THEATRE FOR EVERYONE

Yesterday, one of my local secondary schools took students to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal to watch the matinee performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  Last term one of my kids was lucky enough to go on a school trip to see TWO West End plays in one day, (The Curious Incident and War Horse) They left early and got back at 1am but it was absolutely worth it and the heavily subsidised cost was extremely reasonable.  It was a great experience for all the students.

There’s no getting away from the fact that arranging school trips to go anywhere is a major headache for staff with all the ridiculous form filling, health and safety checks, not to mention chasing payment up, but it’s well worth the hassle to take students to see entertaining, thought- provoking plays.

I’m grateful that many schools are prepared to put in this extra effort and time for their students as so many families can’t afford to take their kids to the theatre.  Schools may be providing the only chance many students get to experience a professionally produced play.  The price of tickets means that theatre excludes many people and that’s why it’s essential that theatres provide decent discounts for school parties, students and those on low incomes.

Theatre still suffers from an image problem.  This perception isn’t helped by the fact that many of them can feel slightly intimidating place (unless you’re going to see the annual Pantomime).  Maybe the atmosphere in many theatres is too formal, maybe it’s the fear of having a coughing fit mid performance that’s stresses people out, but there are plenty of theatres throughout the U.K. that are well run and welcoming to all.  The best theatres can make your visit have a sense of occasion without being stuffy.

Nottingham Theatre Royal

There’s another reason, apart from the cost, why many families rarely go to the theatre and that’s because they think it’s going to be boring and that they’re better off going to the movies.  I know that my kids would always choose the cinema over the theatre. However, many well staged plays can provide immersive experiences to rival that of any film.  For example, the stage version of ‘The Woman in Black’ is widely acknowledged to be scarier than the film and I’ll never forget Steven Berkoff’s production of ‘On The Waterfront’ which felt as powerful as the amazing Brando movie.

Theatre can get children and young adults excited about plays, books, stories.  So many wonderful children’s novels have been adapted into stage plays and watching these productions can introduce them to a whole new generation.

The West End is currently packed with such adaptations; Matilda, War Horse, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Railway Children, Treasure Island, Horrible Histories.  These fantastic plays should be available to all and West End theatres need to keep offering school parties discounted, affordable tickets.  It would also be great if more of these big productions toured the U.K. so people can enjoy them without all the added expense of going to London.

For students forced to study Shakespeare, it can be a revelation going to see the plays performed (I know that it was for me).  Suddenly all this weird language starts to make sense and the drama and intrigue of the play is revealed (I’m a sucker for performances of the Tragedies and Histories, but the Comedies just don’t do it for me).

It’s fantastic to see a theatre packed with teenagers watching productions that bring their set texts to life (like To Kill A Mocking Bird).  However, it’s always reassuring to see all the school parties and know that kids, whose parents can’t afford to take them, aren’t missing out.

 Schools have such an important role to play, not just in education, but in broadening students’ experiences and giving them opportunities that they wouldn’t usually have.  Trips to the theatre can be part of this and so, especially in these pressurised times, I’d like to say well done to all the schools that go that extra mile.

Did your school take you to see plays?  What’s the best play that you’ve ever watched?

 

Paula Rawsthorne is the author of the award winning novels, The Truth About Celia Frost  and Blood Tracks.  She’s a writer-in residence in a secondary school for First Story. 

The YA Book Prize by Keren David

For the last few months  I’ve been part of a team. You might call it #TeamYA.  I was lucky enough to have my book Salvage shortlisted for The Bookseller’s inaugural YA Book Prize, and, despite the best efforts of the wonderful people running the process to turn us into rivals, we shortlisted authors all knew we were on the same side really.

The shortlist turned into a showcase for the breadth of YA, helpfully nudging forward the perennial debate ‘What actually is Young Adult fiction?’    There was horror, comedy, romance, literary fiction, contemporary realism and dystopia on the list. Debut authors and old hands. Protagonists of both genders (no perceived bias towards boy or girl centred books, which was refreshing), and aged from early teens to near-adult. 

