Colin McFarlane trained at Loughborough University, obtaining a BA (Hons) in Drama, graduating in 1983. His non-Shakespearean classical credits include playing Baldock in Nicholas Hytner's production of Edward II at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in October 1986. His credits in the Derby Playhouse programme also mention his work as Horatio in Hamlet and Claudio in Measure for Measure, both for the Tower Shakespeare Company, which is presumably an off-shoot of the amateur dramatic group Tower Theatre Company (to be verified).