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Experience the SS Great Britain at sea this summer
The SS Great Britain will be surrounded by the sights, sounds and movement of a living sea for the first time in 50 years this summer.
Working with poet Saili Katebe and composer Joe Acheson, award-winning design studio Limbic Cinema will transform its dry dock into a digital projection theatre during August and September.
The immersive multimedia experience will combine projection, lighting and surround sound to transport audiences on a journey through the underwater worlds of the boat’s notorious history.
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Visitors will be able to head under the “glass sea” which protects the boat and walk around the iron hull as part of a multisensory storytelling adventure.
Testing the Iron Island at SS Great Britain – photo: Courtesy of SS Great Britain
Kate Rambridge, head of interpretation and programming at Brunel’s SS Great Britain said: “The SS Great Britain rests today back in her original dry dock, but she was designed for a completely different environment – the world’s oceans.
“In fact, this astonishing ship travelled more than a million miles at sea, and she still carries traces of salt in her iron hull.
“Although she’ll never sail again, digital multimedia can bring the sea back to the ship and show how she performed in that element – so that audiences can see her, once again, as resilient, graceful and dynamic.”
The journey will be set up in three parts – ‘departure’, ‘storm’ and ‘icefield’ as the boat rises and falls through the waves of a storm with thunder and lightning all around.
Thom Buttery, founder and creative director at Limbic Cinema said: “The combination of the iron hull, glass sea overhead and centuries-old brickwork make this a spectacular location acoustically and visually.
“Layer on the history and sense of bringing the sea back to the ship, and you capture a powerful sense of journey. Digital storytelling enables us to expand beyond the confines of the space.
“By augmenting the moving image with the ship itself we are able to create a real sense that the ship is in motion again.”
On September 2, a ‘museum late’ will allow people to book to see Iron Island and explore the ship after hours, along with an exclusive Iron Island cocktail and a fully stocked bar.
Main photo: Courtesy of SS Great Britain
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