Two women have captured the essence of today’s bingo world with six in-depth interviews of avid bingo players and a series of incredible photographs.  The exhibition was first displayed at Preston Hall before making its way to Stockton’s Mecca Bingo Hall at Chandlers Wharf.  When it is done being displayed at the bingo club, it will go to its new home in the Stockton Museum Service for prosperity.

Leigh Thomas, a 28 year old student of oral history at Teesside University and Amanda McHale, 41 year old photographer who graduated from the Cleveland College of Art and Design, collaborated on the massive project.  Thomas is a regular bingo player herself and it is a tradition in her family, with three generations of enthusiastic bingo players.  McHale had been exposed to bingo years ago in working men’s clubs and was fascinated by the changes that have occurred to the game through the years.

Mecca Bingo was one of the sponsors of the project as well as The Sponsors Club for Arts & Business.  It is no wonder that Mecca would want to get involved in a project that would record the history of the beloved game.

Stuart Booth, the manager of the Stockton bingo club, said, “We have been catering for Teesside bingo players since the 1960s and when we were asked to get involved to archive some of the history for future generations, it was an invitation we could not ignore”.

Thomas spent weeks interviewing six women and recording their stories and their personal perspectives on what bingo means to them and the changes they’ve seen.  McHale took hundreds of photographs of the bingo club and the players.

Thomas gave her reasons for the project as, “I have been attending the bingo for many years and decided it was time to record the stories of the people who go there.  I wanted to explore the sense of community that is so important to myself, my family and the people who go there”.

McHale was fascinated by the evolution of the industry, saying, “I wanted to capture the astonishing transformation that it has undergone.  The 21st century bingo hall isn’t just a world away from the worn, weary Victorian theatres and the calls of ‘legs eleven’.  With coffee shops serving lattes, bright lights, electronic gaming and breakfast menus, bingo in 2009 is a different universe”.