The Power of a Good Story

After spending the last two years writing a book about storytelling, I've found that the success of a tourist attraction largely depends on how well it communicates the story of a particular time and place. For example, the yeoman warders who conduct tour groups through the Tower of London narrate the drama of kings, queens and others who were tortured or executed there. They have a personal connection to the place, having earned their post through decades of tough military service all over the world. They also have a sense of humor, telling visiting Americans, "This history could have been yours." Result: throngs of paying tourists.

While the London Bridge exhibit was a fascinating display of engineering, it flunked in the storytelling department. Not even an audio guide. Tourists were left to wander and interpret the story all alone, and for those who don't read one of the major European languages or Japanese, there was little to do but admire the view. We met Romanians who were downright confused.

Entering the Churchill war rooms was like touring the set of a Broadway play without knowing the story. Seeing the telephone used in January 1940 isn't too interesting unless you know what was happening at that time.

The curators of the royal palaces understand very well that they must be storytellers. It's in the mission statement that was posted at Hampton Court, most famously the home of King HenryVIII. The audio guide added value to the kitchen exhibit by explaining the complexities of cooking for 600 people a day before the invention of modern conveniences. Another exhibit on "Young Henry" revealed the relationship between the king and his first wife. The roving actors were a highlight of the visit, especially a face to face interview with a portly old Henry VIII enthusiastically telling me he'd have sons with his new 19-year old queen, describing her as a "young sapling" who would bend to his will. Fans of the Tudors know how it turned out: no kids from this marriage and the queen was executed.

 The highlights of the trip so far were not tours of buildings, but rather the evenings spent at the theater hearing the powerful stories of Shakespeare: Macbeth as retold in operatic form by Verdi and the Royal Opera and All's Well that Ends Well performed at the Globe Theater to packed houses. Neither production tried to "update" the story as many contemporary directors now try to do. Through the extraordinary talent of the performers, the tragic and comic tales speak for themselves. We also saw "Love Never Dies," the show that attempts to continue the story of the characters in Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera.

Storytelling is timeless. Newer exhibits are able to make use of new media to update the tales. More of my thoughts on storytelling in the introduction to "Power Performance: Storytelling for Multimedia Journalism and Public Relations," http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405198699.html available here at a 20% discount if you use the code VB237.