This was a powerful and emotional experience. We had previously visited Port Arthur and taken other tours that also recounted the early convict and penitentiary years and it was all interesting, but mainly at a cerebral level. But it was the penitentiary Chapel tour that brought it all together. The tour of the facility itself gave a better idea of the overall system of convict deportation and process of the early settlement of the continent, but even this was still mainly an educational experience. But then it was the “No Mercy” play that finally brought it home at the gut level as we, the audience, became involved as “participants” in the drama. The actors were superb and at the end I didn’t want to clap but rather just leave in silence to absorb the emotional impact of the experience.

This was a powerful and emotional experience. We had previously visited Port Arthur and taken other tours that also recounted the early convict and penitentiary years and it was all interesting, but mainly at a cerebral level. But it was the penitentiary Chapel tour that brought it all together. The tour of the facility itself gave a better idea of the overall system of convict deportation and process of the early settlement of the continent, but even this was still mainly an educational experience. But then it was the “No Mercy” play that finally brought it home at the gut level as we, the audience, became involved as “participants” in the drama. The actors were superb and at the end I didn’t want to clap but rather just leave in silence to absorb the emotional impact of the experience.