 I have no idea how the judges made their decisions, and what criteria you use to decide between such different books. I’m only grateful that my book was one of them, because I can think of many other books that could have been there, such is the talent of the UKYA and Irish YA communities. 

The Bookseller promoted the prize with huge energy, with reviews, Twitter chats, a tumblr blog, a Facebook page, interviews and swag.  Bookshops and libraries put on special displays.  Supporters of my book were encouraged to shout about being on #TeamSalvage (a hashtag more generally used by a skateboarding team in Alberta), but in truth, most readers were generous about all the books, and many took on the challenge of reading and reviewing the whole lot. 

The process culminated in a prize-giving event at Foyles in central London. As you can see from the video above I was so excited that my voice went all squeaky.  Maybe it was the thrill of seeing my book displayed in the Foyles window, alongside the other nine shortlisted books. Of course, it was disappointing not to win -  although I could make a case for almost every book winning – but what a worthy winner we had in Louise O’Neill with Only Ever Yours, a book with the concerns of the teenage girl at the heart of every sentence, and an ending far darker than any YA book I’ve ever read, including The Bunker Diaries. 

Being part of this amazing prize was one of the highlights of my career so far, and I can only dream that one day I might be shortlisted again. Thank you The Bookseller for creating the prize, celebrating UK and Irish YA, and giving us so much to think about along the way. 

Penguin at 80 .... by Miriam Halahmy

Where would I be without Penguin? In 1970 my copy of The Devils by Dostoevsky cost me 50p. My weekly allowance as a student was £5.00. Go figure, as the Americans say.
When I was growing up most of my books came from the library. We couldn't afford to buy books on a regular basis. Access to books was very limited for a thirsty reader like me - we were only allowed to take out three books a week and had no entry to the adult library until we were twelve.

But Penguin was already publishing cheap good quality paperbacks. In 1935 Allen Lane, the director of Bodley Head, found himself on a train platform looking for something to read. The bookstall only stocked magazines and reprints of Victorian novels. Lane decided there and then to set up an imprint he was to call Penguin, to publish good quality contemporary fiction which could be sold all over the country, even in tobacconists, at an affordable price for all.
The first books appeared in summer 1935 and cost just sixpence - the price of a pack of cigarettes. They included works by Agatha Christie and Ernest Hemingway - Penguin had lit the fires of revolution in publishing which has lasted to the present day - 80 years later.

As I entered my teens and started to earn my own money, a proportion was always spent on books and with Penguin I could afford to buy the greatest classics, the best in history, the major authors - anything my heart desired. This edition of Death in Venice, brought out to coincide with the film in 1971, cost me 20p. Even a poor student could afford the riches of Thomas Mann.





Meanwhile Penguin was busy bringing our absolute gems of poetry books and opening up the world of modern poets. They began a series of Penguin Modern Poets with the highlight being Number 10,  'The Mersey Sound', in 1967, the summer of love, with Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten : My copy falls open automatically to Page 19 : 'Love is feeing cold in the back of vans/ Love is a fanclub with only two fans/ Love is walking holding paintstained hands/ Love is... Penguin proved that it was never going to be stuffy, stuck in the dark ages, unable to reach readers of all ages.

Penguin also started its series of modern European poets and opened my eyes to a whole host of poets I had never heard of before : Miroslav Holub, Anna Ahkmatova, Vaska Popa, to name but a few.

Pelican was started in 1937 as the non-fiction imprint for Penguin and heavens only knows how I would have been able to afford books for my degree without them.

And now - to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Allen Lane's brilliant idea - the founding of our beloved Penguin books - Penguin has brought out 80 beautifully produced Little Black Classics and true to their founding principles, each book only costs a totally affordable 80p. I'm not sure if I will buy all 80 but I've already snapped up my first selection and I'm tempted to go for it and get the entire collection. 

Have you started buying your Little Black Classics yet???