Roman army to return to Corbridge

It's a way of not only bringing history into sharp focus but of enabling us to feel, think and live it ourselves.

Stella Hall, creative director of culture10, is full of enthusiasm for the Landscape and Heritage theme of this year's festival and events programme - and says it was a natural choice given what's happening in the region.

It ties in nicely, for one thing, with the April opening of the £26m Great North Museum in Newcastle which itself will house a large-scale, interactive model of the frontier wall.

"The opening of the Great North Museum is the major spur to deciding our focus for 2009," she says.

"We're celebrating both the built and natural environment and heritage, bringing to life places and stories across the North East."

The idea is to link the past with the present and its impact on people today.

And one way of doing this is by first off inviting volunteers to play a part in the Corbridge pageant, following re-enactments on May 30 involving the different people, including Border Reivers, along the length of the Roman Wall.

"It'll be the largest and most impressive human interaction there for nearly 1,600 years and it'll be fully garrisoned with performers from across the UK and internationally.

"There'll be a pageant celebrating the people of the Wall through the ages in Corbridge, and we're looking for volunteers to perform at it."

Article taken from this month's Journal Culture magazine.