The story of the Lusitania is central to the history of Liverpool. During the First World War the ocean liner was torpedoed by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915.
Find out more as they take a look at the ship and its tragic sinking. the context of and the vital role played by Liverpool’s ships and seafarers.
Sessions between 11am and 12noon and from 1:30pm until 4pm.
Drop-in, no need to book.
Everybody loves a bad guy. This talk will focus on two famous movie antiheroes Rick Blaine from Casablanca and Han Solo from Star Wars. Although the antihero is a person who lacks qualities we admire in the hero, both of these characters have achieved iconic cinematic status.
Join lecturer Stephen Kearns from the University of Liverpool to investigate the philosophy behind both portrayals and the ethical dimension of the movies in which they appear. You might notice is the striking similarities between the characters and maybe more surprisingly, the movies themselves!
Book your free ticket. All welcome.
Join David Walshe (Secret Sand Land) for a local history talk about his latest book, focusing on a forgotten suburb of Southport that was called Ecclesfield.
The story begins back in South Hawes & Early Southport and pays special attention to one particular branch of the Eccles family. He also looks at life in Ecclesfield during the mid/late C19th, a selection of former residents and also when & why he believes the name of Ecclesfield to have fallen out of use.
The talk will be accompanied by images from within the book.
Amy Johnson was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.
She set many long distance records during the 1930s and flew in the Second World War as a part of the Air Transport Auxiliary, losing her life during a ferry flight.
Amy was born on 1st July 1903 in Kingston upon Hull, the eldest of four daughters. She was introduced to flying in 1929 and gained her pilot’s “A” Licence at the London Aeroplane Club. Later that year, she became the first British woman to obtain a ground engineer’s “C” licence. She achieved worldwide recognition when she became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Flying G-AAAH Jason, she left Croydon on 5th May 1930 and landed at Darwin on 24th May, a total of 11,000 miles.
In 1940, during World War 2, Johnson joined the newly formed Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which transported Royal Air Force aircraft around the country. V3540 was the last plane that Amy Johnson flew, a Mk.II Airspeed Oxford. As a member of the ATA she was delivering the Oxford from Prestwick to RAF Kidlington, but she stopped overnight with her sister Molly in Blackpool. On 5th January 1941, setting off from Blackpool, the weather conditions were very poor. The flight should have taken about 90 minutes, but four and a half hours later, lost and running out of fuel, she bailed out over the Thames Estuary.
Despite being sighted by some ships in a convoy and a gallant rescue attempt her body was never recovered. Tragically, the Captain of a Royal Navy escort ship Lt Walter Fletcher, who dived into the freezing water to try and rescue her also later died later from exposure.
Eric Watkiss is the project manager of the Saving Amy Project which aims to restore an original WW2 Airspeed Oxford Trainer aircraft in memorial to Amy Johnson.
Join Eric to hear the amazing story of Amy and learn about the restoration project that he is currently working on.
This talk with Dr Mark Adams will look at the map documentary evidence for coastal and inland salt production in and around Southport in the 17th century and earlier.
It will also look at how south Lancashire came close to having spa’s to rival Bath, Buxton and Harrogate and why they failed to take off.
Welcome to Auntie’s Roadshow, an interactive multi-media show that will take you on a journey through lost BBC archives to reflect on the progress of women’s rights from the 1960s to the present day.
Hosted by the enthusiastic Auntie, the show celebrates women who went against the grain of society’s expectations, exploring the experience of 1960s societal change using actual documentary footage, satirical dramatisations of archive material and personal reflections from women representing different generations, cultural backgrounds, and experiences.
Alongside Auntie you’ll meet a group of feisty women from the 1960s, a troupe of modern-day actors performing a host of humorous sketches, and a couple of researchers ready to bring some historical perspective and a touch of healthy cynicism to proceedings. There will also be opportunities for you to share your own experiences and responses to the material.
The performance builds on research and development initially undertaken in 2022, when the BBC celebrated its centenary year. Collective Encounters was invited to work with Dr Marcus Collins, AHRC BBC 100 History Fellow and Reader in Contemporary History at Loughborough University, and Dramaturg Dr Alda Terracciano, on a project entitled ‘The BBC and Cultural Change since the 1960s’. The project involved adapting transcripts from ‘lost’ BBC documentaries from the 1960s and transforming them into a new performance piece.
Following a successful work-in-progress performance, the team has developed this new full-length multimedia performance focusing on four key programmes from the BBC archives to explore themes surrounding gender roles and expectations within the home, in relationships, and in the workplace. The show incorporates archive material from:
• The BBC Homemaker Competition (1960-61), a televised contest open to married or widowed women that aimed to promote understanding about the qualities that make a good home-maker
• Woman’s Hour: Dropping in at a Meeting of the Family Planning Association (20.10.60), which covers topics such as the dangers of giving contraceptive advice to ‘unmarried girls’ and whether Doctors should encourage ‘less intelligent’ people to have fewer children.
• Man Alive: Living in Sin (2.3.66) interviews with couples who had decided not to have their relationship blessed or formalised by religion or state.
• 24 Hours: Equal Pay for Women (5.9.68) reporting on attitudes from men and women in industry towards proposed legislation that would bring women’s pay in line with men’s
AUNTIE is devised and performed by Collective Encounters’ intergenerational Women in Action group with creative support from theatre director Tessa Buddle, writer Mandy Redvers-Rowe, and digital creatives/designers Focal Studios.
Access
The performance includes integrated captioning and audio description.
BSL interpreted performance: Saturday 9 March, 5pm.
Bookable touch tour: Saturday 9 March, 12pm. Email admin@collective-encounters.org.uk to book.
The venue has step-free access.
If you require a ticket for a carer/ essential companion, please include a note on your order or email: admin@collective-encounters.org.uk
If you have any questions about access or any other requirements, please let them know when you book.
If you are unable to pay or you wish to arrange a group booking, please email admin@collective-encounters.org.uk or call 0151 345 6266.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea is a short children’s story, first published in 1968, written and illustrated by Judith Kerr.
The book concerns a girl called Sophie, her mother, and an anthropomorphised tiger who invites himself to their afternoon tea and consumes all the food and drink they have.
The book remains extremely popular more than 50 years after it was first published, and a theatrical adaptation of the story is being staged by St Helens Theatre Royal.
Meet the Scientists is back for British Science Week, and in a new home! Join them at the Museum of Liverpool on Saturday 16 March for a day of FREE fun and discovery for all the family.
Meet researchers from the University of Liverpool and hear about how their work can help us be happier and healthier. Have a go at a range of interactive activities and follow our treasure trail to get your hands on a prize!
Dead Guilty is a Murder Mystery production by the SDC
A tense psychological study of guilt and obsession by the author of The Business of Murder, Dead Guilty concerns an attractive young graphic artist whose leg is badly injured in a car crash that occurred when a business associate suffered a fatal heart attack at the wheel.
There is also an additional matinee show 13 April, 2.30pm.
Written by David Haig, based on true events that took place during World War II. It centres on the true story of James Stagg and the weather forecasts that determined the date of the D-Day landings as part of Operation Overlord.
The personal and military stresses of Stagg, the tensions between the teams with different weather forecasts for the date of the proposed D-Day, and the events of the 72 hours leading up to D-Day are explored throughout the play