Her Story has been running at the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site for just over three months and we couldn’t be more pleased with our audience numbers or the feedback it is generating. We created Her Story at the request of the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA), who have taken over the administration of this World Heritage Listed Site. PAHSMA are as pleased with the success of Her Story as we are.
We, at Live History Productions, are passionate about using drama and storytelling to interpret history. As Louisa says at the beginning of Louisa’s Walk ” I am going to take you into the heart and the soul and the spirit of my story. At times, we might make you laugh and at times we might make you cry. And if we do, we’re not going to apologise – that means we have done our jobs as good storytellers – we’ve engaged with your emotions.”
Her Story also engages your emotions but in a different way; we were thrilled to receive the following email –
Mary awaits the Overseer in the Crime Yard
Dear Female Factory people,
We are not into Twitter or Facebook, but we do want to let you know how much we appreciated today’s 9.30 tour with Cassie and, especially, the performance of “Her Story”. Today’s inclement weather provided a perfect setting for “Her Story”, but obliged the actors to perform in the most trying of conditions! To their enormous credit, they did so without missing a beat, or even hinting that they, like us, were freezing! And in doing so, they enabled us to gain a far deeper understanding and appreciation of the daily plight of the Factory inmates. The whole production is at once very informative and most entertaining. We were particularly impressed that the script brought out so many of the social forces that were central to “life” in the Factory.
We can think of no better way of bringing history to life than dramatic presentations such as this one: you are really there with number 71 in the Female Factory in 1833!
Kindest regards
Frank and Jan Nicholas
