My fellow scouser Roger McGough (OBE no much less, plus a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature!) is an absolute icon within the poetry world. His e book The Mersey Sound, written with Brian Patten and Adrian Henri, was key in reworking poetry through the Sixties and has bought over a million copies. He’s not solely a poet however a celebrated musician, broadcaster and playwright. And for me as a reviewer of kids’s theatre, it’s tremendous thrilling to know that he’s presently creating stage exhibits for kids with the wonderful Jam Jar Productions. Final 12 months’s manufacturing Cash-Go-Spherical obtained great vital acclaim and even gained the Greatest Youngsters’s Present award on the Edinburgh Fringe.
And now I’m massively over-excited as a result of we get to speak with the fabulous Mr McGough, and ask him about this 12 months’s manufacturing, The Sound Collector.
Roger, it’s so incredible to speak with you at present about this new household present, The Sound Collector. Are you able to inform us concerning the poem it’s primarily based on and the way it lends itself to the musical?
The poem has been round for a very long time and it’s turn into highly regarded with colleges. Typically I’ve lecturers sending me variations of it that the kids have written. And that’s what you need to do with a poem: you need them to say ‘Oh, I can try this’, or be impressed by it to do one thing themselves. Poetry is just not for the elite, it’s for everyone. The factor is – it’s hardly sinister, however there’s this horrible character, and it’s as much as the kids how they see it. The play is definitely primarily based on two characters. One is a blind musician, though initially I wrote it as only a particular person. I’m most likely extra within the neighbour. She’s an influencer, and you know the way children will be now – so aggressive about on-line stuff: you’ve obtained to be lovely, you’ve obtained to be intelligent. And we’re not – we’re extraordinary. I simply wished to say that. This influencer finally ends up saying ‘I seem like a princess on TikTok, however I’m actually not’. She finally ends up together with her buddies and there’s a message we now have to look out for one another. The essential issues are what we get from one another and our youngsters, actually.
You’ve labored with Jam Jar Productions with nice success on Cash-Go-Spherical final 12 months. Is that this the identical crew, and the way has it been working with them once more?
Sure, the identical crew. It’s nice working with my buddies. Steve Halliwell has put some beautiful music into the present, and the identical with Jonny Danciger – he’s a very good director. His ardour is definitely as a sound engineer, so this kind of factor is true up his avenue, introducing attention-grabbing sound into the present. And we needed to resolve how a lot do you make the sound and the way a lot do you allow it to the viewers’s creativeness? Additionally, poetry feeds into the descriptions – just like the wind rustling by the timber – and the phrases do a few of the sound work. We’re a great crew, discovering the stability between what’s created, the way it’s created and what’s left to do within the creativeness. We play to what we’re good at and all of it comes collectively to provide one thing, hopefully, excellent.
How do you make such a brief piece of verse into an hour lengthy present?
Effectively, I can let you know how I’ve achieved it however don’t inform anybody! [Ed: Oops! Sorry Roger but here goes!] By including different poems. Once I have a look at my ‘oeuvre’, let’s name it, there are many poems which can be all about the identical factor in a method. There’s additionally one referred to as ‘The Color Collector’. In a way in case you’re blind the Sound Collector is essential to you, in case you’re visible the Color Collector is harmful as nicely. You’ll be able to lose that sense of seeing issues. So, a number of poems there concerning the senses. I’ve obtained all these poems on the market and when you begin fascinated about it they arrive collectively and assist one another out, you understand?
One among your most celebrated performs was an adaptation of Molière’s traditional Tartuffe, translated from French into your individual verse and prose. Sounds difficult, however is it probably more durable to make work for a brutally trustworthy younger viewers?
Effectively, critics will be brutally trustworthy as nicely, as you understand. Once I was requested to do Tartuffe, I assumed “I can’t do that. I’m not intelligent sufficient. I’m from Liverpool. I didn’t go to Cambridge. I’m a linguist.” All these issues. After which you could have a go, and after I began doing it I realised I used to be good at it. I gave a nod, in fact, to Molière, and he agreed with me I’d have a go – and I loved doing it. I let the characters take over and work into the prose and verse. However you do one thing like that and also you’re very conscious it’s one thing an grownup would take pleasure in – though children got here too and so they loved it. Anyway, I pulled that one off. Now with this piece for kids, the work’s extra playful actually. We’ll see. Hopefully they’ll take pleasure in this play, and the children, their mums and dads will take a few of the poetry and songs alongside residence with them – share the expertise. I’m positive they’ll inform me what they suppose!
Work for kids is commonly thought of the poor relative in theatrical phrases, so it’s incredible to see somebody together with your literary pedigree creating tailor-made items for younger folks. What’s your motivation?
Attention-grabbing you say that. I’ll let you know why, probably why, folks don’t do that work – as a result of I don’t suppose there’s a lot cash in it. If you’d like stardom, otherwise you need no matter, I do know you don’t write youngsters’s performs. You do it since you do it. And also you bear in mind the kid inside your self and need to please others and make them blissful, in a way. It could be good if my work will get on the market and it reaches folks. However I’d by no means thought it’d try this, truly, wanting again. By no means thought ‘Lily the Pink’ would attain primary but it surely did!
What reactions do you hope to have out of your audiences?
They’ll be chilled when the Sound Collector strikes amongst them within the auditorium in darkness. They’ll snigger on the gags, and there’s a couple of grown-up gags thrown in. They’ll really feel sorry for the influencer and snigger on the magic. They’ll be a part of within the poems. The actors take pleasure in it when the children can see what’s coming, and that kind of stuff. There are some surprises, and so they’ll perhaps whistle the tunes once they go away.
I like it after I hear from a college group afterwards and the children have despatched me packages and poems with their very own variations of a present. It displays their very own lives and that’s particular. It makes me snigger! And now after I do poetry studying and e book signings folks come as much as me and say “You got here to our faculty” or “I learn your poem after I was in school”, and these persons are fairly outdated now – 60s or 70s perhaps, in order that’s an impression throughout a lifetime, which is nice.
And the million greenback query, the place will The Sound Collector be going to after OSO Arts Centre?
It’s going to Glastonbury and so am I! Bloody hell! I’ve signed up for it – I don’t know why. In a second of insanity! I’m doing an adults’ present and a children’ one as nicely. After which we’re setting The Sound Collector up for a tour early subsequent 12 months, which I’m leaving to the fellows at Jam Jar to organise.
It’s such a pleasure to listen to from Roger on this fabulously enjoyable new present, and we want the entire crew nicely with the venture. As we are saying in Liverpool, ta la!
Roger McGough’s The Sound Collector performs at OSO Arts Centre from 11-12 Might and particulars will be discovered right here.
