Music. Oof.

One of the pleasures of becoming a writer has been meeting so many talented and creative people. I have become aware of a whole network of local writers, scriptwriters, poets, artists, and musicians. There are a myriad of events, workshops and get togethers each offering support and encouragement. The local creative community is stronger than ever and supported by some passionate and selfless people. I first became aware of the work of Allison Davies through my friends Vic Watson and Jason Thompson. I read a post about a bold and exciting new commission by a theatre company based on Teeside called Zen Gun. The piece, written by Alli is called 'Trade' and deals with the issues of young girls being forced into prostitution and slavery in the name of tradition and religion. Alli comes from the boldest pool of creativity and writing, the type of voice we need more of, someone who uses her considerable talent to challenge the difficult issues so often buried or overlooked by the mainstream. It's a pleasure to welcome Alli as a guest on my blog today to continue my series around the theme of music and its influence on local creatives. So enough of me, over to Alli now. Music. Oof. I could talk for hours, no days, no, weeks. Well, OK. I could talk about it for a long time, about the influence it has on my life and writing, but I assume you all have far more interesting things to do than listen to me blether on, so I’ll keep it brief. My earliest musical memory is of driving my Mum bonkers by asking her to play ‘The Rosy record’ over and over again as the music made me feel like there were birds taking flight inside my chest. I still have the record, red and yellow roses on the sleeve, a little warped and battered, and with a few scratches, though it does play, a selection of Rachmaninoff piano concertos that still have the power to wake those birds and set them flying. As Delius said, ‘Music is an outburst of the soul.” and perhaps that’s true of any creative expression. It’s marvellous, powerful and I can’t imagine life without it, the literary Spanx that underpins everything I write. I even borrowed the title of an Elbow track for one of my plays, but that was less a considered decision and more a case of blind panic at a looming deadline. I still love it though. The track. And the play wasn’t too bad either. On which note… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f724-IJc1wM A little Rachmaninoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGOihjqO9w And a current favourite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t9KHSaJ_GY

Allison Davies is a writer from Northumberland, UK who writes scripts, prose and poetry. She’s worked with various theatre companies including OddManOut, Precious Cargo and Alphabetti Theatre and has published poetry in a number of zines.

Alli also works with Danusha, a social enterprise helping Nepali women. She has the perfect arts CV. Having trained as a lawyer and then a nurse, she ran away to sea then came back to the UK stop study for an MA in Creative Writing. She loves travelling and is addicted to tea, preferably served with a hippy on the side. To find out more about Zen Gun Theatre, 'Trade' and more of Alli's work check out: http://www.zengun.co.uk