An original site-specific immersive heritage experience for Passchendaele Memorial Museum, Zonnebeke, as part of the West Flanders 'Year of the Cemetery' programme.
From 24-26 May De Weg Terug - The Way Back transformed Passchendaele Memorial Museum into an immersive multimedia, multilingual encounter and performance spectacle, exploring the post-war history of Zonnebeke.
Read more about the story and production
News feature on the production
Starting in the dug-outs, moving through the trenches and concluding in an open-air show in the chateau grounds, the experience moved between intimate encounters with the past and epic spectacle. Bringing live performance together with immersive augmented reality De Weg Terug - The Way Back offered a unique experience exploring the lesser-known stories of Zonnebeke and its community after the First World War. It was suitable for all ages and abilities and presented in Dutch and English.
The creative team
De Weg Terug - The Way Back was the product of a team of creatives, artists, community performers and historians. The artistic directors and writers were Helen Brooks (Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London) and Jayne Thompson (University of Kent). Music was by Thom Robson. Production by Debbie Manhaeve (Passchendaele Memorial Museum). Projections were by Howard Griffin (University of Kent). Historical consultancy was by Mark Connelly (University of Kent) and Simon Augustyn (Passchendaele Memorial Museum). It was performed by a cast of 20+ community performers.
De Weg Terug – The Way Back was part of the official presidency programme (culture category) of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU.
It was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the University of Kent, and Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.