Our latest heritage project, ‘Through The Front Door’, is now well into the research phase and our inclusive researcher Alice, along with other members of Openstorytellers, has been taking a deep-dive look into what life might have been like for people with learning disabilities in Somerset over the past 150 years.
Researching the lives of people with learning disabilities is something Openstorytellers have enjoyed doing for many years, finding the stories and hidden histories of real people to take inspiration and learn from.
Our previous historical projects ‘The Adventures and Misadventures of Fanny Fust’ and ‘Peter the Wild Boy’ took us a fascinating journey of discovery back to the Eighteenth Century and enabled us to develop these stories to reach a wider audience through our storytelling, drama, music, art, and film.We are now lucky enough to have been awarded funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Heritage England to continue this work and find out about the history and heritage of people with learning disabilities in our local area over the last 150 years.
Our friends at Bath Spa university are providing us with invaluable support and knowledge on how to make our research ethical and inclusive.
We have undertaken site visits, looked at museums and archives and made connections with a wonderful team of people who are going to support us through our project.
We are excited to be entering our creative phase after Easter, pulling together everything we have learned into an immersive theatre experience.
Watch this space!
