Our Heritage
Hercules Productions engages young people in Manchester through heritage-based theatre and film projects. They noted through their work that young people in Hulme and Moss Side had little knowledge of how the buildings around them had changed over the years.
Often the younger members of the community didn't understand the perspectives of their elders who had lived through these substantial changes.
The year-long project set out to recreate the histories of five key local landmarks through intergenerational reminiscence sessions. The collected oral histories were then used as the basis of a performance. Working with a professionals and performing the play at the University of Manchester's Contact Theatre gave a huge sense of achievement to participants and reached a wide audience.
Placing the older people's stories at the heart of the project helped them feel more valued and respected by the younger generation. Engaging young people through fun and creative activities was a good way of introducing them to the heritage of their community and an exhibition and education pack was created to share their learning.