In March 2015 Against Captain’s Orders opened to the public. A groundbreaking collaboration between the National Maritime Museum and immersive theatre makers Punchdrunk Enrichment, Against Captain’s Orders invites younger museum visitors on an adventure that will challenge their understanding of history. Now in a series of blogs the National Maritime Museum (NMM) and Punchdrunk (PD) come together again to discuss how the exhibition developed from initial concept stage to the first visitors through the door.However, like all things that go Against Captain’s Orders these blogs aren’t quite what they seem as the museum has agreed to Punchdrunk’s request to structure the series around an old museum myth, the apparent disappearance of curator Elinor Grey. Confronted by the possibility that Elinor may be little more than a fairy tale the museum and Punchdrunk examine how, as a rare female hero, she is still vital to the discussion.If you're new to this series we recommend you begin at the start here.
Guiding Lights Exhibition
NMM: I have brought us down to the Guiding Lights exhibition, beneath the Great Map in the museum’s Neptune gallery. Compared to the bright, openness of Neptune Hall its a dark, almost hushed space, full of intriguing objects that chart the invaluable work done by the Corporation of Trinity Hall. We’re here to look at a fairly humble item. A 210mm tall statuette which I know you’re familiar with.
PD: I certainly am. This is Grace Darling, the young woman who braved treacherous seas and a deadly storm to help her father rescue the shipwrecked crew of the Forshare. She became a sensation, a celebrity of the time if not a national hero. She is also one of the characters we follow in Against Captain’s Orders.
NMM: And I want to talk about that for a moment because she actually came on board quite late so to speak.
PD: She did. I think we were only two or three weeks away from the build when we noticed a major issue with exhibition we’d been planning. A complete lack of female voices.
NMM: And that bothered you?
PD: Of course! Didn’t it worry you?
NMM: Certainly, but I’m interested as to why it caused you so much consternation. As I remember you got quite worked up.
PD: I think that was more a frustration at having sleepwalked into a position which normally we would have been at great pains to challenge - namely seeing history from a single perspective, in this case that of white western men.
NMM: It is a problem.
PD: That’s the other thing, you pointed it out very early on. I remember we were looking at portraits as a possible starting point and you explained that many of the portraits in the collection, these grand images of great men would have originally been pairs. There would have been a companion painting but, deemed to be of less value they weren’t preserved.
NMM: That’s right.
PD: So from the off we’re skewing how we view history. We need to get more stories from differing perspectives, otherwise we’re really only getting part of the picture.
NMM: It’s an easy trap to fall into because that’s how history is presented. I know that one of our key objectives, not just with Against Captain’s Orders, but in all our visitor engagement is to encourage people to challenge these accepted perceptions of history. Look at the evidence afresh.
PD: It’s so important, not just for our understanding of our history, but for our understanding of who we are today. I mean Punchdrunk pride ourselves on putting the audience first, building experiences that empower and inspire them, but we were this close to an exhibition in which half the audience weren’t represented at all.
NMM: Thank goodness for Grace.
PD: Indeed, but I still think we could go further. If we collaborated again I would definitely want to draw more heavily on those less explored histories. Finding heroes that visitors, especially children, can identify with has to be the best way to inspire them to action.
NMM: Well that’s why I brought us here. I think our search for Elinor Grey is fast approaching it’s end and, I think, I am probably going to be proved right in so much as I don’t think there ever was an Elinor Grey, nor a mysterious disappearance.
PD: As much as it pains me to say it I think you’re probably right.
NMM: However I was wrong in thinking that just because she wasn’t real she was somehow unimportant. As you say we need to provide our visitors with heroes that they can identify with and if, whilst we’re finding the real life historical examples, we create characters to help the visitors do that are those characters any less essential? I’d say not.
PD: So our question becomes less about whether Elinor Grey ever really worked here, or ever really disappeared but rather whether she really works as a hero for the story we’re trying to tell.
NMM: And there are really only one group of people that can tell you that.
PD: You’re audience...
Our Journey into the Uncharted continues on Friday 7 August. Against Captain’s Orders, a maritime adventure for 6 - 12 year olds is open 7 days a week. Find out more including how to book tickets here.Which female figures would inspire your story? Tell us in the comments below.
