Author Eoin Colfer was a disco fanatic in late1970s Wexford, when everyone else was “either a mod or a metal guy”.
That time and place is the inspiration for his latest creative output, a musical comedy about a female disco duo.
“It’s trying to dip into the zeitgeist of the 1970s” Colfer tells Roisin Ingle on the “Roisin Meets...” podcast. Aside from disco music, ‘Belle Bottoms’ explores some of the problems facing young women in 1970s Wexford.
“One of the highlights is a song called Dangerballs, about a spermy young fella from an estate” explains Colfer. “It’s based on a friend of mine who just phones women and they’re pregnant”. The show is a part of the Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival.
Before authoring the hugely successful Artemis Fowl series of children’s books, Colfer was a teacher, like his father before him. He recalls that his fathers methods were ahead of their time.
“This was a period in Wexford history when people were still getting sent to Magdalene lauderies,”says Colfer. “My dad said ‘right guys, do you want me to hit you?’ and we said ‘no’. He never hit anyone again, he wouldn’t hit anyone.
Instead he tried a new method called child centered education. It was an approach that paid dividends in creativity. “One of my fondest memories is of being in the St Patrick’s Day parade,” says Colfer. “We had built a Viking longship and put it on the back of a lorry and all the children were dressed up as Vikings. That was like going into space in 1970s Wexford”.
In his new role as Children’s Laureate, Colfer also aims to promote creativity and to ‘draw the attention of our screen-bound kids to the beautiful country they live in.’ The project will include a book with contributions from well-know authors and artists, and storytelling events in schools, which suits Colfer best, he explains.
“My thing is, I’m funny. But I’m finding it hard to be wise, and you’re expected to be wise now. So I thought, I’ll just go into this and make an eejit of myself. But so far everyone has been nice and understanding, and playing to my strength, which is storytelling”.
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