Chiara Wall and Abbey Roberts [image: Jekatarina Kolesova]

Some Reflections is a site responsive performance created specifically for the National Trust property Max Gate.

Max Gate was the home of Thomas Hardy and his wife Emma. Our piece focused on the idea of memory at Max Gate, and was inspired by Emma Hardy’s changing presence in the house.

Three performances took place on Friday 31 May 2013 at Max Gate in Dorchester.

You can hear a five minute promo of Some Reflections in the player below.

An innovative approach to heritage interpretation

Some Reflections was directed jointly by Hannah Bruce and Sam Lawrence, and was performed by recent graduates from Bath Spa University's Dance degree.

This was an exciting pilot project; an innovative approach to heritage interpretation using performance, resulting from a partnership between the creative team, the National Trust, and Bath Spa University. Audience members journeyed around the rooms of Max Gate, glimpsing the physical and imaginative spaces where Emma lived her life.

Max Gate is also part of a longer-term research project about the meanings of literary house museums led by Professor John Strachan of Bath Spa University and Dr Angelique Richardson of the University of Exeter.


Creative Team

Hannah Bruce (co-director)
Sam Lawrence (co-director)
Jonathan Eato (composition / sound design)
Matt Morrison (writer)
Peter Worth (App development)
Jekatarina Kolesova (photography)


Live Performers

Stephanie Lampshire
Tyler Lloyd-Curtis
Charlotte Newman
Abbey Roberts
Sophie Taylor
Chiara Wall


Soundtrack Performers

Helen Longworth (voice)
Victoria Bernath (viola)
Jonathan Eato (harmonium)


Acknowledgments

With thanks to Jennifer Davis, Rachel Stokes, and the National Trust; Tim Middleton (and Bath Spa University), the Department of Music at the University of York; and the staff and volunteers at Max Gate, who have all been fantastically supportive of this pilot project.