Theatre, Film & Opera

Nicky’s novels, which have been described as ‘fearlessly dramatic’, have often caught the eye of television and theatre producers.

Feather Boy

Television

Even before Feather Boy won the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award, it had been spotted by Childsplay producer Peter Tabern, who wanted to adapt it for television. The result was a fantastic six-part drama starring Thomas Sangster as Robert and Sheila Hancock as Edith. The BBC also broadcast it as a 90 minute film.

View an excerpt from the movie.

Feather Boy went on to win the Best Drama category in the children’s BAFTAs 2004. The award actually went to Producer Peter Tabern and Director Dermot Boyd, but here’s Nicky getting her little piece of glory.

Crumbs – she’s even wearing make-up

Feather Boy

Theatre

The National Theatre then commissioned Peter Tabern and Nicky to re-write Feather Boy as a Musical with lyrics by Don Black and music by Debbie Wiseman. The piece, which is now published by Collins (see Books) was devised as part of the National’s Connections series. Over 200 schools take part in Connections, each school selecting one of ten newly commissioned pieces to perform. One production of each script in the portfolio is then showcased as part of the National Theatre’s Festival of new writing for young people at the NT on the South Bank.

There were about 25 performances of Feather Boy nationwide and two of the best ones were produced in Brighton, Nicky’s home town.

Here is the winning group, Blatchington Mill, performing at the National. They were awesome!

And here’s a picture of Don, Nicky and Debbie receiving their Cactus Awards on the night. Cactus? Don’t ask.

Since then the National’s Discover Programme have re-commissioned Feather Boy as a full length Musical and the team have re-written it again – this time for performers under 12 and over 70. Musicals are very expensive to produce, so they go through a rigorous work-shopping process. Feather Boy was workshopped at the National in July (with Elizabeth Counsell playing Edith and Thomas Patten, Robert) and then performed to a select band of industry professionals. The team hope you may be able to see a production in London – or a theatre near you – soon. Nicky will post any news on the blog.

View details of Feather Boy at the National Theatre or click this link for information on Discover’s new work for young people.

Knight Crew

When Nicky had written about 150 pages of Knight Crew, Julian Philips stepped into her life. Composer-in-Residence at Glyndebourne, he came to ask whether he could adapt Feather Boy for opera. But, as we know, it was already under commission as a musical. But, Nicky said, there is this piece I’m working on now – a re-telling of the Arthur legend set in contemporary gangland – very operatic, grand themes of love and passion and betrayal. Julian was interested, as was director John Fulljames of the Opera Group. The three made a pitch to Glyndbourne for the Youth and Community slot 2010 and won the commission.

View the Glyndebourne official Knight Crew Opera website

Knight Crew by Nicky Singer retells the legend of King Arthur as the story of Art, Quin and Lance – members of a teenage knife gang who experience violence, love and a revelation of how their lives may be changed and their world remade.

In March 2010 Knight Crew was staged as an opera at Glyndebourne with a cast of young adults (libretto by Nicky Singer, music by Julian Philips) – Glyndebourne’s first ever commission from a teen novel.

Nicky says:
Wow. I left the planet for a few week in March. Watching Knight Crew in rehearsal – and then on that hallowed stage in front of packed houses four nights in a row – what can I say? Here are a few pictures that give some small taste of it – but imagine this, imagine you made up a whole group a people, a whole universe, and four years later, they all got up on a stage, they walked, they breathed, they sang. And they broke your heart. Night after night. That’s what it was like for me.

The Crew on Es Devlin's amazing revolving set