Behind the Scenes at the Museum
Series in which acclaimed filmmaker Richard Macer visits three different museums struggling to connect with a modern audience. Episode 1: Commercial Vehicle Museum Film-maker Richard Macer explores three museums struggling to attract visitors, beginning with the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Lancashire. Trustee Stephen Bullock wants to implement changes, the first of which is bringing back the Leyland festival to celebrate the town's industrial heritage, but many long-standing volunteers are not happy with his plans. Episode 2: Freud Museum Richard Macer highlights the problems facing the Freud Museum in Hampstead, west London, formerly the home of Sigmund Freud and his family after they left Austria in 1938. Despite containing many of the psychologist's possessions - including his famous couch - the museum has suffered from a lack of interest in recent years, and hopes to attract more visitors by hosting a dating event based on classic psychoanalytical concepts. Episode 3: National Waterways Museum Richard Macer highlights the problems faced by the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Its financial crisis has meant some of the country's oldest barges and narrowboats may have to be sold off or destroyed, and volunteers believe the museum's predicament is the result of mismanagement. New director Stuart Gillis is brought on board and immediately makes a positive impression, but faces the challenge of living up to people's high expectations. Last in the series.
