Artistic Director of Cake Theatrical Productions, Natalie Hennedige shares with us her experience of writing Koko The Great, a children’s book inspired by Liu Kang’s oil painting, Life by the River.

Tell us more about Koko The Great. What were the inspirations behind the story?

The liveliness of Liu Kang’s Life by the River! Gazing at the painting, you feel the bustle and activity. There is such a joyful, idyllic charm. And the people! A man and woman chatting casually, a woman with her naked toddler saying something urgent or gossiping to another woman, children playing marbles, a dog looking on, another dog roaming off and ducks swimming across the river. I was especially drawn to the big mangrove tree in the centre of the picture with its magnificent protruding roots. That was the inspiration for the Green Giant in the story. I spent a lot of time gazing at all the characters in the picture to see who would speak to me most and be the main character. Then it dawned on me that the main character wasn’t any one in the picture that you could see, but a little boy who was either sleeping in one of the kampong houses or off on some adventure round and about the village. That’s how Koko came about. And of course with his larger than life imagination and mischievousness, Koko would go up against the Green Giant and save the day, causing a big fuss along the way.

Liu Kang, Life by the River, 1975, oil on canvas, 126 x 203 cm, gift of Mr. Liu Kang, collection of National Heritage Board

How is it different, writing a children’s book as compared to writing a play?

In my theatre work, I often play the role of both writer and director, so as I write I’m also visualising the way the actors are moving and speaking, the set, the sound-scape, the general mood and so on. When I was writing Koko the Great, it was different because I knew an illustrator would be interpreting and creating the visual world of the story. So I just had fun writing and being excited about how bits that I had just written would end up being illustrated. It was a pretty refreshing experience.

What was your favourite book as a child?

I remember having a particular fondness for Enid Blyton’s Tales of Toyland. There were all these great, quirky toys, with all sorts of personalities. They were just toys but they had to deal with hard stuff, like falling in love, and dealing with antagonism from other toys and going on uncertain, perilous adventures. The toys had to brave a tough world and I felt for them.

Do you have a favourite place to write?

I always write at one of two desks, my desk in Cake’s studio or my desk at home. I’ve written in hotel rooms but also only at a desk in the hotel room. I really do need a desk to write.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on Cake’s upcoming production 0.01. It’s a coming of age story about a boy, Wong Ai Ming whose artistic soul mate Stephen dies as a young man. When Stephen dies, the part of Wong Ai Ming that is truly free and creative and artistically brave also dies. Something of an ideal perfection is no longer possible for him and the numbness he initially feels grows into something very uncontrollable, destructive and violent.

Catch Natalie at the launch of Koko The Great at the Singapore Writers Festival on 25 October 2011 and hear her experience in writing this children’s tale! For more information, refer here.

Published by The National Art Gallery, Singapore, Koko The Great is a story about a small boy who lives in a kampong by the river. This is the second title in the Dreaming Art Series where important works by Asian artists are the inspiration for children’s illustrated stories.

Koko The Great is available at Kinokuniya, Times, PageOne and Select. For online ordering, please email michelle_tay@nhb.gov.sg.