One night, early in the winter of 1999, Nancy Beck woke up at 3:00 a.m. with the title and the first paragraph of A Rowboat in the Attic in her head. Her Scots superstitions kicked in and she promptly started work on the play. Nancy premiered A Rowboat in the Attic in the fall of 1999. Since then she has been presenting the show to enthusiastic audiences across Prince Edward Island.

A Rowboat in the Attic tells the funny, intriguing, and often touching tale of Inkerman House and its inhabitants. Since its premiere, this one-woman tour-de-force has been hailed by audiences and critics alike. "Great entertainment!" (Journal-Pioneer). "A tiny theatrical gem...touching, hilarious, and totally compelling...A Rowboat in the Attic captivates and enchants." (Charlottetown Guardian). "Such magical stories...Beck adeptly evokes humour, poignancy, and mystery." (The Buzz). "Highly amusing...a wonderful cast of characters...delightful!" (Voice for Island Seniors).

Inkerman was the home of Colonel John Hamilton Gray, a Father of Confederation and the chairman of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference. In fact, the Fathers dined at the estate located on the outskirts of Charlottetown. There is a story that Colonel Gray believed PEI was going to be hit by a tidal wave and, in preparation, he had a fully provisioned rowboat stored in the attic, ready to sail out the bay window as the water level rose.

The tidal wave never materialized and the rowboat has long since disappeared, but the story has continued on, as have the stories of the many mischievous goings-on at Inkerman.

After Colonel Gray died, Inkerman was purchased by Nancy Beck's great-great-grandfather and it remained in the family for almost a century. In A Rowboat in the Attic we hear all the old family stories, along with bits and pieces of songs that were performed at the Inkerman shindigs - the wonderful parties that dotted the history of the house and were at the core of Inkerman's personality. It was a house full of laughter, love, humour, and much joy. The magic of Inkerman shaped the characters of the people fortunate enough to have spent time there, fortunate enough to have experienced a way of Island life that is rapidly disappearing as people forget to take the time to play.

A Rowboat in the Attic appeals to a broad age range. Youngsters delight in stories of the rowboat and the Colonel's ghost. Seniors relive bittersweet memories of the war years. Everyone is entertained by Nancy's renditions of various "party pieces", especially a zany one-person, three-part version of "Whispering Hope". And to top it off, the whole show is followed by a fascinating exhibit of photographs of Inkerman and its people.