Projects
The Scottish Soldier
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The Scottish Soldier is a stage play that tells the story of Scottish prisoners of war - captured at the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester then transferred to the Cambridgeshire Fens in 1651 to work on the drainage schemes, notably the creation of the 21 mile long Hundred Foot River. The performance was staged at the Welney Wetland Centre - forming part a project called Origins, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Later, the play was filmed at locations in the Fens and can be viewed here.
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The Lake
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Whittlesea Mere was the largest lake in lowland England until it was drained in 1851. The Lake tells the story of the Mere and also explores what it was like to be there, based on visits to places still with us in England and Continental Europe, also drawing on the lakes and wetlands I have known during my career as a lake scientist, memories that are also the subject of this book.
Lost Voices:
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Lost Voices is a project funded by the Arts Council through their Develop Your Creative Practice programme. The award was made to Peter Daldorph, the creator of Wildhead, to develop and explore new forms of storytelling to bring lost voices from the past to life. The award is funding work with professional and local historians, training in cinematography and sound recording and experimental work with actors and storytellers.
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YES
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YES is a short film developed from a short story performed by local actors in Cambridge. The story is about a mother and daughter, and a lost and found photograph.
The Adventurers - a new exploration of the archives
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Funded by the Heritage Lottery , The Word Garden has created a full transcription of the Proceedings of the Company of Adventurers. These archives provide details of the day to day management of the transformation the Fens in the 1650s in the time of the Commonwealth and Oliver Cromwell. Audio plays and a history walk, created in this project are available for download here.
The Nightingales Nest
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The Nightingales Nest is a stage play, written by Peter Daldorph, about the relationship between the poet John Clare and superintendent William Knight in Northampton Asylum, where Clare was a patient between 1849 and his death in 1869. Knight became Clare's friend and supported him as he wrote some of his great poems there.