflower-guided-walk/) - . Southampton’s links with America had begun in the sixteenth century. This walk, which will also reflect on America 250, will explore why the pilgrims chose Southampton and includes a visit to the Mayflower exhibition at West Gate. It takes place on the sailing day of the Mayflower from Southampton Staring Point: God’s House Tower,
- [Harry's Hamtun Guided Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/harrys-hamtun-guided-walk/) - This walk will explore medieval Southampton an important site for Henry V and his plans to invade France, but more than this Henry’s knightly ideals were based on his studying the story of Sir Bevis of Hamtun. Includes a special visit to St Julien’s Chapel. Starting Point: 58 French Street, Southampton WeGotTickets Harry's Hamptun
- [Titanic Guided Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/titanic-guided-walk/) - Our guide had three ancestors who sailed on Titanic – a fireman, a steward and a cook, one disappeared without trace, one was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia and one survived – there will be a chance to hear family stories and see some surviving artefacts on this 90 minute guided walk around historic sites
- [Jane Austen: Typhus, Smallpox & Melancholia](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/jane-austen-typhus-smallpox-melancholia/) - This walk will focus on a theme around health, spa treatments, and all the ailments which beset Georgian Southampton and almost carried off Miss Austen before she even got going! All attendees will get a chance to win a book bag. Starting Point: St Michael’s Square, Bugle Street, Southampton WeGotTickets Jane Austen: Typhus, Smallpox &
- ["Unto Southampton We Do Shift Our Scene"](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/unto-southampton-we-do-shift-our-scene/) - This April as part of the National Year of Reading, The Sarah Siddons Fan Club Theatre invite visitors and residents to take a step back in time - preferably by walking forward! Join us on a lively literary promenade through Old Southampton to uncover what writers, poets and dramatists really thought about Southampton. History, Humour,
- ["Unto Southampton We Do Shift Our Scene"](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/unto-southampton-we-do-shift-our-scene-2/) - This April as part of The National Year of Reading, The Sarah Siddons Fan Club Theatre invite residents and visitors to take a step back in time and join us for a matinee street theatre performance - a literary promenade through old Southampton in the company of the Kemble acting Family who will introduce you
- [The Armada Chronicle](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/the-armada-chronicle/) - 1588 and England is under threat of invasion - a great Spanish Armada is sailing up the coast and heading for Southampton! What on earth did the people of Southampton do to upset the King of Spain!! Join us for a special screening of 'The Armada Chronicle' a film commissioned by the University of Southampton
- [An Evening with Jane Austen 'in her own words'](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/an-evening-with-jane-austen-in-her-own-words/) - An evening of rehearsed readings and dramatized interludes from the pen of Jane Austen on the occasion of her 250th Birthday. In the historic Mason's Hall just a minutes walk away from where the Austen family lived in Southampton.
- [Halloween on the Shieldhall](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/halloween-on-the-shieldhall/) - Join us aboard for sheer hell aboard the Shieldhall this Halloween!
- [Sugar, Slaves & Seabathing - A Black History Month Hidden History Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/sugar-slaves-seabathing-a-black-history-month-hidden-history-walk/) - Southampton in Jane Austen’s day was a watering place famed for sea bathing, but it was also a town dominated, in politics, by the ‘West Indian Party’ - plantation owners who fought against abolition and made their money from sugar and rum. It was a town of admirals, shipbuilders and colonialists who were at the
- [Discover God's House Tower 7th August](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/discover-gods-house-tower-7th-august/) - In Partnership with God's House Tower, an Armada Festival Event If the Spanish had been successful in capturing the Isle of Wight, this would have formed a bridgehead into England via Southampton. The local population had been preparing for invasion, the men training at musters and relying on the expertise of the town gunners who
- [Discovery & Empire Guided Walk, 6th August](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/discovery-empire-guided-walk-6th-august/) - On a guided walk around Elizabethan Southampton, find out about, explorers, beer and fish! Discover the Tudor Town and visit St Michael's Church to see 'Philip of Spain's Chest' An Armada Festival Event Starting point Holy Rood Church, High Street, Southampton Tickets £7 www.wegottickets Sarah Siddons Fan Club
- [Armada Study Day 2nd August 2025](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/armada-study-day-2nd-august-2025/) - To provide context for the performances, exhibitions and guided walks we begin with a study day, where researchers and historians will explore the historical background to the events of 1588. The day will end with a screening of the film The Armada Chronicle, set in Southampton in 1588. There will also be a small exhibition
- [The Reverend Shapcotts Historical Armada Pageant or Hola! Has anybody seen our ships?](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/armada/) - The Reverend Shapcott is on a mission! The vicars of St Marys and Peartree have been receiving too much attention for their historical pageants, so the Reverend Shapcott is going to organise one for St Michaels! It is going to be all about the Tudors, particularly Queen Elizabeth I and the great trials the town
- [Pattens to Peartree](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/pattens-to-peartree/) - Recreating Jane Austen’s walk from Southampton to visit her friends, the Lance family of Chessel House, with a stop at the historic Peartree Church - inspiration for Thomas Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard. This is a 5-mile round trip walk, starting and ending at St Michael's Church, Bugle Street, Southampton at 10.30am with a
- [The Stinking Fish Of Southampton](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/the-stinking-fish-of-southampton/) - “Beware of the insipid vanities and idle dissipations of the metropolis of England; Beware of the unmeaning luxuries of Bath and of the stinking fish of Southampton” Love & Friendship (sic), 1790. Jane Austen Street theatre perambulation. Join Mrs Cassandra Austen as she introduces you to her friends, neighbours, acquaintances and potential husbands for her
- [Trafalgar Day Costumed Guided Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/trafalgar-day-costumed-guided-walk/) - Walk in the company of the Sarah Siddons Fan Club Theatre. Join our costumed guides to hear Naval stories, including links to Admiral Nelson and Frank Austen, a tale of beef burgers, flogging and gambling. Includes a visit to St Michael’s Church to view the ‘Admirals' Memorials’. Starting point Holy Rood Church, High Street, Southampton.
- ["NB There will be very few dates in this history": Jane Austen's History of England (Southampton).](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/jane-austen-nb-there-will-be-very-few-dates-in-this-history-jane-austens-history-of-england/) - Costumed guided walk in the company of the Sarah Siddons Fan Club Theatre. Join our costumed guides and take a walk around Old Southampton. Discover what inspired Jane as a writer, where she lived, who her neighbours were, the latest gossip and where to meet Mr Darcy. Starting point God’s House Tower, Winkle Street, Southampton.
- [Jane Austen's Showtunes: A musical journey through the songs of Charles Dibdin.](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/jane-austens-showtunes-a-musical-journey-through-the-songs-of-charles-dibdin/) - “With out Music, Life would be a blank to me” Emma This performance celebrates one of Austen's favourite composers, Southampton's own Charles Dibdin. Talented local folk musician, Jeff Henry, brings to life the Dibdin songs that Austen loved and sang, while historian, Nicola Pritchard-Pink, shares insights into Austen's song collection, giving a taste of what
- [A Brief history of St John's, Hedge End](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/a-brief-history-of-st-johns-hedge-end/) - The Fan Club have been asked to put on a very special performance celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of St John's Church. Join us for a special indoor static performance in the Underhill Centre as we tell the story of the building of the church and some of the many inhabitents that have
- [The Strangers Guide: A Gothic Tale](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/the-strangers-guide-a-gothic-tale/) - In 1793 Jane Austen visited Southampton in search of adventure and with a liking for Gothic novels that were to inspire Northanger Abbey, she was following in the footsteps of the founders of the Gothic movement Horace Walpole & Thomas Grey who had visited Southampton in search of ghostly inspiration. Join The Sarah Siddons Fan
- [Hubble Bubble - Here comes trouble - Halloween Ghost Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/hubble-bubble-here-comes-trouble-halloween-ghost-walk/) - A Halloween Theatrical Ghost Walk showcasing true stories from Southampton's history.
- [A Land of Pure Delight](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/a-land-of-pure-delight/) - The Fan Club are celebrating the 350 anniversary of the birth of the world famous local hymnwriter and all round polymath Isaac Watts. Join us as we bring to life the lift and times of Isaac Watts who wrote the hymns 'Our God, Our Help in Ages Past, Our Hope for Years to Come' (which
- [Bloody Royals - Halloween Ghost Walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/bloody-royals-halloween-ghost-walk/) - Prepare yourselves for a spine-tingling Halloween experience like no other, as the we present "Bloody Royals.” Delve into the sinister past of this historic city, where Kings and Queens ruled with an iron fist, and their ghostly legacies still linger in the shadows. Date: October 30th and 31st, 2023 Time: 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM
- [A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Conquest](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-conquest/) - Join us as we tell the tale of almost 1000 years of history of St Michael's Church. Meet our Nasty Norman, Surely Saxons plus all the great and the good who have been in to this remarkable medieval church.

