The Museum of Brisbane asked us to create a show to compliment their exhibition, ‘Life in Irons’ that focused on the penal colony that stood where Brisbane is now. To do this we invented two intergalactic archivists in search of of a item lost item that represented hope. It was fantastical and rather silly, but it served to get kids interested in what would otherwise be a challenging exhibition for them. We gave the audience puzzle challenges and a range of artifacts to test. There were podium that would talk sass about any item placed on them they didn’t like. Eventually when the right items were found they signaled conclusion of the story.

The show was particularly popular with schools and ran for four months.

The Museum won a Museums and Galleries National Award for Interpretation, Learning and Audience Engagement which I like to think is partly thanks to A Convict’s Hope.

This project was supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland

Perfomed by
Caitlin Armstrong
Frances Marrington
Tyler Morrison
Same Valentine

Producer Tim Monley
Director Maddie Nixon
Writer Steve Pirie
Game Designer Gianni TIlls
Production Manager/Stage Manager Teegan Kranenburg
Technologist Sven Dowideit