Southlands a beautiful Grade II listed building nestled in eight acres of grounds with far reaching views
Let me tell you more about where I’m based... it’s a place called Southlands – a beautiful Grade II listed building in the Surrey countryside. It’s nestled in eight acres of stunning grounds surrounded by woodlands and fields and dates back to 1827. The far reaching views from my first-floor apartment are captivating with views overlooking the Weald.
This gives me the perfect tranquil working environment and location for photoshoots. I feel inspired every single day. With this in mind, Southlands will soon be available to others to hire for commercial photographic shoots and filming too.
Last week a local theatrical company called Shakespeare 4 Kidz - S4K International asked permission to film a pilot for a new film they are producing called ‘Side-by-side by Shakespeare’ – shooting a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream – our neighbouring woodland proving to be ideal to set the scene.
So here begins our Southlands Production journey, to offer our grounds for commercial films, period dramas, commercials and photoshoots.
Read on to learn more about S4K International and our day with Titania and Oberon …
The Shakespeare 4 Kidz project started in the mid-nineties when friends Julian Chenery and Matt Gimblett combined to create musical theatre adaptations of Shakespeare’s classic stories to be performed as school shows. Since then the company has expanded into publishing, education and theatre production - with their shows being performed by professional adult casts in theatres all over the country. The shows have also been performed by schools in every English-speaking country in the world.
S4K International’s “Side-by-side…” project is a series of short films that directly compare the Shakespeare 4 Kidz easy-to-understand/accessible musical versions of a scene with the original text one. Both scenes are identical: same scene, same actors, same shots, same edits, same music. The idea is to make them available literally side-by-side.
Set up and ready for a day filming
The famous scene from the comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the audience’s first introduction to Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of Fairyland, and finds them in a heated argument over the custody of a young orphaned prince from India. Oberon wants him to join his gang but Titania has made a vow to the boy’s mother that she would bring him up and protect him. Their argument has disrupted the climate and the seasons of the mortal world.
The actors were Andrew Troy (Oberon) and Thea Jo Wolfe (Titania). Directed by Olivia Chenery.
The Indian Prince, the subject of the King and Queen of Fairyland’s nature-disrupting argument, is a young actor called Kenneth from the Helen O’Grady Academy in Coulsdon.
The series is produced by Carolyn and Julian Chenery for S4K International and the first two episodes will be launched in the autumn of 2023. Film production is by Chris Grierson and Alex Carter of The Sheriff of London.
Makeup by Helena Sergeant. Lunch made by The Limpsfield Cookery School. Costumes by Prangsta Costumiers.
For more information on S4K’s work visit S4Kinternational.com and Shakespeare4Kidz.com - or search ‘S4K International’ across social media channels.
An exchange of stares and words from Oberon and Titania.
A very productive and successful day was had by all. Thank you to Barry our neighbour for being so accommodating with the use of his wonderful woodland and driveway.
To find out more about Southlands Production email me here.
Thank you
Stella
