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 six portraits come to life to tell their stories of life in Southampton from the middle ages till the eighteenth century. We were approached by Dr Helen Paul from the University who commissioned us to produce a companion piece ‘Gateway to the Empire’ looking at stories from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. That film will be premiered on 27 May at Hanger Farm, Arts Centre, Totton. On the same programme is a second film ‘The Armada Chronicle’ produced as part of the outreach programme for the Maritime Britain research project. Researchers from both projects will be at the event to set both films in context. Details below
Local History Film premieres – The Armada Chronicles & Gateway to the Empire – Hanger Farm
The third project is with visiting Professor Laurie Johnson who is researching Elizabethan Touring Theatre Companies and is looking at the use of the Bargate as a performance space for those companies. Prof Johnson will be giving an introductory talk at Tudor House on 2nd June at 1pm, with SSFC providing some readings – and insights into performing as a travelling theatre group.
Laurie Johnson is Professor of English and Cultural Studies at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and Royal Historical Society. He is currently an International Visiting Fellow at Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton and academic adviser to the Museum of Shakespeare development, Shoreditch. His publications include Leicester’s Men and their Plays: An Early Elizabethan Playing Company and its Legacy (2023) and Shakespeare’s Lost Playhouse: Eleven Days at Newington Butts (2018).
Talk with Professor Laurie Johnson – Bargate: A Shakespearean Provincial Playhouse – Ticketing