Shanty Theatre Company’s

The Voices of History Project

A chair of memories from the Second World War

 

Shanty Theatre Company loves stories. From smuggling to the Civil War, Black Death to Dunkirk; everything that we do is rooted in storytelling.  Our 2011 show ‘The Mysterious and Fantastical Wartime Tale of the Salty Socks of Dunkirk’ was different from previous productions. For the first time in a Shanty show there are living memories to honour.

 

The opportunity to hear these stories is slipping away.  When you pass a Second World War survivor on the street you may notice their age, you may notice their fragility, but how often do you ask them their story?

 

So between April and June of this 2011 Shanty armed thirty-three Year Ten Students at Woodroffe Secondary School in Lyme Regis with dictaphones and training in interview technique. They went out to discover and record WW2 stories of their own.

 

They were encouraged to talk to people in their community – friends, relatives, neighbours; anyone who had experience of the Second World War first hand.  One generation met and shared stories with another.  Back in school these stories were explored and celebrated through a series of drama workshops and performances.  Memories can slip away all too easily and The Voices of History Project was our attempt to save a few of them.

 

The recordings went on to become part of Shanty’s Storychair, an interactive 1940s armchair that played the stories to you every time you sat down in it. We took the Storychair on the road for the length of the production run, sharing these stories with as many people as possible. The recordings are now archived here so you can put your feet up, sit back, relax and hear the real voices behind the history books…

 

With thanks to Anne Cruwys-Finnigan and all at Woodroffe School.  With very special thanks to interviewees Ellen Murfin, Dorothy Bonser, Michael Bonser, Cecily Young, Terry Elwick, Liz-Anne Bawden, Roma Slater, Diana Hall, Donald Draper, Derek Ellis and Anka Zonjee.

 

Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and West Dorset District Council.