Show shines a light on pirate life

By Lindsey Skinner*

This Spring, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) on Discovery Quay, Falmouth, launched a major new exhibition exploring the history and cultural legacy of everyone’s favourite anti-hero. The show runs until the end of the year and museum opening times are every day of the year from 10 am to 5 pm, except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day (prices are given on website: www. nmmc.co.uk).

Dashing and daring or bloodthirsty and greedy – were pirates of the 18th century heroes of the age or nothing more than callous cut-throats? For generations, pirates have been portrayed in fiction, film, art and fashion as symbols of freedom, adventure and transgression. Despite the often-brutal reality of pirate life, they are still celebrated, but how and why has this image been created?

From the perceived ‘Golden Age’ of piracy through to the myriad of ways that pirate identity has been consumed and appropriated through the years, ‘PIRATES’ asks audiences to jump on board and uncover how a small group of robbers became the most unlikely of folk heroes.

From the Pirates of Penzance and Captain Hook, through to LGBTQ+ interpretations of pirates and piracy-inspired catwalk collections, audiences will be invited to meet the man who inspired Long John Silver, land on Treasure Island and dance a hornpipe with Horatio Pugwash, before discovering the dark world of the real pirates of the Caribbean. Spanning periods from the 17th century to the present day, the show will also feature an immersive experience of the Sea of Thieves game that Microsoft development studio, Rare, created for the NMMC. Co-produced in association with Royal Museums Greenwich (where the exhibition will open in 2025), the rich array of objects on display at NMMC will include costumes, weapons, globes, maps, telescopes, first edition publications, film posters and illustrations. Highlights include original artwork from Captain Pugwash, a reproduction of the very first costume for Captain

Hook and real ‘pieces of eight’ on loan from the British Museum. Filled with fascinating facts and sensory experiences, the exhibition explores how popular culture has shaped how we think of pirates today, diving beneath the surface to uncover the timbershivering truth. An accompanying events programme, including Cultural Lates and a Skull Island Play Zone, will be presented alongside the main exhibition.

Richard Doughty, Director of the NMMC, said: “In a unique collaboration between National Maritime Museum Cornwall and Royal Museums Greenwich, this major exhibition is our most ambitious undertaking to date. It sheds new light on the pirate story, challenging what visitors think they know about the lives of pirates and explores how cultural myths are created by drawing on the wealth of iterations in popular culture, literature and film. Tracing the appeal of pirates over the past three centuries, the show shines a light on why this form of outlaw has persisted as a popular symbol of freedom, despite the brutal reality of the pirate life”.

*Marketing, PR and Media.

Explore Beneath The Surface

A MAJOR EXHIBITION IN FALMOUTH MARCH 2023 – DECEMBER 2024