## Locations

- [The Masonic Hall](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/the-masonic-hall/)
- [SS Shieldhall](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/ss-shieldhall-2/) - Join us aboard for sheer hell aboard the Shieldhall this Halloween!
- [SS Shieldhall](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/ss-shieldhall/) - MusicComedyWest End TheatreRegional TheatreThis
- [St Micheal's Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/st-micheals-church-2/)
- [Holyrood Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/holyrood-church-5/)
- [Holyrood Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/holyrood-church-4/)
- [Peartree Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/peartree-church/)
- [St Micheal's Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/st-micheals-church/)
- [Holyrood Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/holyrood-church-3/)
- [God's House Tower](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/gods-house-tower/)
- [Holyrood Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/holyrood-church-2/) - Join us for a truly different Christmas experience, to a time before indoor plumbing, toilet paper and sewers! When a rat was not just for Christmas. History buffs, theatre enthusiasts and curious minds, gather round and be transported back through time for a truly horrible history event.
- [Holyrood Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/holyrood-church/) - Join us for a truly different Christmas experience, to a time before indoor plumbing, toilet paper and sewers! When a rat was not just for Christmas. History buffs, theatre enthusiasts and curious minds, gather round and be transported back through time for a truly horrible history event.
- [St Michael's Church](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/locations/st-michaels-church/)

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/category/uncategorized/)

## Tags

- [Halloween](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/tag/halloween/)

## Event Categories

- [study day](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/categories/study-day/)
- [guided walk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/categories/guided-walk/)
- [talk](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/categories/talk/)
- [film](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/categories/film/)
- [street theatre](https://sarahsiddonsfanclub.org.uk/events/categories/street-theatre/)