A GROUP of children are bringing the past to life through dance, drama and song.
Young people in Stroud developed their show through Roots & Reflections, a creative heritage project led by Gloucestershire Libraries, Gloucestershire Archives, and The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project has brought together older and younger generations, inviting long-time residents to share their memories of life in and around Stroud.
Those memories have now been transformed by the children into a stage production that tells the story of the town’s past.
Florrie Taylor of The Roses Theatre, who helped run the Stroud workshops and performance, said: "Roots & Reflections began life last year, when Gloucestershire Libraries started recording the memories of people born just after the Second World War.
"We’re now in the phase of enabling young people to re-interpret these memories in creative ways.
"It’s a love letter to the local community."
The show includes personal stories of Saturday afternoons at Sheepscombe Cricket Club, Friday nights in the Bungalow Bath, and late-night walks home across the fields of the Five Valleys.
The children performed the piece for the first time on Saturday, March 14 at the Centre for Science and Art on Lansdown in Stroud.
The performance featured a mix of drama, music and movement, including scenes about ballroom dance lessons at Audrey Butts.
Further performances are planned, including a showcase in May at The Roses Theatre as part of a larger event featuring other groups from across Gloucestershire.
Ms Taylor said: "We’ve asked local people to record their stories, and we’ve asked local children to set these to song and dance in local places: parish halls, scout huts, and so on.
"And then in May we all get together for one big show in Tewkesbury, where the children will take over the whole theatre building, performing new material as well as reviving their first show."
All of the memories collected during the project will be preserved in Gloucestershire Archives as part of the county’s heritage records.
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