Other Speakers
Olivia Sismey - The Slave Girl
This powerful and thought-provoking performance is written and presented by Olivia Sismey. Based on extensive research into the life of an eighteenth-century enslaved girl living in England, this moving one-woman performance is performed in authentic period costume.
The audience is introduced to a young woman purchased as a fashionable status symbol and treated more as an exhibit than a person. Through her own words, she shares her longing for education, freedom and the chance to be recognised for who she truly is.
As the story unfolds, her female owner slowly begins to confront the harsh realities of slavery and her own part in sustaining it. This gradual awakening reflects the changing attitudes that emerged in many British households during the years leading to the abolition of slavery. Along the way, audiences discover surprising and lesser-known facts, including the thousands of British men who got on ships to America to fight alongside the North and against the South so that more slaves could be free.
Only at the conclusion of the performance is the young woman’s name finally revealed, symbolising her journey from being treated as property to becoming a free woman with her own identity.
Both educational and deeply moving, this compelling performance offers an unforgettable insight into courage, resilience and humanity, leaving audiences with a greater understanding of Britain’s complex relationship with slavery.
John Dawkins – The Victorian Asylum
Step beyond the veil of Victorian respectability and into a world where the human mind was feared, misunderstood, and too often hidden from society. In this gripping lecture, specialist John Dawkins opens the doors of the Victorian asylum - institutions long shrouded in mystery, rumour and fear.
What was life really like behind their walls? Were these hospitals simply places of neglect and cruelty, or did they also become centres of innovation and reform?
Drawing on historical evidence and contemporary accounts, John explores the reality behind one of history’s most misunderstood institutions. While popular imagination often portrays Victorian asylums as bleak places of confinement and crude treatments, the story is far more complex. Alongside the harsh realities were pioneering doctors and reformers who sought to understand mental illness and improve the care of those who suffered from it.
This fascinating lecture challenges long-held assumptions, exposes harsh realities, and highlights the rare but significant pioneering individuals who sought compassion and progress in an era of fear and stigma. Thought-provoking and richly illustrated with historical insight, it offers a balanced and compelling look at a subject that continues to fascinate today.
Dan Hastings - The Priest-hole Builder
Armed men burst into your home, tearing rooms apart, ripping panelling from the walls and searching every corner. They are looking for hidden Catholic priests - and anyone harbouring them.
During the reign of Elizabeth I, this is an act of treason, punishable by the most brutal death. With the Protestant Queen as Head of the Church, Catholics lived under constant suspicion, and those who protected them risked everything.
This compelling costumed performance tells the extraordinary story of Nicholas Owen, the master craftsman who did more than anyone else to conceal Catholic priests in secret hiding places across the Midlands and East Anglia. His ingenious “priest holes” saved countless lives, yet every new hiding place brought him closer to discovery.
Presented as a first-person monologue in authentic costume, Dan Hastings brings Nicholas Owen’s vividly to life. Follow his journey from humble beginnings to his courageous final days, hearing of the priests he served, his daring involvement in an escape from the Tower of London, and the impact of dramatic events such as the Spanish Armada and the Gunpowder Plot on England’s persecuted Catholic community.
A fascinating and atmospheric performance, this is a story of faith, ingenuity, courage and sacrifice that reveals one of the hidden heroes of Elizabethan England.
