‘Suffragette City’, an exhibition and immersive experience taking place at the London Pavilion in Piccadilly, opens today.

The National Archives is collaborating with the National Trust to recreate the life of a Suffragette activist. Audience members will learn about Suffragette Lillian Ball, who was arrested for smashing a window in 1912, and with the help of actors, take part in activities to bring to life the experiences of those fighting for suffrage.

Designers have recreated a number of places that are key to the story of the Suffrage movement, including the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) Headquarters, a tea room and a police cell.

High-quality facsimile materials from The National Archives relating to the Suffragette movement are on display and a guidebook has been created based upon these and other papers, photographs, pamphlets and letters.

Vicky Iglikowski, Diverse Histories Specialist here at The National Archives, said: ‘It is exciting to be working on this project that is so directly inspired by The National Archives records. Through the documents we can learn about the difficult choices women and men faced in their campaigns to gain the vote and the huge impact militant campaigns had on government and society.’

Suffragette City will run from 8 to 25 March. The project is part of a wider programme that commemorates 100 years of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which extended the vote to some women and to men over the age of 21.