New App inspires Shallal Dance Theatre performance at Penlee House this Friday 21st November 11am - 11.30am

New App inspires Shallal Dance Theatre performance at Penlee House this Friday 21st.


The last few months has seen the testing of a new heritage app developed by West

Cornwall media social enterprise, awen productions CIC, with different groups of people.

Walkabout West Cornwall app, now in its final stages of testing, explores approx. 5,000

years of social history locating the fine art and other artifacts of Penlee House Gallery

and Museum within the local landscape. Shallal Dance Theatre company have been

one of the groups who have thoroughly enjoyed immersing themselves in new app

technology as it brought the surrounding  environment and objects to life. They have

visited the collection at Penlee House where director Louise Connell gave them a special

view of ‘Among the Missing’, a powerful and  evocative painting by Walter Langley,

which forms the springboard  for a new dance piece. The app also inspired Shallal to

get out and about to Newlyn Bridge, near where they rehearse, to see where Harold

Harvey painted his version of the bridge in 1906. ‘The Breadwinners’, the iconic  ‘The

Rain it Raineth’, The Mermaid’s Chair at Zennor, and a photograph of the Breaches buoy

also inform and provide the catalyst for this new series of work by Shallal which will be

performed at Penlee on Friday 21st between 11am and 11.30am.

Joe Willis, Creative Director of Shallal says, “We are delighted to be involved in this

project and look forward to sharing the work with a wider audience. I was surprised by

the interest and passion everyone in the company brought to the work from the myriad

of images and information to choose from on the marvellous app. We have really enjoyed

discovering and on the way everyone has learnt more about the art, culture and the

environment of our home/area."

Joining Shallal is local musician George Bradley-Peers, whose wonderful and evocative

improvisations form the backbone to the work, all spontaneously improvised to the event,

the short performances contain a range of humour, style and emotion.

Barbara Santi, director of awen productions, “As well as this innovative way of testing

our app we have been to Mounts Bay School where students from the Arts Award group

have been making short films about local history as a response to using Walkabout West

Cornwall app as an educational resource.” The short films will also be on display at

Penlee on the 21st.


Walkabout West Cornwall app will be available to the public for free in the new year. For

more information go to www.awen.org.uk.


awen productions CIC is a community interest company based in Cornwall. It is a

production company with a strong social agenda. Barbara Santi is a founder director.