Some of you might have joined us for the St Thomas Story Tours last year, when we took people on a stroll around our local neighbourhood and shared stories and songs about the area.
Because each group had to be small, some people missed out on a slot. And lots of you who did come wanted to do it again. So, we’ve decided to create a free audio tour for everyone to enjoy! One of our wonderful actors, Michael Wagg, is your guide. We’ve added some new stories, but perhaps most special of all, many of the voices you’ll hear belong to the people of St Thomas, who are sharing their memories first hand. These are the stories as we first heard them, and they are vivid, enlightening, funny and moving. There are photographs, a map to guide you on your way, as well as beautiful original music by acclaimed folk musician Hannah Martin.
If you live in St Thomas or nearby, get your shoes on, stick your headphones in, head to the home of Theatre Alibi at Emmanuel Hall (EX4 1EJ) for your starting point and enjoy your own personal guided tour of St Thomas which will last about 1 hour.
If you can’t make it to St Thomas you can still enjoy the tour from wherever you are with a cup of tea in hand, just close your eyes, and imagine the steps you might be taking! All ages are welcome to enjoy the audio walk and the route is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
P.S. We really wanted the audio walk to be free so that it could be enjoyed by as many people as possible. But if you’d like to make a contribution towards our work, we’d be incredibly grateful. Just click here.
How to start the audio walk:
For the best experience of ‘St Thomas Stories – The Audio Walk’ on your phone you will need to download an app called izi.TRAVEL Audio Tours.
- Download izi.TRAVEL Audio Tours for free by clicking here (Apple) or here (Android).
- You will then be directed away from this webpage to your app store to download the app.
- When you first open izi.TRAVEL you’ll be guided through a few set up sections, and asked to allow the app to use your location – to get the best use of the app we recommend you allow the app to use your location.
- For Apple users, once you’re on the izi.TRAVEL home page click ‘All Guides’ on the bottom left hand corner and ‘St Thomas Stories – The Audio Tour’ should be there for you to start. If it hasn’t appeared, simply click ‘All Guides’ and type ‘Theatre Alibi’ into the search menu at the top, ‘St Thomas Stories – The Audio Walk’ should then appear. For Android users, once you’re on the izi.TRAVEL home page click ‘Around me’ (the map pin symbol ) in the middle of your screen and then search ‘Theatre Alibi’ in the search bar at the top of the page. Then click ‘St Thomas Stories – The Audio Walk’.
Don’t worry, if you’d prefer not to download the app to your phone or you’re on a computer you can click here to start the audio walk instead. If you get a moment, please do leave us your feedback on the app or send us an email with your thoughts to info@theatrealibi.co.uk – we’d love to hear what you think!
Whilst using 'St Thomas Stories - The Audio Walk' please remain vigilant when crossing roads (turning the audio off and taking your headphones out). You are responsible for the safety of yourself and any minors in your group. Theatre Alibi does not accept liability for any injury or damage or loss to persons or property of those using the audio walk. In light of coronavirus, whilst on the audio walk please stick to social distancing measures and adhere to current government guidelines. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the information in 'St Thomas Stories - The Audio Walk' is correct Theatre Alibi cannot accept responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies. The route described was accurate as of April 2021.
CREDITS
Written by Daniel Jamieson
Tour Guide Michael Wagg
Audio edited by Lisa Heledd Jones
Music (Take Me Home and The Sculptor) by Hannah Martin
Publicity Image Illustration by Trina Bramman
Photos of ‘St Thomas Story Tours’ by Steve Tanner
Original interviews with Fred Osborne, Brian Randall, John Stitson, Stewart Drunan, Mary Ridd, The Hellier Sisters, Michael Olford, Sue Milford, Tony Lethbridge, Rob Doran, Audrey Thomas, Andrew Kent, Steve Bennett and Jeff Fiddler.
Supported by