Fri 25 April 2025 - Sun 4 May 2025 at St Bartholomew’s Church
Show(s) at 7.30pm Fri/Sat/SunShow lasts approximately 2 hours (incl interval) , suitable for adults and older children
STOP PRESS! Mensun Bound Q&A on Sat 3rd now sold out!.
Tickets: Standard price £20, Pay a little more £25, Pay a little less £15, Concession price for under 18s £10
SPONTANEOUS PRODUCTIONS IN ASSOCIATION WITH KIRKDALE BOOKSHOP PRESENTED:
About the Show
What would drive one man to the ends of the Earth?
And why would so many choose to follow him?
Arguably Sydenham’s most famous former resident, antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was one of Edwardian society’s leading figures. Now Sydenham’s acclaimed theatre company Spontaneous Productions will be staging six performances of its original play about the life of this most extraordinary man, in the beautiful setting of St Bart’s Church, next door to the Shackleton family home on Westwood Hill.
STOP PRESS!
We are thrilled to announce that at the performance on Saturday 3rd May we will be joined by guest of honour Mensun Bound, the Director of Exploration on the two expeditions to the Weddell Sea which led to the rediscovery of The Endurance in March 2022. Mensun will be taking part in a Q&A session after the performance. He will also be selling and signing copies of his Sunday Times best-seller, ‘The Ship Beneath the Ice’, which chronicles the quest to find the wreck.
Innovatively staged, laced with humour and action, and featuring many regular Spontaneous performers, this promises to be the must see event in Sydenham this Easter. Written by our creative director Jonathan Kaufman and script consultant Jane Walker, with additional scenes written by members of its ScriptHub workshops, Shackleton’s incredible story will be told from multiple viewpoints:
From the epic adventure of the Endurance (1914-16) and the rescue of his crew from Elephant Island, to the epic voyage he and a handful of his men made crossing to South Georgia in a lifeboat; from his troubled marriage, to his valiant attempts to raise funds – no aspect of Shackleton’s life will remain unexplored.
Please note our scaled ticket pricing enables maximum accessibility to those on a budget, so please pay what you can best afford. The ticket price does not reflect the quality of your seat.
Age suitability: Performances are suitable for adults and older children. Parents are advised to bring children at their discretion. The show lasts approx 2 hours inc interval and features several intense scenes, some mild bad language, implied offstage violence and mild sexual references.
The Credits
- Produced and directed by Jonathan Kaufman
- Written by Jonathan Kaufman and Jane Walker
- Additional scenes written by Darren Bird, Juliet Chalk, Dan Harwood, Andrew Platman, Ida Tidy
- Assistant director and stage manager Ramiah Smith
- Costume designer and associate producer Jackie Poulett
- Set construction and assistant stage manager Zac Richardson
- Graphic design Jan Warren
- Photography Mark Drinkwater
The Sponsors
The Cast
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- KATE BARRY
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- OLIVER BYNG
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- WILLIAM HASTINGS
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- ROBERT MASKELL
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- JODYANNE RICHARDSON
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- RAMIAH SMITH
KATE BARRY, OLIVER BYNG, WILLIAM HASTINGS, ROBERT MASKELL, JODYANNE RICHARDSON and RAMIAH SMITH
The Audience Reviews
What audiences have said about the show so far:
- Absolutely loved the Shackleton performance this eve! Brought my elderly neighbour down who really loved it too. Thanks for putting it on, I’ll keep an eye out for future productions and offer my hand as a volunteer when opportunities arise!
- We saw your impressive production of Endurance last night. It was the 1st time we’d seen any of your productions and I want to make sure I don’t miss your next one.
- Interesting to see a biographical play; Excellent use of lecterns to tell the story; Great to hear the other characters summing up at the end!
- A truly innovative and imaginative telling of the Endurance story. Very well acted, great interplay across the roles. Well done
- This was so great – an evening to remember for sure and evocative to be next door to his childhood home.
- Brilliant to see Shackleton’s story in Sydenham
- VERY ENJOYABLE
- A fun evening, thank you
- It was fantastic – thanks all of you!
- Excellent, thought provoking. Acting very creative
- A VERY GOOD PRODUCTION
- WONDERFUL WELL DONE
- Very imaginative – great performance!
- Absolutely fantastic – loved it
- It was truly excellent
- A triumph! Well done all!
- Thanks for a wonderful show
- Excellent show, excellent cast
- Inspiring! Thank you
- Great characters. Nice atmosphere. Loved the church venue
- Great show! Thanks
Review by Judith Banbury-Silk:
I thought I would write to thank you for the production of the play about Ernest Shackleton which I saw on Saturday 26th April at St Bartholomew’s Church.
I’ve attended several of your plays before and this exemplified the high standard of writing, directing, staging and production of Spontaneous Productions. It was educative, informative and moving. I admired the excellent choice of venue in the locality of Shackleton’s family and upbringing. The inclusion of scenes from Shackleton’s childhood gave us an insight into his experience of ill-treatment and discrimination.
The depiction of the obstacles – including funding – Shackleton had to overcome before setting up the expedition was impressive. You demonstrated the hardships of the expedition itself including having to sail into unknown territories. The performances were wonderful – there were skilled adaptations between scenes and costume changes. The writing was lucid, convincing and powerful.
The staging was innovative, the sound effects were powerful. The images using the ‘magic lantern’ on the backdrop were really effective. Shackleton’s heroism was depicted tempered by all its flaws giving a fully-rounded character. Watching the performance was an amazing experience.
Thank you, Judith
