Enchanted Palace

Enchanted Palace was a Wildworks' project that concerned itself with the exploration of space for the creation of located and historically situated storytelling. For Enchanted Palace my role was that of lead writer and curator of the 'Cabinet of Curiosities'. The premise of Enchanted Palace was exploring ways of presenting a historic site through a highly emotive narrative. Staring from Bertolt Brecht's poem 'Die chinesische Mauer' which celebrates the role of the workers in the building of the Great Wall, rather than the emperors who commisioned it, we began with the recognition that all the beauty, the carvings, the paintings and the treasures in Kensington Palace were not made by kings and queens, but by 'the people'. So one of the many aims of The Enchanted Palace was to allow 'the people' to retake possession of the palace and its collections. The aim was to see visitors walking into rooms without ceremony, sitting down at tables, knocking over toy soldiers, opening drawers, walking through a wood, and ultimately feeling a part of the building and of the lives that went on there., Focusing mainly on the lives of seven princesses closely connected to Kensington Palace - Mary, Caroline, Charlotte, Victoria, Anne, Margaret and Diana - the team of artists, writers, makers and actors built an experience that was part theatre, part storytelling, part gallery installation. Mary’s Bedchamber became the 'Room of Tears', the King’s Staircase became the 'Room of Flight', the Duchess of Kent’s Dressing Room became the 'Room of Lost Childhood'. The stories of the seven princesses were chosen as a focal point for the project, a way of presenting the historic site through an emotive narrative., My role was to write stories, one for each of the seven princesses, and these became the springboard for design work by fashion designers Vivienne Westwood, William Tempest, Stephen Jones, Boudicca, Aminaka Wilmont and Echo Morgan and the WIildworks artists to create the Installations for the 17 rooms in the State Apartments.