Exeter's Only ... Magic Lantern Show

Join Lightbear Lane on 15th October for a very special nineteenth-century-inspired evening to experience the enchanting world of magic lanterns, moving projections and echoes from times gone by. Once an apparatus every village would have been familiar with, these magical instruments now recall an almost forgotten past before film and TV. The evening will bring to life not only the history of magic lanterns but also give us a taste of what these shows would have been like. With a screen specially designed for the atmospheric Great Hall at St Nicholas Priory and live music accompaniment for our stories, you are in for an unforgettable treat. The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is supporting the event with a pop-up display from their extensive collections of Magic Lanterns. The bar will open at 6:45pm for you to get a drink and look at the display. Our Lanternist Dr Richard Crangle is co-editor of The Encyclopaedia of the Magic Lantern and also developed the ‘Lucerna’ Magic Lantern Web Resource – the largest dedicated lantern slide database in the world. He will share some of his favourite Victorian and Edwardian slides, weaving tales and insights about how these early projection devices captured the imaginations of their audiences.