Interactive theatre techniques bring a new twist to the visitor experience at Creative Workshop in Whitehead

Volunteers at Whitehead Railway Museum have fine-tuned their acting skills to wow attendees at a creative workshop specially developed for the Arts, Tourism and Heritage sectors.

With the help of Big Telly Theatre Company the volunteers were encouraged to ‘interpret’ their site by the creative use of museum spaces and their railway collection in a way that encouraged active audience participation.

The workshop built on the success of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s recent cultural heritage initiative, Shaped by Industry-Shared with Pride, in partnership with Big Telly Theatre Company and Carrickfergus Enterprise.

Guests at the event included wider sector representatives along with volunteers from local project sites including Flame! Gasworks Museum Carrickfergus and the villages of Carnlough and Glenarm, and were able to share their learning in order to create their own volunteer-led immersive experiences.

Jayne Clarke, Council’s Museum and Heritage Manager, said: “It has been great seeing so many people positively engage with the possibilities around participative theatre and gaming techniques for their own attractions.

“The success of Shaped by Industry-Shared with Pride has created a legacy of site volunteers open to learning in a new and creative way about how they can provide animation and collectively enhance their marketing for industrial heritage sites along the Causeway Coastal Route in Mid and East Antrim. The aim is to attract a greater number and diversity of visitors in the future.”

Shaped by Industry-Shared with Pride is a funded cultural tourism initiative by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.