TANTRUM Youth Arts has teamed up with Newcastle council's Aboriginal youth arts program Past Present Future, Catapult Dance Inc and The Flipside Project to take audiences on a historical tour of Watt Street.
The tour, titled Stories In Our Steps, invites audiences on a walking, theatrical, time-travelling tour of Watt Street.
It starts at James Fletcher Park and winds down through the old Newcastle Industrial School for Girls, St Philips Presbyterian Church, Watt Street Commercial, the Lock-Up and Pacific Park.
The show is part of the Anzac centenary commemorations and includes a World War I-themed dance piece by Catapult Dance and The Flipside Project called Warriors Rest.
Tantrum has reeled in a number of local historians for the project, including Bronwyn Law, an expert on the Anzacs commemorated in the former St Phillip's Church on Watt Street; Jane Ison, expert on Newcastle Industrial School for Girls; and Ann Hardy and Barbara Heaton, contributors to the recently published book Radical Newcastle.
Tantrum's artistic director Amy Hardingham said Newcastle was a town full of people passionate about history.
"Every day hundreds of people walk down Watt Street, unaware of the stories in their steps. This project uncovers just some of those hidden histories and brings them to life in an original and dynamic way."
■ Stories In Our Steps runs from April 10 to 19. Tickets are available from stickytickets.com.au. For more information go to tantrum.org.au.
