BUZZ CULTURE: THE PEMBROKESHIRE STORY | INTERVIEW
Alex Lloyd, from Milford Haven’s Torch Theatre, speaks to Krasimira Petkova for Buzz Culture about a project that seeks to share and preserve stories of Pembrokeshire past and present.
The Torch Theatre, established in 1977 in Milford Haven, west Wales, has recently unveiled a project to connect people across generations and celebrate what they consider the Pembrokeshire spirit. Alex Lloyd, senior manager in Marketing, Press and Communications for the Torch Theatre, explained more about the origins of the project as well as its aims – conducted, due to current restrictions, over the internet.
Can you tell me about the project and explain why you think sharing these stories are important?
Alex: The Torch Theatre was closed and we couldn’t carry on with what we normally do, staging plays and educational activities. Therefore, telling The Pembrokeshire story was a way to connect to our community and to capture the untold stories of Pembrokeshire.
Peter Doran, our artistic director, initiated the project. His father was very ill with COVID last year and when Peter was asking him about his life, he had all these stories he’d never told before. Peter realised that there must be many people with stories that would be lost to future generations if they were not captured.
What are the stories about?
People told us stories of what happened in Pembrokeshire – in the war, in the fishing industry and around different parts at the time. We simply asked people to tell us their story; it could be anything about their life, moments in time that they remember – it could be an experience, or an event.
And what platforms will these stories be shown on?
We are building a new one. Currently, it’s an interactive map of Pembrokeshire. The idea is that stories will be uploaded: you can click on certain parts of the map to listen to or watch the stories. A team of eight freelance artists captured the stories in MP4 format to upload onto the site. We used audio recordings, letters and photography as well as asking people to share their old movies, and we will obviously look at videos will make sure they fit in the right format and the guidance. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes, but it’s going to be quite impressive.
What makes Pembrokeshire different?
We have all this beautiful coastline, amazing places to live with lovely beaches. There is great countryside for holidaymakers. But we haven’t got a major town or city in the area, so it’s beautiful. There are areas that speak mainly English and areas of Welsh speakers. The middle of Pembrokeshire has a natural divide of the Preseli Hills – in the mountains it is so beautiful…
And finally, what do you hope to get out of these stories?
I think from the Torch’s perspective, we want to get more connections with the public. It is important that these stories are not lost – we wanted to share with everyone as well as future generations. We want to have stories from all kinds of the communities, and to keep adding to this archive, adding more value to it. This is the way to have that deep understanding of what history is all about.
Info: www.torchtheatre.co.uk/the-pembrokeshire-story
words KRASIMIRA PETKOVA
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