Imber, the abandoned village at the heart of Salisbury plain, will receive a new site-specific audio experience for its open weekend Thursday 15th to Monday 19th of August.
Usually closed to all but those taking part in close-quarters combat training, Imber opens around three times each year to allow visitors. Fresh this summer, though, Wiltshire Creative has made Imber: You Walk Through specifically to be available for people to use for free when they come to the village in August.
Imber: You Walk Through is written and performed by writer, performer and podcaster Francesca Millican Slater. A film version of the experience, designed by Rachel Bunce with 3D Visualising by Chris Bayly, premiered at the 2019 Salisbury International Arts Festival in a pop-up city centre venue.
Directed by Wiltshire Creative Associate Director Jo Newman, Imber You Walk Through combines spoken word with original composition and sound design by Helen Skiera enabling audiences to experience the stories, history, wildlife, sights and sounds of Imber past and present.
Jo said: “I’ve been wanting to make this project ever since I first visited Imber four years ago – it’s such an atmospheric place and a real collision of worlds. Imber is close to many people’s hearts - its legacy has been kept alive through the passion of a few individuals, an important part of Wiltshire’s history and an actively occupied training ground highly valued by the MoD - serving personnel from all over the world come to train on this site. It’s really exciting to be working with an incredible team of creatives across disciplines and art forms to fully open up the stories of this place, past and present, taking a long view and exploring the changing landscape of our county over time.”
The audio experience is then being gifted to The Friends of St Giles, in conjunction with the Churches Conservation Trust, which organises the opening of Imber church on a limited number of public access days granted by the Ministry of Defence. Imber: You Walk Through is supported by The Friends of St Giles.
Lt Col Stewart Andrews, Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s Senior Training Safety Officer said: “Working with Wiltshire Creative to bring Imber village to life has offered an ideal opportunity for the MoD to engage with the local community and promote safe and legal public use of the Salisbury Plain Training Area.
“Imber village continues to play an important role in providing our armed forces with the training they need to prepare for operations all over the world. The site is an excellent example of the training facilities that Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) delivers and maintains to ensure our armed forces can live, work and train.”