Arts Council England
 Printable version
|
Interactive theatrical experience celebrates the lives of Cornish miners serving on the Front Line
An interactive theatre performance that re-creates life in the trenches during the First World War takes place at Levant Mine in Penzance from 1 to 10 July.
The Trench marks the 100th anniversary of the first day of the battle of the Somme. On this one day alone in 1916 the British casualties totalled nearly 58,000 troops, with some 19,000 killed.
“It seems a fitting tribute to those brave men and their families from the St Just and Pendeen area that at this hugely important milestone we should remember and reflect rather more than just the one or two minutes silence,” says Director of The Trench, Jason Squibb.
For a short period of time we can put ourselves into these soldier's shoes and feel what it might be like to stand shoulder to shoulder with their comrades.
The performances are presented by Collective Arts in partnership with Levant Mine and the National Trust, the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, Miracle Theatre, Tremough University, and local schools and community groups in Penwith. The project is supported with a grant from our National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts scheme.
Audience members will become participants who 'enlist' and are given a real identity. They will be kitted out and marched to the trenches and will discover for themselves the realities of life on the Western Front and the build up to going ‘over the top’. The experience will culminate in the mess tent, where participants will discover the real-life fate of their character in a fascinating exhibition curated by the National Trust.
Click here for full press release
