The History Whisperer brings St George's Hall heritage to life

St George’s Hall’s immersive new heritage attraction opens to the public tomorrow – but if you haven’t got a ticket you may have to wait.

An introductory £1 ticket offer for the state-of-the-art The History Whisperer experience has seen most of October's tour places snapped up.

The History Whisperer uses the latest technology to bring to life Liverpool in the 1850s and is a focal point of the new £250,000 St George’s Hall Experience.

It reveals how the Grade I listed building, opened in 1854, represented two sides of the Victorian port – from the grandeur of the public spaces like the Great Hall and Concert Room to the law courts and cells were prisoners waited ahead of their trials.

Visitors watch an introductory film which introduces them to the character of Livie, a little girl who has fled the famine at home in Ireland to make a new life in Liverpool – but whose family finds itself caught up in the port’s justice system in the newly-built St George’s Hall.

They then move through to the cells where stories of Liverpool and the unfortunates who ended up in its courts unfold using the latest technology including a timeline where touching photographs beamed on the walls enlarges the images and explains their significance.

The tour continues upstairs past the holding cell to the criminal court itself where thousands of people faced justice from 1851, when it was opened as the first part of St George’s Hall to be completed, to 1984 when the final trials took place.

There is also the chance to take a selfie with Livie, via an interactive screen in the heritage centre lobby, which is uploaded to a special Twitter account for you to share.

The History Whisperer in an interactive tour of St George's Hall's cells and courtroom

The St George’s Hall Experience has been made possible through a £250,000 grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

The companies involved in The History Whisperer and the St George’s Hall Experience are Gazooky Studios – a BAFTA and Prix Europa award-winning storytelling and world class XR technology company, Immersive Interactive – specialists in touch-wall interactivity, and Music in Mind – an industry leader in music and sound effects.

And the attraction’s new specially composed music has been recorded by the RLPO.

Dr Rose Kay, chief executive and creative director of Gazooky Studios, said: “Our aim has been to bring the spaces of St George's Hall alive with an immersive, interactive storytelling attraction unlike anything else in the UK.

“It combines the latest XR technology, film, art and music which I know will move people and have them reflecting on life for the city’s ancestors.

“It’s been a great privilege to work with other Liverpool-based companies, and with the community, to create a world-class experience, sharing stories of Liverpool's rich past."

For more details about The History Whisperer and ticket availability visit the St George's Hall website HERE