When I began in oral history my teacher and mentor, Judith Fyfe, emphasised that the work was for archival use. We were collecting material for some future date, as yet unknown. Once the work is archived the oral historian is not always connected with how, if at all, the recordings are used. In the case of Angela Barratt, who recorded 16 interviews with the notoriously reclusive LS Lowry, the use has happened after her death. Barratt’s “gentle yet astute questioning, her compassion, respect and affection for her subject” has been dramatised and broadcast in the UK as LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes – see LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes review – Ian McKellen lip-syncs with precision as the artist bares his soul, Chitra Ramaswamy, The Guardian, 25 February 2026.

Hoping we might be able to see this in New Zealand.