Interview of my Career so far:

Silver Arts Award – Practitioner Interview

Kaya Litherland interviews Abi Hutchison.

November 2022

Do you remember the first poem you ever wrote?

I don’t remember the contents of it but I remember writing it. I leant on my knee and watched the mouthy poets perform. I was unaware that I’d shortly go on to make my first stage debut as part of the Mouthy Poets sharing night later that month!

What is your favourite book?

Fiction - ‘Eve Out of Her Ruins’ which is a psychological fiction exploring the lives of 4 main protagonists and the “ruins” they each find themselves in. I read it during lockdown and was captivated by its exploration into teenage identity and the portrayal of nature, both human and natural. Interestingly, it is also a book in translation and was originally French :)

Poetry - ‘The Mersey Sound - That’s How the Light Gets In’, which is a collection of poetry by Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten - the Liverpool Poets. The collection explores the poetic scene of Liverpool and highlights the city as a focal point for popular culture in the 80’s.

What are your favourite genres to write?

I would describe my work as both political and personal. I aim to portray the everyday through humour, romance and reality.

So, you write and perform poetry. Do you also act?

I have acted from a young age and called myself an actress prior to calling myself a poet. I joined my first drama group at the age of 8 before later joining a company called: “Junk Shop theatre company” at the age of 13.

Drama and spoken word worked hand in hand to develop my practice and confidence as a young girl, however I no longer call myself an actor. Whilst studying A-level drama, I fell out of love with acting and instead fell into the world of backstage theatre craft and script writing. Ever since I have taken a back seat to acting and although I have appeared in a few things since leaving school including a show at Nottingham Playhouse called “A Day in the Life of Roxy Ellison” I would say that acting is no longer a passion of mine.

How long have you been involved with Nottingham Playhouse? How did you first discover the Playhouse? And please can you tell me what your involvement entails and how you became involved? What are you learning from that involvement – is it helping you develop as a writer?

I firstly became aware of Nottingham Playhouse when I was 9 years old. My mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer and therefore I spent a lot of time with her best friend Anne Holloway. Anne is an incredible woman who was and still is involved in the poetry scene of Nottingham. At the time, Anne ran Mouthy Poets at Nottingham Playhouse and would take me to these meet ups where I’d sit at the back with my toy bear (that I still have!) and listen to the art that was being created. Ever since, I have wanted to one day facilitate a space that felt just as warm and inviting.

Despite my first connection to Nottingham Playhouse being very young, I initially lost my ties to them when I was around 12 when the funding for mouthy poets was cut and did not continue this relationship until 4 years later.

At 16 I entered the Playhouse doors in a very different capacity, I was no longer holding my bear and instead was holding an application to the “Homegrown” creatives group they had just started. I was lucky enough to be accepted and ever since my capacity at the playhouse has grown exponentially. I now sit on the Playhouse youth board, am part of the freelance team and run 2 collectives: Nottingham Queer Arts Collective and Speak Easy. The Playhouse has truly become a big of my journey and continually helps me develop as a young person aiming to make a name within the creative industry.

My role there is dependent on what project I am there to undergo, however one thing that never changes is my advocation for young people and trying to make any space I am lucky enough to be a part of as accessible as possible. I aim to show people that I was simply a young girl who walked through the playhouse doors ready to say yes to opportunities and try new things and now I am not only part of their family but also confident enough in myself to realise I am a creative and practitioner both in and outside the Playhouse doors.

Do you have any ongoing writing projects that you have been working on for a long time, or do you write one thing at a time?

I have 2 main projects on at the moment. 1 of these is a 1 women show called ‘Cocoon’ which explores the story of El, a 26-year-old who left her hometown 10 years ago to escape her mother and parts of herself. However, after no previous communication her mother sends her a letter. Enclosed is a train ticket and a promise of change and growth.

This one women show is set to go to Nonsuch theatre on the 28th January so I am currently undergoing preparations including casting the actress and marketing the show for audiences.

As well as this, I have recently been given the opportunity to write a short chapter as part of a book in 2024 about what it means to be a poet in the modern age so I’m currently writing my first draft of that.

How do you get ideas for poems?

It depends on the urgency of me getting the poem done. If it is a poem I am being commissioned for I tend to use prompts online, random word generators or an app I have found called ‘Spine Sonnet’. However, if I’m writing for the fun of it or due to its cathartic nature I I tend to wait until inspiration comes to me and keep note on my phone.

Can you tell me about some important milestones or events in your writing journey?

Mouthy Poets - Being in that space cultivated my desire to explore the creative world at such a young age.

Nottingham Central library/Writing East Midlands - At 14, a previous member of mouthy poets invited me to become a shadow writer at the local library. I spent my Saturdays in a tiny room, sorting out admin, supporting with workshops and most importantly giving myself time to write, receive feedback and perform.

