Get to Know Us
We seek to educate on the lives and experiences of Early Modern people by engaging the senses of our visitors. By trying our hands at and demonstrating historical craft, cooking, martial arts, daily life practices and more, we hope to bring the period to life as accurately as we are able to. It is our goal to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible, and to put history in guests’ hands whenever possible to demonstrate the similarities and contrasts between the world we know today and the world we came from.
Strange and Farre typically uses Third Person Interpretation, which means that while we dress in historical clothing and do historical things, we speak from a modern perspective without dialects, characters, or personas. This affords us the ability to connect the public’s experiences today to those of the past and relate information to them in an open, honest, and clear manner. Alongside this, we do choose and use historical movements and mannerisms such as bowing or giving courtesy to those representing social betters, for example, to communicate interactions of the era.
We are also very happy to adapt our portrayals to the needs of a particular context, venue, or function. We're based in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Strange and Farre typically uses Third Person Interpretation, which means that while we dress in historical clothing and do historical things, we speak from a modern perspective without dialects, characters, or personas. This affords us the ability to connect the public’s experiences today to those of the past and relate information to them in an open, honest, and clear manner. Alongside this, we do choose and use historical movements and mannerisms such as bowing or giving courtesy to those representing social betters, for example, to communicate interactions of the era.
We are also very happy to adapt our portrayals to the needs of a particular context, venue, or function. We're based in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Keeping Up Appearances
One of our major goals is to understand and represent how people lived and the way their world worked as accurately, within reason and modern wisdom, as possible. This means that all items on display to the public, with few and specific exceptions, must be finished by hand with the intention to eventually make and use completely handmade items and clothing. We may not always hit the mark, but we’d like to get as close as we can, and fortunately there are millions of artifacts and likely thousands each of surviving artworks and written sources from which we can build a strong case for how things were typically done. We’re a little obsessed with details because we’d like to do right by the real people we represent and avoid misleading our visitors who, even if they never speak with us, will learn from what they see us using, wearing, and doing.
We do not have an authenticity officer at present, as we believe that it is the responsibility of all members to hold each other up to a high standard. To that end, clothing and items you’d like to use, buy, wear, or make must be checked out by the group before they can just show up to an event. Gear determined inappropriate for our group’s portrayals, meaning for example that its appearance or style can’t be documented to the period we study, will not be permitted to be used or displayed. We absolutely do not believe in tearing down for not having “good enough” clothes or accessories, and instead wish to develop a culture of constant self-improvement. Rejecting an item does not mean we’re rejecting a person. Our members are constantly learning more and revising research to present the most up-to-date information and representations we can.
Some modern items like eyeglasses and medical devices are addressed on a case-by-case basis, but whenever possible it is strongly preferred that appropriate alternatives are found or they are hidden during public hours.
We do not have an authenticity officer at present, as we believe that it is the responsibility of all members to hold each other up to a high standard. To that end, clothing and items you’d like to use, buy, wear, or make must be checked out by the group before they can just show up to an event. Gear determined inappropriate for our group’s portrayals, meaning for example that its appearance or style can’t be documented to the period we study, will not be permitted to be used or displayed. We absolutely do not believe in tearing down for not having “good enough” clothes or accessories, and instead wish to develop a culture of constant self-improvement. Rejecting an item does not mean we’re rejecting a person. Our members are constantly learning more and revising research to present the most up-to-date information and representations we can.
Some modern items like eyeglasses and medical devices are addressed on a case-by-case basis, but whenever possible it is strongly preferred that appropriate alternatives are found or they are hidden during public hours.
Why Strange and Farre?
Our name comes from a passage from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande describing the conquest of William the First. The lines is as follows...
...verie strange and farre differing from the ancient customes and old vsages of their countrie... We thought it very appropriate for a collective of 21st century people seeking to study and better understand the ways of life of a time long gone by. |
Why 1580 - 1610?
Our target date range is inclusive of a great many significant events including but limited to the Spanish Armada conflict and the pathway to and establishment of some of the earlier successful American settlements, but we can stray a little in either direction as needed. There are relevant historical sites in the region which might provide us with fitting events, and the time frame is largely untouched by groups seeking authenticity. Speaking broadly, the clothing and material culture worn and used in our time frame have more similarities than differences, unlike the periods which preceded and followed it.