I used to think being a writer involved
tapping away at a computer in my pjamas, drinking copious amounts of coffee
and then twiddling my thumbs waiting for my editor to read my manuscript. However, I increasingly find myself juggling many
things…writing a new draft of a story, editing older drafts of other stories, discussing
the layout of illustrations, preparing for school visits and trying to answer emails which sift into the computer like snow (as soon as you think you’ve
cleared one load, more drift in) and being distracted by social media. On top
of that, there’s the cooking, cleaning, dog walking etc etc…all of which makes me feel as if I can't quite keep everything together.
But sometimes the planets align and everything
just seems to slot into place. Last week this happened at the Lyric Theatre in
Belfast when theatre, books and birds all came together at the showing of the
stage production of Sky Hawk.
The Lyric, Belfast
The programme for Sky Hawk
It began about eighteen months ago, when a
teacher in North Wales handed a copy of Sky Hawk to Tim Baker, the theatre director
at Theatr Clywd in Mold and suggested that he might like to adapt the book into
a stage play.
When Tim contacted me, I knew in that one
phone call, that his enthusiasm and vision would create something remarkable.
And so, with soaring music composed by Dyfan Jones, Sky Hawk the musical was hatched and took flight at the Theatre Clwyd in North Wales in June/July 2013.
Audience waiting for Sky Hawk to begin
Tim is a champion of bringing the arts to
young people, especially bridging the gap between primary and secondary school,
a time when the creative arts seem to drop out of the school curriculum like fleas
from a dead dog. Not a very good analogy, I know, but I remember my own
experience in that transition, feeling the fun had been taken out of learning and any creative spark extinguished in the race to learn facts for compulsory testing. My experience of creative writing took a thirty-five year gap between the end of primary school and enrolment on a writing course as an adult. Tim's answer is to bring live theatre to schools and provide drama workshops to reconnect children with the arts.
When I saw Sky Hawk for the first time, I
was blown away by it. There is something surreal, uplifting and magical to see
your own story being given new life as a stage production. Tim’s adaptation and
Dyfan’s sweeping music capture the essence of the story. The young actors’
brilliant performances encapsulate what it is to be young and deal with the
dynamics and emotions of friendship. The actors’ singing voices are truly
incredible too…worth going along just to hear them sing. I’m not sure how they
manage three performances a day!
The set design is stunning in its
simplicity; a rugged textured backdrop, onto which the images of flying
ospreys, mountain and desert scenes are projected. As the author of the book,
I loved it, but the real proof of the pudding was seeing the reaction of the
children in the audience. Indeed, Tim’s production was so successful that it
was a sell-out in 2013 and secured a major arts grant to tour Wales in autumn
2014.
Mari Izzard (Iona) Tim Baker (director) Gill Lewis. Berwyn Pearce (Rob) Ebony Feare (Jeneba) Daniel Graham (Callum)
Philip Crawford from the Lyric Theatre in
Belfast saw the production in North Wales and brought it over to the theatre in
Belfast. Philip is a whirlwind
of energy and enthusiasm and he managed to secure sponsorship from Belfast Harbour
to bring 500 children from deprived areas in Belfast to see the show. It was brilliant to meet the children and answer their questions at the end of one of the performances.
Philip and the librarians from the Northern Ireland Library Service invited me along to the first showing of Sky Hawk at the Lyric.

After a great book tour with the libraries last March, I was really chuffed to be invited to join them again
and slightly in awe that they all came along to the first showing of Sky Hawk
at the Lyric. The librarians took up a whole row of seats at the theatre, prompting
the question…what is the collective noun for a group of librarians? Some
suggestions were, a shelf of librarians (slightly dusty connotations?), an
archive of librarians (filed away out of sight?)...hmmm, maybe not.
However, I think maybe it should be an
enthusiasm of librarians. They are a definite force to be reckoned with. Despite
the threat of major cuts, they share their love of literature, taking books into
communities of all backgrounds, and into schools and prisons, and they do it with such a
passion and conviction. It is their calling. They are a diverse range of people
too. One librarian had recently returned from Uganda where she had been teaching sewing skills to
women and children. Indeed, such is their enthusiasm that I am convinced that
if you put a librarian and library in every school, literacy rates would
rocket.
An enthusiasm of librarians
At Finaghy library
Not to be outdone, the RSPB were there in force at the first showing of Sky
Hawk too. The RSPB do an amazing job in schools promoting awareness
and love of birds and nature.
RSPB team
What struck me during my short trip to Northern
Ireland, was the enthusiasm of the people I met and the genuine passion to engage
with young people to encourage a love of theatre, books and wildlife. From the
theatre directors, to the actors, to the librarians, to the staff at the RSPB,
there were no hidden agendas, no motives for personal gain, just a love of what
they do and a motivation to share it with others. It is the arts that help us understand
each other and make sense of the world around us, and so it seems almost criminal
and lacking in foresight to cut funding to such a needed area. Instead, if the
government harnessed this energy and embraced the goodwill and enthusiasm of people like the ones I met during my trip to Northern Ireland, society would
reap the benefits ten times over. I hopefully managed to say such things to Marie-Louise Muir from BBC Radio Ulster.
With Marie-Louise Muir from the Arts Extra BBC Radio Ulster talking about the importance of the arts for young people. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04kfn2j
Sky Hawk Q and A with schools...
There are only a couple of weeks left of the Sky Hawk tour...so catch it if you can soon...but hopefully it will be on tour again.