How do you fancy being locked up for a living, chained inside a dungeon?
That’s one of the new jobs on offer at Nottingham’s Galleries of Justice.
The award-winning tourist attraction is recruiting actors, known as costumed interpreters, to bring the past of the High Pavement museum to life.
Daniel Millward, who plays roles including John Fenton, a man accused of murder, said: “It is a remarkably fun job, because you’re learning about history, you’re learning about Nottingham, and you’re learning about the law.
A gibbet on display at the museum, which was used to exhibit the bodies of executed criminals
“It’s probably one of the most varied jobs you could ever do, because you’re dealing with people. It’s about how you interact with them and the unexpected questions.”
From the court judge to the jailer’s wife – the museum is on the lookout for actors to take on a wide range of parts.
As well as learning multiple scripts and getting suited and booted in a different costume everyday, the biggest challenge is still said to be dealing with the public.
“What we’re looking for is somebody who can not just play the part, but also be ok with being put on the spot, or ad-libbing,” said Adam Oglesby, the museum’s attractions manager.
The Victorian courtroom
“It’s not quite like theatre where you are on a stage and sort of separate from the audience. It’s a lot more interactive. People ask questions, you have kids putting hands up asking to go to the toilet, so they’ve got to be able to respond to that appropriately.
“We did once unfortunately have a young boy here, and in the prison, we have a cell and one of the things the prison guard talks about is that you would have had to go to the toilet in your cell.
“If you couldn’t afford to buy a pot to do it in, you’d have to do it on the floor, and this young child actually did do it. On the floor, in the cell.
“So there’s never a dull moment.”
Parts of the the building date back to the 1400s
The building on High Pavement in the Lace Market once housed a Victorian courtroom, gaol and police station on one site.
It’s thought thousands of people were arrested, tried, imprisoned, and in many cases, executed, there.
The last official justice use of the building ended in 1986 with the closure of the police station. It became a museum in 1995.
Auditions are being held this week but museum bosses say they are always looking for new talent.
