Clara
Watch Clara's Pilot TV Episode Below!
Clara Maria Clarkson and her friends defied social convention, living openly as part of a nurturing Queer community localised around the Wakefield Unitarian Chapel.
Wakefield’s ‘great and good’, fearing scandal if secrets came to light, petitioned to have Clara’s journals destroyed. Out of a total of 40 journals only 4 survived, which were de-coded and re-written in the book ‘Merrie Wakefield’ by Ann Jacques, a distant relative. Now, 130 years after Clara’s death, her voice endures and her story will be told.
Clara Clarkson is Number 13 in our quest for #BluePlaqueParity.
We unveiled Clara’s plaque at an end-of-project celebration held at Wetsgate Chapel in 2019.
Clara Clarkson Broadsheets
Learn about Clara’s life from our broadsheets based on intensive research by the Forgotten Women of Wakefield’s head researcher Helga Fox and research team. Please click through to zoom in on each broadsheet. If you require a different format, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via hello@dreamtimecreative.org
Creative Response: Clara the TV Drama
We created Clara as a TV drama about an interesting figure who lived in 1850s Wakefield. Clara Clarkson was a suffragist, an abolitionist and a lover and protector of women in the Merrie City.
“Clara struggles to balance her relationship with companion Harriet and what is expected from her in Victorian society, dodging the charms of doting widower Henry and the vehement disapproval of her mother Sarah.”
Teaser Trailer
The pilot of Clara premiered at a live screening on International Women’s Day, 8th March 2020 at the Mechanics’ Theatre in Wakefield.
Clara appeared at a number of film festivals and received praise from award panelists and viewers alike.
Watch the trailer for the award-winning Clara below:
Clara Clarkson Blue Plaque Unveiling
But Clara's Story Wasn't Over...
Clara Clarkson's Merrie Wakefield
Thanks to the tireless efforts of lead researcher Helga Fox, we are publishing a new version of Merrie Wakefield. Entitled “Clara Clarkson’s Merrie Wakefield” this volume presents Jacques’ original text alongside startling new insights uncovered by Helga, digging into court cases and scandal, local events, the cholera epidemic, and more.
