Over a hundred volunteers led by the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) were part of a UK-wide event that took place on 1 July 2016, as a modern memorial to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, the work was conceived and created by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller in collaboration with Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre. NTS was one of 27 organisations that collaborated on the work.
Jeremy Deller said, "I wanted to make a contemporary memorial to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, one that moved around the UK with an unpredictability in which the participants took the work directly to the public.”
The specially commissioned event saw around 1500 voluntary participants aged between 16-52 and dressed in historically accurate First World War uniform representing 15 of the regiments that suffered losses in the first day of the Battle appear unexpectedly in locations across the UK. Each participant represented an individual soldier who was killed that day. The work was partly inspired by tales of sightings during and after the First World War by people who believed they had seen a dead loved one. The volunteers, including first-time performers alongside those recruited from a wide variety of Scottish organisations such as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow Clyde College, City of Glasgow College, Eden Court Theatre, Scottish Youth Theatre and the Tron Theatre, came together to rehearse in theatres across the UK over a month-long period in the run-up to the performance.
The soldiers did not speak, but at points throughout the day would sing the song ‘We’re here because we’re here’, which was sung in the trenches during the First World War. They handed out cards to members of the public with the name and regiment of the soldier they represented, and, where known, the age of the soldier when he died on 1 July 1916.
The daylong work ran from 7am to 7pm and covered the width and breadth of the UK, from Shetland to Penzance - taking the memorial to contemporary Britain and bringing an intervention into people’s daily lives where it was least expected. In Glasgow, visited sites included shopping centres, train stations, a museum, public squares and bridges and in Shetland, a ferry terminal, ancient sites, beaches, schools and town halls.
Simon Sharkey, Associate Director (Learn) said, “To have been involved in what is an unprecedented UK-wide participatory arts project has been a truly fantastic learning opportunity for these young Scottish men. The project has not only offered audiences nationwide a unique public theatrical experience, it is also a fitting way to mark the anniversary of a battle which should never be forgotten.”
The project breaks new ground in terms of its scale, breadth, reach and the number of partners and participants involved. This is the first time three national theatres have worked together on a joint project, and the first time so many theatres have worked together on a UK-wide participation project, being produced by Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the National Theatre, working in close collaboration with partners including: Lyric Theatre Belfast, Manchester Royal Exchange, National Theatre Wales, Northern Stage, Playhouse, Derry-Londonderry, Salisbury Playhouse, Sheffield Theatres and Theatre Royal Plymouth and supported by: Aberystwyth Arts Centre, The Belgrade Theatre, Bolton Octagon, Bristol Old Vic, Storyhouse, Left Coast, Leicester Curve, Nuffield Theatre, Oldham Coliseum, Pontio, Shetland Arts, Sutton Coldfield College BMet, The Artrix Bromsgrove, The Garrick Lichfield and Volcano.
For more information visit www.1914.org.