Former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen talks about daydreaming and rude rhymes
Hackney-resident and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen came face to face with puppets from the Shakespeare-inspired play he wrote, after a performance last Friday.
The beloved author, whose books include Going On A Bear Hunt, answered questions from the audience about The Magician’s Daughter.
“Every story begets another story,” he told them.
“So when the director said to write a follow up to The Tempest I thought ah, The Tempest three to five year olds - what a perfect challenge.”
One youngster told Rosen she had once read one of his books, while another complained the thunder in the production had scared him because it was too loud.
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“We’re going to have to get them to stop that, I already said ease up on the thunder,” he joked, to howls of laughter from the audience.
He told the audience how he came to be an author: “I was quite a daydreamy sort of child and when teachers started talking to me I started to fall asleep, and so they used to say concentrate - and I thought, “I am, I’m concentrating on my daydreaming.”
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“Teachers used to say, “What’s the opposite of hot?” and I would wonder does everything have an opposite, does a washing machine have an opposite?
“I was greatly helped by my mum and dad who knew lots of rhymes and stories and would walk around singing them - some of them very rude actually.”
For more information about The Magician’s Daughter which is showing at Islington’s Little Angel puppet theatre in Dagmar Passage until July 10, see www.littleangeltheatre.com