A struggling 21st Century girl discovers an inspiring journal in her mother's attic. Written by a maid in the 17th Century, their parallel lives are movingly similar.

When we first began researching for this project, all we knew was that we wanted to create a piece of drama that was grounded in significant events or notable people from throughout Barnstaple’s rich history. We soon discovered many examples of financially advantaged individuals offering assistance to those less fortunate. At the same time, we noticed multiple instances of individuals from less wealthy backgrounds understanding the importance of education (in a variety of forms) as a tool for raising themselves towards their aspirations.

Our favourite examples were Alice Horwood’s School for Poor Maids, founded in 1659, and W.N.P Barbellion’s accounts of his studies and his struggles in ‘Journal of a Disappointed Man’, first published in 1919. If you were to read the script of the show you would notice asterisks upon several lines of dialogue - these are direct quotes taken from that journal and woven into ours. The students were fascinated by the parallels between these seemingly ancient examples and their own lives or those of their peers.

For the devising process we adopted the process of using a ‘writer-in-the-room’, whereby one of our students (a gifted writer even at y9) took note of all significant lines and instances as they occurred. She and I then developed those observations into our ever-evolving script. Some scenes have undergone multiple revisions and my admiration for the actors, who not only provided the inspiration for the content but then had to learn and re-learn their lines as we tweaked and polished, is enormous.

The work seeks to explore, question and inspire discussion rather than provide answers. We thank you deeply for taking the time to witness our performance and I am sure you will join me in thanking these brave, creative students for the huge amount of time and effort they have given to its development.

Ms Laurie Tarling - Head of Drama, The Park Community School