Inspired by the darker side of our maritime history, Dark Side Port Side is a self-guided poetry film trail through an imagined 19th century Portsmouth. William Sutton tells of the genesis of this ground-breaking project, created by the Front Room, with two-minute films created by the region’s poets and filmmakers, inspired by the University of Portsmouth’s ‘Sailortown’ project.

 

Genesis of a Poetry Trail - William  Sutton

‘A creative Portsmouth historical walk!’ I exclaimed when I returned from The Darks, an eye-opening audio-historical tour at Tate Britain. ‘Why can’t we have that here? Think of the colourful characters. It would burst with facts and stories, places and history-‘

 

‘Yes, but who’s going to make this tour?’ said my wife. She often reminds me that every writer’s downfall lies in overstretching, getting so excited about ideas that you never get anything written. ‘You’re not going to do it.’

 

‘I shouldn’t need to,’ I said, eyes shining. ‘Think: there are a dozen experts on local history. We know a dozen brilliant writers. Twenty. Thirty! Portsmouth Museums should sponsor it. Or Libraries. Or the Council -‘

 

‘Will you get paid?’

 

‘If someone puts in a funding bid, why not?’

 

‘Who’s putting in this funding bid?’

 

I looked at her. ‘Not me,’ I admitted. ‘But someone should.’ I went back to writing my second novel. The Darks kept gnawing at my unconscious. Ruth Ewan and Astrid Johnston’s walking tour is still available at Tate Britain, and it’s free. This 50-minute audio guide takes you around the site of the Tate, which used to house the fearful Millbank Prison, intermingling letters, historical facts and architectural detail to bring a dark corner of London’s history to life. I wrote a short story based on it, about a prisoner who manages to collect all the prison’s keys. And the idea of a Portsmouth walking tour went out of my head.

 

Five years later, my forgotten dream has come true – but much, much better than I’d envisaged. You don’t need to borrow headsets from any museum; you can do the trail any time you want. All you need is headphones, a phone connected to the internet, and enough data to watch a few short films.

 

Dark Side Port Side has brought together poets, writers, filmmakers and artists to create 14 mini-films, each illustrating or reflecting a location on a trail around Old Portsmouth, in the streets back from the Hard and the Dockyard. There is humour and pathos, colour and atmosphere, blood and death – and a delicious array of local and Victorian slang. Together these form an imagined account of Portsmouth’s maritime history, steeped in histories and legends.

 

Darkside Portside 2024

The trail was originally launched in October 2019 with the help of generous Arts Council funding. Nautoguide Ltd. continued to fund and host the trail from 2020 onwards, determined not to lose an important digital heritage asset. In 2024 the trail was rebuilt using Nautoguide's Geovey platform to ensure that the Darkside Walk and the work of the poets and videographers continue to be available.