The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about 260 square miles (670 km²) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald. The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs and includes large parts of the Weald.

The South Downs are characterised by rolling chalk downland with close-cropped turf and dry valleys, and are recognised as one of the most important chalk landscapes in England. The range is one of the four main areas of chalk downland in southern England.

The South Downs are relatively unpopulated compared to South East England as a whole, although in Sussex there has been large-scale urban encroachment onto the chalk downland by major seaside resorts, including most notably Brighton and Hove.

South Downs is a 2011 play by the British playwright and author David Hare. It is set in 1962 in a public school, similar to Hare's own school, Lancing, in the South Downs. It is a response to Terence Rattigan's The Browning Version and was commissioned by Rattigan's estate to mark Rattigan's Centenary.

It premiered alongside a revival of Rattigan's The Browning Version from 2 September to 8 October 2011 at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester (the small auditorium of the Chichester Festival Theatre). The two plays were directed separately by Jeremy Herrin (South Downs) and Angus Jackson (The Browning Version).

The plays re-opened after a sell-out run at Chichester, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, on 24 April 2012 for three-months.

A radio version was produced for BBC Radio 4, broadcast on 1 September 2012. It was also directed by Jeremy Herrin, produced by Catherine Bailey, and performed by the original cast members.

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Reviews and Awards

2011, Chichester, Minerva Theatre

South Downs may refer to: