I’ve been a member of the wonderful Sarah Siddons Fan Club for 15 years and have had lots of exciting opportunities to perform the amazing tales that make up Southampton’s local history. One of these was when we started working with the local filmmaker, James Henderson during the Covid lockdowns when our street theatre production of “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Mayflower” was cancelled in 2020. Dr Cheryl Butler quickly rewrote the script turning it into a series of socially distanced monologues/talking heads and so the Sarah Siddons Fan Club Theatre Co embraced the world of film!
Fast forward 5 years and 4 films later, we embark on the biggest challenge the company has faced bringing the Southampton story of the Spanish Armada to life for our more preferred medium of street theatre and also a film thanks to a grant and research from the University of Southampton Maritime Britain Project.
Choices, choices, choices! One thing we needed to decide was whether we had the same script/story for both theatre and film? They are completely different mediums with completely different audiences, making it a difficult choice! Thankfully, after working on 4 films together, James and Cheryl are a dream team and crafted a fabulous script that worked. So much so, that they even managed to make a curious bunch of enthusiasts look fabulous in the film! James and Cheryl’s style of storytelling is clever, engaging and hilarious!
Cheryl’s knowledge of Southampton history is so broad and detailed that after the first meeting with the University experts she quickly wrote not 1 but 3 film script ideas before she and James finally decided on The Armada Chronicles for the film epic and The Reverend Shapcott’s Historical Armada Pageant for the street theatre production coming soon in August.
One of the great things about the Fan Club is that it welcomes everyone willing to perform in all weathers, learn lines/improvise and who will wear anything thrown at them including dodgy wigs and chocolate spread (2024 Christmas show to represent night soil collectors)! This includes The Armada Chronicles, as well as some of our other 2025 projects, and, when my 16-year-old, film maker wannabe son, Joey, needed to find college work experience for his Creative Media course, Cheryl and James were only too happy to bring him into the fold.
Joey first proved his filmmaking credentials when he was invited to film and edit short vignettes advertising all our Jane Austen 250 events which have been used on all our social media platforms. This experience was a brilliant introduction for a shy teenager whose previous actors have been reluctant family members. I knew this was a great way to build confidence as well as communication skills with this lovely, welcoming bunch!
Then over the Easter holidays the filming began for The Armada Chronicles, and I was instantly impressed with the way James engaged with a slightly shy and awkward Joey taking him under his wing immediately. Once James saw Joey’s worth, he was quick to suggest as a side project that he create a “Making Of Documentary” as well as encouraging Joey to do some filming of scenes and listening to his ideas.
Joey really enjoyed working with James and the Fan Club saying his work experience was:
“Highly engaging hands-on experience with an opportunity to have creative control over projects and assist with production and problem solving of the main product.”
We held a special premiere of the film at the fabulous Hangar Farm Arts Centre on May 27th to a full house where it was extremely well received:
Craig Lambert Southampton Uni:
“The film is really, really wonderful. The writing is clever and engaging, the performances are sparkling, and the production quality is amazing. A big thank you to everyone involved for making this story really come alive!”
We recently celebrated the Armada Festival Study Day on August 2nd 2025 The Mason’s Hall Southampton and the Reverend Shapcott’s Historical Armada Pageant Southampton from August 3-5th 2025 and are thrilled for Southampton’s local history to come to life!
Author: Jane Glennie
Bio: When not volunteering with The Fan Club, Jane co-run Pedlars & Petticoats which brings local Women’s History to life in museums, schools, theatres & village halls as well as working as a freelance museum education officer at Fort Nelson, SeaCity & The Tudor House & Garden Museum