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Cockermouth Georgian Fair
Discovery Walks
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Discovery Walks
Location: Cumbria
The Development of the Discovery Walks on a large scale was made possible by the Heritage Initiative funding. From the outset, this was conceived of as a piece of large-scale street theatre in which small groups of visitors would be given a tour, guided by 18thC characters, around the historic corners, the yards and wents, of the town, encountering scenes that the young Wordsworth might have been familiar with.
We were fortunate to obtain the services of Ian Douglas, Youth Director of Theatre by the Lake and an experienced Street Theatre practitioner, in the devising and rehearsing of the scenes. Ian led a series of inspirational workshops on street theatre, which resulted in almost 60 actors, aged 5 to over 70, taking part, many of whom had never acted before. Several parents, who came to bring their children along, ended up taking part, thoroughly enjoying it, and wanting to take part again.
The walks were developed in parallel with the historical research being undertaken by the Kirkgate Museum Group. We identified 5 areas - industry, health, education, religion and crime, and devised scenes for each of these.
THe assessors, for example (the petty officials of the town), performed their "Lament" in Cockton's Yard, a cobbled, enclosed space just off the Main Street; a scene of hiring a servant at the town's hiring fair was played on the Main Street; a scene of factory children took place in another cobbled yards, where 18thC industrial buildings still remain; John Wesley (in reality the town's Methodist Minister) preached on the steps of the old Wesleyan Chapel; the mature Wordsworth met his younger self (along with Dorothy and schoolmate Fletcher Christian) on the site of the old grammar school.
A team of eight dressmakers worked tirelessly over a period of a few weeks to create 60 authentic costumes. A few frock-coats were hired in from West Yorkshire Playhouse (an excellent source).
THe walks were not without their difficulties. The cold wet weather was a trial for the actors, in position for a total of four hours. The public did not move as rapidly as expected, leading to delays. But many people thought it was the most worthwhile part of the day.
The Discovery Walks may in future be run as a separate annual event, not dependent on the Fair itself.
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