This week we invite Mike Woods to write about his teacher at school, Toby hill. Mike Woods’s play ‘A Change of Heart’ opened this week at the theatre upstairs, Liverpool.
‘When I got into the sixth form it school, one of my first lessons was with Toby hill. From that first lesson English became my greatest love. Toby never thought that he was the most important person in the classroom. He always listened to everybody’s ideas. But above all he showed us that language and poetry and drama were about people and their ideas and their feelings. He showed us his love of English and his excitement.
All the time, he questioned:“ What is this writer trying to say? How does she do it?” He taught us to take a sentence to pieces to see how it was made. Then the same with a paragraph. Finally he showed us that it was important to plan a text, whether a poem or a play. He opened a lot of doors for me. Above all he never let us accept his ideas.“You don’t have to agree with me,” He used to say.“ But you have to give reasons for your opinions.”
“I remember the first semester when I taught Mike. He showed me straight away that he had a gift with words. My only job was to encourage him! Time and time again, he produced original works on a number of subjects, from a character description to a poem. Our dialogues in class were always lively. Little by little, other students joined in our discussions and many of them discovered a love of language. I’m pleased to say.
When Mike went to university, we stayed in touch. I was able to introduce him to a literary agent. From then on he was his own master. I went to the opening night of his first play, which he wrote as a student. I’ve always noticed three things about Mike’ plays. First, they’re very well built. Second, he has a great feeling for comedy. He knows which lines are good for a laugh, even at sad moments. Above all, I enjoy the subjects of his plays. They’re always very original. I know that I’ll come away from an evening in the theatre with some new ideas.”