Kirsty McKay: Trained Actor, Producer, Internationally Acclaimed Children's Author
I was delighted to meet, and interview, Kirsty back in 2019.
Kirsty was already known to me, as I had been delighted to hear her on the radio, talking about dialect poetry in Northumberland.
Also, she was a child actor in the wonderful films made by her father, Dr Keith McKay, (and others from the Coquetdale Film Group). These wonderful people had used Dippie Dixon's celebrated works as a guide. Keith and others re-enacted and filmed many of the old Coquetdale traditions, which Dippie Dixon recorded in this Natural History tomes.
These are important, historical, films that we are so happy to have, for posterity. Obviously, for Kirsty, her father's film making was a huge influence on her growing up.
Other influences had been her teachers, but also, when she attended Drama School (The Guildhall) in London, she was, she told me:
"... lucky enough to be taught by an amazing director called Chattie Salaman, who was like a beautiful, spiky-humoured, female Yoda! (The Star Wars reference is appropriate, because she was Alec Guinness' sister-in-law and would give me apples out of his garden when I was an impoverished drama student.)"
Kirsty firmly believes that the best teachers, the directors and editors she has worked with, do this:
"They plant a creative seed, sit back, and let you discover and realise an idea for yourself."
Kirsty also told me that her husband, John Mawer (another Coquetdale Creative) has been a constant positive influence on her. He is always full of creative ideas:
"He is the kindest person I have ever met, and he makes me laugh".
Kirsty has been up to a great deal since we spoke. You can read about this after the original interview, below.
The 2019 Interview:
The interview was published in the Northumberland Gazette.
Although she was born in Sunderland, Kirsty's heritage is Northumbrian. Her father, Dr Keith McKay, loved getting to know the people and traditional ways of Coquetdale. He formed the Upper Coquetdale Film Group which aimed to film the old ways of life before they disappeared. Kirsty remembers dressing up with other children to take part in activities, such as the goose fair, which would be filmed for posterity. Using Dippie Dixon's famous book: Upper Coquetdale, Northumberland: its History, Traditions, Folk Lore and Scenery as a guide, Kirsty, her father and many others, re-enacted many wonderful events to be caught for future generations on camera.
Kirsty is a very successful author. She was living in Boston, USA, when she wrote her first two books. Ogres Don't Dance and Ogres Do Disco. Aimed at children 7+, these stories are funny and engaging. The first novel for teenagers she had published was Undead - a hilarious book which manages to also be heart-poundingly scary at the same time. The zombie theme has proved to be rewarding, with publishers vying to have the rights to Kirsty's work. Undead, and its sequel, Unfed, are popular in America, published by Scholastic. Kirsty's books are not only successful in the UK and USA - many have been translated into other languages. Undead was made into a short film in Germany; readers had the opportunity to vote on who should act in it!
Self-taught as a writer, Kirsty actually trained as an actor at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This grounding in improvisation, voice, and dialogue has been an enormous benefit to Kirsty as an author.
'It makes you think about each section of a book as a scene'.
In 2018 Kirsty was asked to write and produce a BBC 4 radio programme on Northumberland dialect poetry. This project was very fulfilling, as it made a connection to the work her father had been involved in, when he produced the 'Bygone Coquetdale' films. 'I went out on location with a recorder and it felt wonderful - the curlews and skylarks overhead. I went to Barrowburn and I recorded James Tait reciting 'The Mists o' Barrowlaa'. It was very emotional for me as I had recordings my dad had made of Allan Wood (shepherd dialect poet) in the 1980s. It was really satisfying and moving.'
Kirsty is currently working on another three books. Her most recently published novel, Killer Game, has its location based on Holy Island.
Since then...
Well! you will have to wait a little while as we collate all the exciting projects, new books, and other stuff that Kirsty has been doing. As they say - Watch This Space!
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