Author: nwadmin

The year’s schedule usually involves playing keyboard/piano and musical direction for a number of shows, and it looked as if 2020 would be no exception. As well as continuing the role of MD/accompanist for Opera Anywhere’s touring shows, including a beautiful new production of Hansel & Gretel, I was working with students on a musical theatre cabaret, with classical singers on a recital of lieder and arias, and as AMD on Music Youth Company Oxford’s production of Chess. Then, as we all know, everything changed. Key workers, carers, families, victims of the virus have waged a traumatic and relentless daily battle. Businesses have struggled and, in some cases, failed to survive. Arts venues and livelihoods have faced a deeply uncertain future. Those who work in the arts know that they are not just about having a bit of fun (vital though that is). Music, dance, theatre, literature—these are all ways of expressing our humanity, learning to work together, enhancing physical and mental well-being, understanding life. And the amateur and professional arts worlds are meshed together: they cannot survive without each other. At the time of writing, there are finally signs of support for the theatre and music worlds, and I’ve been delighted to play for a number of socially distanced outdoor shows.

Certainly those in the industry have never stopped their creativity and optimism. Many and various new digital projects  include recording, teaching videos introducing school students to opera and operetta.

Science and art together make life liveable. So I’m looking forward to all those paused projects, and plenty of new ones, springing back into life, and am hugely relieved to start getting back into rehearsal rooms, theatre spaces, and even the howling gales and downpours of the outdoor performance.
Altogether, now—ready, AND …!

I’ve written six novels and many short stories. The most recent novels—Birdcage, Hidden Gems and Breakage—are published by Gurning Gnome. Click here for the Facebook page, and here to see my Amazon page—or click on any of the book covers at the foot of the homepage. For more information, including reviews and news of the gnomefest video literary festival, go to the Words menu on my homepage, and select Fiction.

My latest novel , published by Gurning Gnome, is the story of Nathan Hill, a man who collects fragile and beautiful works of art, and the chance encounter with a former lover which threatens to break everything apart. Available on Amazon and Kindle. If you enjoy it—and even if you don’t—please contribute to the Amazon reviews. Writing is a two-way process, and I’d love to hear your side of the conversation. Here’s some of the feedback received from readers so far:

‘An enjoyable and thought-provoking read.’

‘Loved it. Interesting how dangerous revisiting the past can be.’

‘Heartbreaking. Compelling. Acutely observed. Effortlessly and subtly witty. The writing as beautifully and skilfully crafted as Nathan’s glass collection.’

The African savannah was re-created in Didcot’s Cornerstone arts centre, at the latest Musical In A Day children’s workshop. Joining me for a day exploring ‘The Lion King’ was dancer Rhonda Sparrey, and together we led fifteen 6- to 9-year-olds through the story, songs, dialogue and movement of the hit musical, even making good use of break-times to draw characters and events for our pop-up gallery. At the end of a busy and creative day our hard-working cast presented a potted version of the musical for their parents. This workshop followed several others in the same series: ‘Discover Annie’, ‘Discover Oliver!’, and ‘Discover Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’.

Pictured are the children’s technicolour illustrations for ‘Joseph’ and some of the home-made masks we used to create the Lion Kingdom.

I’ve also had great fun working with Creation Theatre on their holiday workshop weeks, most recently collaborating with drama leads Eloise Sheffield and Katie Blackwell to devise a piece of musical theatre with a group of 9- to 12-year-olds. At the end of the week they performed ‘Villains’ to an appreciative audience of family and friends, complete with original songs such as ‘Stay at home Wolf’ and the Stepmother Rap.