Still The Hours at Hampton Court Palace

Historic Royal Palaces is thrilled to announce the world-premiere of a brand-new, genre-defying promenade experience at Hampton Court Palace this International Women’s History Month.

From 19-30 March, visitors can experience Hampton Court Palace like never before through Still The Hours, an audio-led exploration of the palace after dark.

Visitors will wander the palace’s darkened halls in intimate groups guided by a richly layered soundscape that brings women of the past to life. The immense talent of celebrated actors such as Kathryn Hunter (Harry Potter, Black Doves, Poor Things) and Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter, Good Omens, The Hours) alongside established and up-and-coming female voices helps weave a vivid tapestry of women’s lives at Hampton Court Palace throughout the ages.

From a suffragette to a mistress, a queen to a maid, audiences will hear echoes from women who lived or worked in the palace. Both innovative and immersive storytelling, this hour-long journey combines binaural headphone audio with a bespoke sound environment in the historic spaces. The women’s stories, shaped by rigorous historical research, capture the full spectrum of human experience from the mundane to the life-altering: joy and sorrow, friendship and loneliness, perseverance and surrender.

Still The Hours is commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces and developed by leading artists Claire Doherty MBE, James Bulley and Kaite O’Reilly FRSL for House Dog Productions, in consultation with experts from the visually impaired community.

Claire Doherty MBE, Writer and Director of Still The Hours, said: “Hampton Court Palace is the remarkable stage on which the histories of women over 500 years have played out. We wondered if for just one hour the palace gave up its secrets, whose voices might we hear? What sounds might the palace choose to remember - the struggles for survival, the mundane, and the remarkable.”

Eva Koch-Schulte, Executive Producer of Commissioning at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “Historic Royal Palaces is committed to creating new way ways for a broad audience to experience our sites. In Still The Hours, we have worked with the extraordinary talent of Claire Doherty, James Bulley and Kaite O’Reilly to create a completely novel way to experience Hampton Court Palace after dark, behind closed doors. Under the gaze of the world-famous Astronomical Clock, time will stutter and history will come to life.”

Still The Hours is suitable for audiences aged 14 and over. Trigger Warning: The production contains themes of death, baby-loss and threat of violence.

The Creative Team:

• Written and Directed by Claire Doherty MBE
• Co-created and composed by James Bulley
• Lighting Design by Emma Chapman
• Sound Design by James Bulley and Simon Hendry
• Technical Direction: Artists & Engineers
• Dramaturgy: Kaite O’Reilly FRSL

Cast and Voices:

• Narrator: Kathryn Hunter (Harry Potter, Black Doves, Poor Things)
• Queen Anne: Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter, Good Omens, The Hours)
• Queen Catherine Howard: Molly Jenkins (Call the Midwife, Hollyoaks)
• Sophia Duleep Singh: Ayesha Dharker (Finding Alice, The Father, Holby City)
• Nellie Cousins: Olive Gray (Halo, Sex Education)
• Ensemble voices: Rose Youth Theatre Kingston and over 50 current female staff at Hampton Court Palace

Collaborators:

Rose Youth Theatre

Kingston Association for the Blind

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

Still The Hours

19-30 March 2025

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Ct Way, Molesey, East Molesey KT8 9AU

Entry every 15 minutes from 18:00-20:00

Experience lasts one hour

For ages 14+, under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Trigger Warning: The production contains themes of death, baby-loss and threat of violence 

www.hrp.org.uk