Carisbrooke Castle, on the Isle of Wight, has been awarded £40,000 of funding from an Arts Council National Lottery Project to bring voices from history archives to life through contemporary theatre.
Known as the ‘Unlocking Collections’ fund, this injection of money gives museums the opportunity to increase public engagement and share Island voices. Prior to the award of funding, Carisbrooke Castle interviewed 20 Islanders during the 80th anniversary of VE Day in 2025, about their childhood memories of the Second World War. Adding valuable insight to an already significant archive of local wartime interviews that the museum holds. Thanks to new opportunities made possible by the funding, these stories will be transformed into live theatre performances, created in collaboration with the Island’s young people, known as ‘VE80 Unlocking Stories: On Stage.’
Franko Figueiredo Artistic Director of StoneCrabs Theatre said
“We’re delighted and proud to be partnering with Carisbrooke Castle Museum on ‘VE80: Unlocking Stories on Stage’. Real people’s voices are at the heart of StoneCrabs’ work, and this project offers a wonderful opportunity for young people to explore the Island’s wartime history through the words and memories of Islanders who lived it. What excites me most is the connection between generations; listening to one another, creating together and discovering how personal memories shape our shared history. We look forward to supporting young people to develop their confidence and creativity whilst sharing these remarkable Island stories with wider audiences”.
StoneCrabs Theatre are an ambitious grassroots theatre company, providing the space for the development of young theatre-makers. Carisbrooke Castle, will be working with StoneCrabs in a wonderful meeting of heritage engagement, contemporary theatre and social participation, coming together to create meaningful cultural experiences.
Pupils from the Island Free School will be benefiting from a year long drama and history enrichment programme as part of the project. Other young people across the Island will be involved through specialised verbatim theatre workshops based on the museum’s collections.
Lisa Kerley Project Manager at Carisbrooke Castle Museum said
“We are delighted to be able to undertake this project, which is a culmination of our work to collect and share personal memories of this period in our Island’s history. For an audience to hear the voices of our interviewees on stage, their words spoken by young people, is just so exciting. We want to make our museum and collections accessible, visible and relevant and we hope that this project does exactly that. We are incredibly grateful to our partners and funders without whom we could not undertake this work”.
Keep an eye on Carisbrooke Castle Museum and StoneCrabs Theatre for updates on VE80 Unlocking Stories: On Stage.
