Brand-new immersive experience The History Whisperer uses latest technology to bring Liverpool’s past to life

The History Whisperer is the focal point of the new St George’s Hall Experience and opens to visitors on Friday, 8 October, using the latest technology to plunge audiences into a world where the past meets the present and history comes alive.

It brings to life Liverpool in the 1850s and illustrates how the building represented two very different sides to the city – from the opulence of the Great Hall and Concert Room so loved by Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens to the destitution of people in the building’s prison cells awaiting sentencing in its court room.

The attraction tells the story through the eyes of a child called Livie, who finds herself all alone after her father is transported to the other side of the world after completing work on the construction of St George’s Hall, while her brother is in one of the building’s prison cells awaiting his fate.

The creators behind the experience have drawn on their international experience and accolades. They boast many international awards, from BAFTAs to Prix Europas and the Venice Biennale.

Gazooky Studios has worked with the BBC, BFI, Columbia Sony, Microsoft, Netflix, and many other world-class partners, and have been part of several world-first experiences including Kansas Sealife AR experience, Covent Garden AR shopping experience and London Bridge Station Hub.

The music has been specially composed and performed by globally respected musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

The consortium has spent the last few months devising and installing the attraction, after Liverpool City Council secured £250,000 from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

For a limited period, tickets for the new attraction will cost just £1 per person – as the city’s way of giving something back to the people of Liverpool following the pandemic.