HSDC Acting for Stage and Screen students transform one of Shakespeare’s classic tales at Titchfield’s Great Barn in continuous collaboration with Titchfield Festival Theatre.
The Great Barn which is one of the most historic venues on the South Coast, 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 truly 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 to having the opportunity to perform The Winter’s Tale, Titchfield Festival Theatre annually host a Shakespeare festival at The Great Barn. HSDC students have previously been invited by Kevin Fraser (the artistic director of TFT) to participate in the festival which is an incredible opportunity to immerse themselves in industry standard conditions.
Jimmy Ryan-Shedden, Lecturer of Drama added:
“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.”
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