Theatre needs more funds to engage children, warns Hetty Feather’s creator Jacqueline Wilson

 
A feather in their caps: the cast of Hetty Feather, which is transferring to the West End (Picture: Helen Maybanks )
Helen Maybanks

It is vital that children go to the theatre to help them learn to concentrate and develop a love of the arts, says author Jacqueline Wilson.

The much-loved writer warned that children’s theatres are struggling for funding, adding that if young people miss out on watching plays they will not go on to enjoy them as adults.

Her comments come as it was announced today that a stage adaptation of her book Hetty Feather will transfer to the West End in the summer.

Ms Wilson, 68, who has written more than 100 books including the Tracy Beaker series, said she was “excited” and “thrilled” that the play will be performed at the Vaudeville Theatre.

She said Hetty Feather, a young girl who is abandoned by her mother at the Foundling Hospital as a baby, is her favourite book, and admitted the character is “edging out” Tracy Beaker in her readers’ affections as well. She said: “I think I shall have to stand outside the theatre and have my photo taken saying this is my play! Although it is not my play  …  I just had the original idea.”

Ms Wilson said that theatre is one of the few places where children must concentrate “fiercely”.

She said: “Schools are much more relaxed and happy places now, therefore there can often be a low murmur of conversation. When I was a kid you weren’t there to natter to your friends, you were there to concentrate.

“Children are now asked to learn in a different way. I am not condemning that — it’s lovely that they love to go to school. But they are not often required to sit still and concentrate fiercely. It’s a useful ability.”

She added: “If you don’t engage children with live theatre they will never be interested in going as adults. It’s desperately important to take children to the theatre. I don’t think there is an experience that matches it.”

Speaking about children’s theatre she warned: “Sadly there is not enough funding. There are various valiant companies doing wonderful plays in schools, but it’s getting harder and harder to get funding.”

Ms Wilson said she is pleased that there is interest in shows about female characters such as Hetty Feather and Roald Dahl’s Matilda: “I saw Matilda twice and think it’s fantastic. It’s lovely to see girls being shown as important people that can have exciting adventures and somehow fight their way through to the end.”

Ms Wilson is well known for her writing about young people struggling with less-than perfect lives. She said: “I like to write about sad situations but I do feel if you have unrelenting misery it is too depressing for everybody.

“The way of dealing with hard time is developing a sense of humour and learning to get fun out of life no matter what your situation.”

The play will run from August 5 until September 6

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT