Oral History and Pageants: Some Lessons and Reflections
Well I’ve come to the end of my ‘interviewing week’ in Suffolk. I did a bit of oral history for a project in Leicester a couple of years ago, but the format was quite different – I was set up in a local arts cinema, everyone came to me, and we didn’t have any specific questions about people’s memories beyond what it was like living in Leicester. This time I have been travelling around and visiting people in their homes. Based in Bury St Edmunds, I’ve also been to Elmswell, Sudbury, Clare, Great Barton, and Horringer. The interviews have also been much more focused, concentrating on the Bury St Edmunds Pageant of Magna Carta in 1959. I’m on the train back to London, so I thought I’d share some of what I have learned about the pageant from these interviews, as well as the process of oral history more generally.
Oral History
1. I’ve really been struck by the kindness of strangers. The participants in the project have not been paid, and have instead voluntarily taken time out of their day to welcome me into their home. I’ve been given dinner, wine, tea, and cake, and treated like a friend rather than an interviewer. Coming together with people who share my interest in historical pageants has been a lovely way to spend a week. Some of the participants have also given me lifts, which brings me to number 2…
2. I NEED TO LEARN TO DRIVE! Since leaving home at 18, I’ve always been a city boy, and never really needed or even wanted to learn to drive. But covering a chunk of countryside by foot and by bus has been tough. Public transport doesn’t seem to be that great; a couple of times I have had to take long taxi-drives. If I do more oral history, I am going to have to take the plunge.
3. Oral history is just as much about the preparation as the actual interview. Getting everyone into a schedule that works for both them and me was difficult, but we managed it in the end. The only hiccup was when ‘crossed wires’ led to me waiting outside a participants house in Sudbury as she waited for me in Bury St Edmunds! But, fortunately, we managed to meet up again and do an interview. As well as organising time, I’ve found that the interviews where I was better prepared – and knew more about the person and their background – led to a more focused and useful interview.
4. Participants surprise themselves. In the chat before the microphone is switched on, most of the participants have worried that they won’t have anything to say, or that they won’t remember things right. But, with a bit of reassurance and the right sorts of encouragement, the memories always flow. We have got so much useful information – both in terms of ‘facts’ about the pageant organisation, as well as people’s feelings – that is going to really enrich our research. People worry that they won’t be of any use; on the contrary, they don’t realise just how useful they are!
5. Above all, it’s a lot of fun! I remember enjoying the interviews last time, but this was even more fun. Particpants brought along old photos, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia to chat about before the interview, and they clearly had fun too, taking a ‘trip down memory lane’. Not all history can or should be ‘public engagement’, but, when it is, it’s a really rewarding approach.
The Pageant
1. The Pageant was fun too! This is not really surprising, but the constant across all the interviews was just how fun it was to take part in the pageant. It was exciting, and gave a sense of freedom – especially since a lot of the participants were teenagers at the time, and eager to get away from home for the evening! People remember clearly the excitement of playing with their friends; fighting in the battles; and booing and jeering in an election scene. It was, for the duration of the pageant, an adventure in a new world. But…
2. They don’t always remember the audience. Some of the participants remembered hearing the applause, and realising that they were being watched. But just as many were so wrapped up in the whole experience that they remember more the experience of acting, rather than being watched. As someone who dreads getting up in front of an audience, this was surprising. We need to think about why this was; my intitial thought is that, with a pageant, the cast and the action is so encompassing, that it may have been easy to forget that it was a spectator sport as well!
3. St Edmund’s head was paper mache! I knew that there was a decapitation scene, but I didn’t know how it was done. A couple of people have told me that Edmund was placed in a sack, and then received the chop. After the sack was opened, a papermache head rolled out – obviously fake from close-up, but convincing enough from far away.
4. Even those who were taking part usually knew that the pageant was about local history. Not everyone, but most, were aware that the pageant was about Bury St Edmunds history, and the town’s connection to Magna Carta. Of these people, most enjoyed local history and remembered being taught about it in school. Some got details wrong, but the sense that history was important was very vivid. We should qualify this, though; the people taking part, of course, are those who enjoy local history so much that they chose to get involved in this project. We should be careful therefore of extrapolating this experience to all pageant performers.
5. Christopher Ede, the pageant-master, was a kind but serious man; well-organised, visionary, but approachable. He always seemed like a good fellow from the interviews he gave, but I am reassured that his performers thought so too!
6. The pageant was a formative experience. Above all, the pageant was an important experience for all those who I have interviewed. It was experienced on different levels, but all thought it was something that will stick with them forever. Having the reunion recently at Moyse’s Hall, and the film evenings too, have brought that emotion back to the front of their minds; it’s been a joy to do that for people.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be putting some extracts from the interviews on our website – watch this space!!
Tom