At the sharp end

Maria Carnesky, a creative and performing arts fellow at the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield, performs as part of the university's Admission All Classes project. Led by Vanessa Toulmin, a professor at the archive, the project was a partnership between the university and Blackpool Council. It featured ten themed weekends celebrating Blackpool's history of music hall, variety and circus, including a Victorian "cabinet of curiosities" and end-of-the-pier entertainment. More than 1,000 visitors attended each of the ten events, which received a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.