Re-interpreting intangible cultural heritage through immersive live performances to enhance memory-based institutions and foster community engagement

Abstract

Recent studies about heritage as a cultural process confirm the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to enhancing heritage sites through perception and emotion. Heritage sites, with their peculiar identity and character, provoke intense spatial experience for visitors. These experiences have the power to focus on human experiences and actions within specific environments. This paper examines a research project at Nottingham Castle (UK), where a site-specific performance, inspired by historical facts and characters, was aimed at enhancing visitor engagement with this heritage site. The project investigated the performative attributes of Nottingham Castle, emphasising community engagement and the reinterpretation of its heritage through the lens of gender equality and LGBTQI+ inclusion. The project incorporated scenarchitecture methodology, using theatre as a medium to blend historical research with perceptual and emotional responses to the site, fostering a dialectic relationship between the space and the visitors. The project’s final performance was aimed not only to enhance awareness of these themes but also to reveal the intangible cultural heritage of Nottingham Castle, reimagining alternate histories connected to gender equality and LGBTQI+ identities. This approach, deeply rooted in both heritage-as-performance and the theory of living heritage allows for a more inclusive interpretation of the Castle’s past.