THIS year, of course, marks the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic – a liner with enduring links to Liverpool and much is planned in the city to mark the occasion.
The doomed White Star vessel was registered here and, indeed, the head office stood proud over The Strand.
Ismay House Beach LawnUp in Waterloo, White Star founder Bruce Ismay built a lavish house on another strand, that of the Mersey estuary. It was designed so that not only could he observe his fleet from the drawing room, but so that seafarers, according to the tale, could still see the tower of the church that sat behind it. See that recess over the conservatory?
Meanwhile, 100 yards away, on the same stretch, Titanic Captain Edward Smith resided at 17 Marine Terrace, right up to the start of April 1912 when he made that final journey to Southampton, which would unfortunately write him into the history books.
Now Sefton’s Theatre in the Rough Festival has received £12,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a new project, Liverpool and the Titanic, to be held in Waterloo in July.
Liverpool and the Titanic brings together five days of live theatre, live music and a brand new historical exhibition, all created and curated locally.
Ten new short plays will be performed, alongside ten new audio plays. They will all be written by local young people, in association with Merseyside Maritime Museum. The company is now welcoming applications from local writers and actors to take part in the festival.
TitaniccaptainplaquelivAn exhibition featuring original artefacts, including the dress uniform of the captain of the Carpathia and contemporary newspapers, will be open to the public. And the week is rounded off by a performance from local folk band, The Mersey Rigger, performing songs from their Titanic-themed musical Queen of the Ocean.
Sara Hilton, head of Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said “The Titanic plays an important part of in the wider story of shipping that is so important to Sefton and Merseyside, and this project will give younger generations a wonderful opportunity to explore their local heritage.”
All events are free of charge. Liverpool and the Titanic runs from 3-7 July 2012 at Old Christ Church in Waterloo.
