Havant South Downs College students transform a Shakespeare classic at Titchfield’s historic Great Barn

The Great Barn, one of the most historic venues in the region, has collaborated with HSDC since 2019, producing and performing shows such as Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and The Winter’s Tale.

The venue is in a magnificent state of preservation, thanks to the efforts of recent owners, and exhibits a level of craftsmanship far beyond the normal for that period in history.

As part of their course, each student is required to take on an acting role and a production role whilst working as a collaborative theatre company for the second half of the academic year.

This year, students embarked upon creating a contemporised and reimagined production of The Winter’s Tale in their final production at HSDC, impressing audiences over the course of three days.

In addition,Titchfield Festival Theatre annually host a Shakespeare festival at The Great Barn which HSDC students have been invited to participate in by Kevin Fraser, the artistic director of TFT.

Jimmy Ryan-Shedden, HSDC Drama lecturer, said: ‘Over the course of this year, I have implored this to our current cohort of students, reminding them to savour every minute of this experience, realise how lucky they are to be performing at Titchfield’s Shakespeare Festival, and understand how this venue has such strong links to the great man himself.

‘Shakespeare taught in Titchfield and worked as a writer for the Earl of Southampton, plus there are a whole host of historical ties that makes The Great Barn a perfect location for a Shakespeare Festival.’

To find out more about courses, visit www.hsdc.ac.uk/course-finder