English Literacy Ambassador with UNESCO - I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to represent my school as an English intervention mentor where I got involved in local literacy feats including Big City Reads and general networking opportunities. One networking opportunity was the chance to join the UNESCO City of Literature youth board which I am not fortunate enough to chair.

Nottingham Playhouse - As previously mentioned, I rejoined Nottingham Playhouse at the age of 16 and learnt an exponential amount from the creatives around me. During my second year I was approved to put on a play I had recently written called “Accidental Death of an Activist”. This play was a re-imagining of Dario Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ titled ‘Accidental Death of an Activist. Whilst using the same basic plot and character types as Fo’s original text, I recontextualised these elements to focus upon the injustice the BAME community is subjected to at the hands of the Metropolitan Police. Through the use of real-life police cases and figures throughout my play, each individual character is intended to act as a satirical caricature of systemic racism in contemporary Britain.

Due to its success at the Playhouse, I then went on to tour this play at Nottingham New Theatre which felt like an important milestone as I got to speak to audience members who were positively affected by this play and individuals who expressed their gratitude for telling this story.

This experience also gave me the confidence to keep pushing which is one of the reasons I am now fortunate enough to be putting on a second play at Nonsuch and be considered in a book all about what it means to be a poet!

As well as this, my links to the playhouse have meant I am able to develop my writing through partitioning, as shown through Speak Easy which is the Spoken word collective I run and am currently expanding with Writing East Midlands, Nottingham Playhouse and UNESCO city of literature.

Who are the writers you particularly admire? And what do you learn from them, or how do they inspire you?

I’ve always admired local writers because I can see parts of their story within mine. These include Anne Holloway who first introduced me to the writing scene and has achieved a multitude of things including releasing a publishing company and directing Nottingham Poetry Festival. As well as this, I have a fantastic professional relationship with Jim Hall who has acted like a mentor and older brother figure in these past 10 years. His writing is captivating and I find myself reaching for his poetry when feeling uninspired. More recently I have also had the privilege of meeting Casey Bailey and find both his story an his work inspiring.

Do you think of yourself as ‘a writer’ or ‘a poet’ as a profession? If so, has that taken time to get used to?

I think I firstly considered myself a writer when I wrote Accidental Death of an Activist as I saw my name on the script so much during the rehearsal process and now have a number of scripts I cannot deny I have written. Therefore, it has now become part of my creative identity.

The title poet is a little bit different for me, I have been writing poetry for years but find I only call myself a poet when delivering workshops to young people because I feel poetry is just part of me rather than a separate title I give myself.

When asked in interviews or by creative professionals I usually call myself: a poet, practitioner, playwright and educator who constantly merges the themes of personal and political writing.

What do you do if you get stuck with a piece?

A lot of the time if I have the luxury to do so I will just walk away from the screen or page an go back to it at a later date because I find that distance sparks my creativity. However, sometimes I acknowledge it’s a necessary hill to climb so when I am stuck I sometimes brainstorm around the line I have or use random word/ sentence generators until I can find something that fits.

What are you working on at the moment? And how’s it going?

30 poems in 30 days! To mark poetry month I am attempting to write 30 poems in 30 days and sharing it on my writing account at the start of each week (__abigail__writes__) This challenge is really difficult as sometimes you write about things for the sake of writing a poem for that day. However, I am finding it super beneficial for my mental health as I have to put aside a little bit of time everyday to write :)

As previously mentioned I am also currently trying to grow and expand my spoken word collective Speak Easy: this collective is for emerging artists and focuses on creating a safe space to perform and simply be. This collective means a lot to me and I’m really excited to see where I can take this.

Have you got a plan or an aspiration or hope for the next 5, 10 years – or do you ‘take things as they come’?

In the next few years I am hoping to move out of Nottingham and am currently looking at the possibility of moving to London. To do this, I understand I will first need stability so have been doing a digital marketing course to gain a qualification. Therefore, I will be able to apply to jobs in publishing houses and as a social media intern in theatres and work my way up.

I understand this is a different route to many and am happy to admit that in the next 5-10 years I may attend university in order to maintain my stability but for now I am happy with the route I am going without the need for a degree.

What advice would you give to a young or emerging writer?

1. Don’t be afraid to do things differently. Spend your weekends looking for new workshops, collectives and attempt to network. People in the creative scene want to help and all you need to do is ask.

2. Try to figure out what your niche is, whether you are a poet, a writer, a practitioner an actor, something else or a combination of a few and own it. No one can take that title from you.

3. Say yes to things that inspire you, don’t let a lack of experience deter you.

4. Join mail chains to inform you of what’s going on

5. Have a look out for youth boards to join e.g Nottingham Playhouse, City Arts and UNESCO city of literature

6. Appreciate the opportunities In Nottingham, it’s a culturally rich and creative city with a creative corner to utilise and enjoy.

7. Don’t be afraid to email organisations if you have any questions or if you wish to ask about any opportunities they have that are not marketed well.