Our Stories

Welcome to Our Stories

As part of Age UK Wakefield District’s Our Stories, an Oral Histories project seeking to celebrate and preserve working-class memories from before the digital age, we have worked with local artists to help bring people’s memories to life in new and inspiring ways.

Empath Theatre CIC is a Wakefield-based theatre company dedicated to creating inspiring, thought-provoking and educational performances. Through its work, Empath Theatre provides opportunities for local actors and creatives while exploring stories that connect people to their communities and heritage.

For the Our Stories project, Empath Theatre CIC took inspiration from participant oral histories and the artwork of former miner Karl Jarratt to create a performance piece captured on film. Drawing on shared memories and lived experiences, the film offers a family drama that encapsulates reflections on the people, places and memories of Wakefield's industrious past, spun together into a narrative.

Excerpts of Below Grow will be on display as part of the Our Stories exhibition at the National Coal Mining Museum from Sat 26^th Sept – Sun 1^st Nov. The exhibition also features artwork by Karl Jarratt, a former miner from Castleford, alongside portraits by Tom Bailey, a local cartoonist who has brough participant stories to life through his artwork.

To find out more about the project please get in touch:

Amy Charles,
Oral Histories Project Worker
amycharles@ageukwd.org.uk