You might not be very fast at the 100m, be able to throw a javelin more than a few feet or do that funny walking marathon thing but that doesn't mean you cannot be a part of London 2012.

Tara Arts is offering young people across the capital the chance to be part of a performance on a boat sailing down the Thames from Wandsworth to Greenwich as the culmination of a major three-year project.

Between now and the games, it will develop an interactive theatre performance project with the youngsters inspired by the heritage of the lascars, the migrant sailors who worked on British ships on the Thames and in the navy in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

From Bengal to China, West Africa and eventually to London the sailors were shipped out to Great Britain as cheap labour by the Calcutta-based East India Company.

In conjunction with Greenwich Theatre and Croydon Clocktower, Tara will be helping young people research the history of the lascars and to develop the performance from their findings.

Two hour taster workshops were held this weekend in Greenwich and Croydon, with three two-week long projects taking place in July and August available for 90 people.

During the first week, the young people will research lascars' stories, carry out oral history interviews and visit archives and locations across London including the National Maritime Museum and the Museum of London.

During the second week they will devise and rehearse a short performance based upon their research findings, which will be showcased at the end of the two weeks.

"Through our own voyage of discovery we hope to find out who the lascars were and the impact they had on communities in London," said project director Jules Tipton.

"Our aim is to give the young people a taste for history by getting them really excited about other people’s past. We hope this will inspire them to study their own stories."

The fortnight-long projects take place at Croydon Clocktower (020 8253 1034) from July 25 to August 7, TARA Studio (020 8333 4457) from August 10 to 21 and Greenwich Theatre (020 8858 4447) from August 19 to 29.

Those wishing to take part in one should contact the venues or email Sarah Clews at admin@tara-arts.com or visit tara-arts.com.