More than 200 students from Bodmin College and Wildworks Theatre have linked up to produce an ambitious event set on board the town’s famous vintage railway. 

Departures and Arrivals will play out in the waiting room, on the platform and on a train which will leave the station with more than 100 audience members on board its four carriages. 

Real-life stories have been collected and woven together by the college’s Year 9 students who spoke with many people in and around the historic town to collect their memories. There will be two performances at Bodmin Railway on the last day of term, July 26. The first performance starts at 2:15pm, the second at 4:30pm.

The collaboration has been led by the college’s Head of Drama Alison Dures with Drama teacher Sarah Frith, Head of Art Jo Pinhey, Head of Music Ben Vincent, Music teacher Jen Wren, Head of Dance Suzi Groom, Head of Media Emma Macdonald, Head of Graphics Jamie Baldwin and Head of Construction, Paul Hickey, working with the team from Wildworks including Sarah Waller, Kyla Goodey, Ron Mennear, Alessandra Ausenda, Vicky Abbott, Anna-Maria Murphy and Roger Luxton. 

Students have collected tales of comings and goings from relatives and friends and volunteers at the railway and Bodmin Keep military museum. 

They have also had help from Bodmin Jail and the town council. The college’s Year 9 comprises 250 young people and most have been involved, in particular those studying Drama, Art, Music, Dance, Media, Graphics and Construction. In addition, students from Year 12 and several alumni have returned to be involved in this poignant project. 

Alison Dures said: “It’s been a brilliant collaboration involving so many students. They have been capturing stories from the rich history of the town. Working with Wildworks creatives has helped spark their imaginations and develop a wealth of skills. 

“It promises to be quite a show on the 26th with happenings on the platform and in the waiting room, plus exhibitions and installations, and the main drama on the train itself.  

“This is a unique production so the audience will not know what awaits them as they set off on their journey.”  

Sarah Waller, Talent Development Producer for Wildworks, said: “Being part of a process that inspires our amazing young people to think about the rich creativity in Cornwall is essential in building the talent pipeline we need to continue to thrive as a word-class theatre company. Creativity is essential to our lives and the cultural economy that Cornwall prides itself on.” 

The production is one of a multitude of Wildworks-led activities running this year under the banner Hello Stranger, part of an overall programme called We are Shining – the biggest theatre engagement programme ever staged in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  

As well as the Bodmin production, as part of the Hello Stranger activity Wildworks has collaborated on major creative projects with Fowey River Academy and Treviglas School, Newquay.   

There are other similar partnerships in the pipeline with Five Islands Academy on the Isles of Scilly and Looe Community Academy.  

The theatre company has also carried out one-day workshops with eight secondary schools across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and delivered a two-day professional development training for drama teachers invited to work with Wildworks artists in Cornwall’s incredible landscapes.