Oh Hi There History: An Adaptation of Historical Research and an Exploration of Fidelity Discourse through Practice

Abstract

Abstract Adaptation studies theorists have debated the value and scope of fidelity criticism for decades, but the application of fidelity discourse from an adaptation practitioner perspective is vastly under-researched. Using a practice-based research strategy, this article describes how a consideration of fidelity discourse during the development of the web-series, Oh Hi There History, supported the development of the series as an adapted text and raised new questions about adaptation theory and practice. Oh Hi There History is an adaptation of the Founders and Survivors project’s research into Tasmanian convict history. This article considers the binary of in/fidelity in a practitioner context, analyses how fidelity taxonomies might be applied to the development of an adapted text, and explores the possibilities of applying through practice theoretical approaches to fidelity discourse around intertextuality and history-as-adaptation. By applying these theories in a new context, this article argues that practice-based research can provide new insight into fidelity discourse and new ways of understanding the role of fidelity in adaptation practice.