Take Art, Actiontrack and Forkbeard Fantasy are working together with communities from in and around Wellington to create a community history play like no other! The project also forms part of Phase 3 of Word/Play.

There was a fantastic turn out at The Beambridge Inn on 24 April for the project launch, with representatives from schools and arts organisations, historians, rail enthusiasts, local politicians, residents and plenty of other interested individuals and groups from both ends of the tunnel. The Whiteball Tunnel Project kicks off with a series of workshops for performers, musicians and volunteers of all ages who would like to find out more about the project at Wellington Arts Centre, on Tuesdays 6, 13 and 20 May from 6:30–8:30pm.

This fascinating project aims to bring the history of the Whiteball Tunnel to life, culminating in a week of performances in November.

Take Art, Actiontrack and Forkbeard Fantasy are collaborating to create both a spectacular event and a digital and actual legacy. This will take the form of brick markers on the footpath surrounding the tunnel, each of which will have a QR code which will tell the story of the project. The markers will be made of 1000 bricks representing the navvies employed to build the tunnel.

At the launch Forkbeard Fantasy demonstrated some of the visual and auditory effects - for which they are renowned - that they intend to incorporate into the project.

Keep an eye on www.takeart.org/wordplay for further developments!