The Lost Letters

Come Together: The Lost Letters was a community project designed to give the people of Saffron Walden the opportunity to work creatively together, guided by professional theatre makers, musicians and composers. Through this collaboration we hoped that cultural and generational myths would be dispelled and that all involved would learn from one another, forge new relationships, and ultimately become performing partners.

For many people in this newly formed group, it was their first experience of a creative workshop environment such as this. This particular process was designed to ask a lot, inviting people to open up, delve into their pasts, voice their beliefs and struggles, trust and share. Thankfully they embraced it wholeheartedly. After only a couple of sessions many people discovered the hidden dancer or actor surfacing, or produced beautifully written poetry or dialogue for the first time in years!

The project was structured so that our groups would work separately early on and only correspond through letters, swapping memories and sharing writing. Through these processes their relationship gently grew through the written word. By the time the groups met they already felt connected and familiar. The first meeting was full of warmth, laughter and mutual respect.

The second phase of the project was a series of intergenerational workshops building material from the histories of those involved, deepening group trust and developing performance skills. These were followed by a couple of rehearsals where we attempted to weave together the results of our time together.

After such a beautiful and successful process we go into our last phase: our sharing. Many of the people you see on stage will be ‘treading the boards’ for the first time ever, and almost every word you hear, every picture you see, every story told will have come from those you see before you, and the generous collaborators of the Come Together community.

Rachel Yates
Artistic Director, The Lost Letters