"The overall project has been going for about three years - we worked in Malta and then Cyprus and this year back in Cornwall. The same basic story is told in the performance but it becomes specific to that particular area.

The outreach programme was for anyone who wanted to get involved, and in Hayle that included schools, local community groups, Hayle Heritage and Coastal Initiative, a samba band, and some individuals.

It was broken down into lots of different groups working on different things which were developed by them and by us and which culminated in, and became part of, the overall event during the interval of Kneehigh Theatre's performance in Hayle.

So it meant that the actual performance was much more directly related to Hayle. We hadn’t just turned up in the town and done a show, local people were involved in the development of it and actually had a role within the show itself.

Most of the money was spent on people, enabling professional community artists to work with local people on developing those projects

For example, one mini-project teamed up a couple of artists to work with pupils and teachers in two of the primary schools. They held a Tea Treat and invited grandparents to pass on stories about the area, encouraging the older generation to mix with the younger, and making them feel that their experience and contribution were considered valuable.

The youngsters found out things they would never have known otherwise about their own town and people they knew, and also met some new people - the Mayor of Hayle came.

Then in the show they had a stall where they were developed cures and potions and traded them with people for memories. It’s quite a different way of looking at it. But It meant that young people learned about the town and then passed on what they had learnt to everyone who came to see the show.

We also offered a week-long intensive training session for people aged 18 to 30 to be trained by Kneehigh in the techniques that we employ, and how we use the local environment in the arts. It all got integrated into the performance, and some of the participants went on to take part in it."