When we perform the Primary School version of Louisa’s Walk, we always encourage the students to “bring their imaginations”. As I was walking along ahead of our audience yesterday having just “Skulled” across the road in our imaginary boat, the thought occurred to me that “bringing our imaginations” is also true for the adult performance. I was reminded of my childhood when the best and most memorable games, were the ones without toys but where we used our imaginations to explore all sorts of lands and situations. These games live, these games endure!
Today’s children live in a different world from the one in which I grew up – we barely had television! Now, screens and modern, electronic gadgetry dominate their lives. Perhaps the appeal of Louisa’s Walk is the fact that it is minimalist and that our imaginations have to come into play. I was told the other day by a teacher who had brought a class last year and who was booking to bring her current class, that the children had not stopped talking about Louisa’s Walk “it was better than rock-climbing!”
Naturally we feel enormously proud of the effect that Louisa’s Walk has on almost all who experience the story but we have often been puzzled by its appeal. Yes, we know we are good actors and we know from the feedback we receive that we have a unique and original product but it’s like there is another dimension altogether. I call it soul. Something you can’t manufacture. It’s humbling to feel that we have created something that moves people so deeply. We feel privileged to do so.
