One hundred and fifty years ago, something extraordinary rose from the limestone of the Yorkshire Dales.
In 2020, we marked the 150th anniversary of the Ribblehead Viaduct – a feat of human courage, labour and imagination that has become one of the region’s most iconic landmarks.
To honour this moment, puppeteer Lois Conlan of The Travelling Shadow Theatre created Shanty Life, a short shadow-play film that brings the story of the viaduct’s construction to life. Through light, movement and silhouette, the film captures the grit, hardship and quiet heroism of the navvies who built it, stone by stone, against the vast Dales landscape.
Shanty Life was commissioned for the Yorkshire Festival of Story and made possible with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Watch the shadow play below, and step into a story etched into the landscape.
Watch the Shadow Play:
