Name: Suitcases The Exchange 1856 North Shields
Start: 2025-09-25T19:30:00+01:00
End: 2025-09-25T21:00:00+01:00
Location: The Exchange

Suitcases The Exchange 1856 North Shields

SUITCASES
TO BE FEARED, MISUNDERSTOOD, FORGOTTEN
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE SUITCASES

Hit The Ground Running Dance Theatre Company presents Suitcases. Working in collaboration with Jon Crispin, a Massachusetts based photographer, this performance is inspired by his exhibition, ‘The Willard Suitcases’. Jon has worked on his exhibition for more than 10 years and his knowledge of the Willard Institute and the Suitcases will be invaluable to this performance.

In 1995, The Willard Asylum, New York, closed its doors after a century of treating those deemed unfit for civilised society. Discovered in an attic, the suitcases of 427 Willard patients were found. Beautifully preserved epitaphs to a few of those who lived and died at the Willard asylum and a poignant remembrance of the lives they left outside. Drawing inspiration from some of the suitcases found, Hit The Ground Running’s new theatrical performance is a moving exploration of the people behind the suitcases and plays homage to innocent lives lived and lost to madness.
This performance will include a special guest presentation from photographer Jon Crispin Willard Suitcases
Funded and Supported by
Arts Council England
North Shields Cultural Quarter
Image credit Jon Crispin Willard Suitcases
Warning: contains themes of mental illness