Melissa Mostyn responses:
This week we would like to introduce you to Melissa Mostyn, a passionate Deaf artist and writer who has been involved in several exciting projects throughout her career. Melissa shares with us where this passion derived from as well as the ways her writing style as a deaf individual differs from the style of hearing writers.
- Hi Melissa, first, could you introduce yourself to our Signature readers?
Hello everyone, my name is Melissa Mostyn, and I am based in Buckinghamshire. I describe myself as a writer and artist, which I think covers most bases- I have enjoyed a portfolio career in the creative industries over 30 years in a variety of roles, with a particular focus on journalism.
- Can you expand on where your passion for writing came from, was there anyone or any piece in particular that inspired you?
I am from a family of long-time professional writers and artists, so I guess that it is in my blood. However, I am not sure if I have benefitted from much nepotism. Most of my family don’t sign, so I swapped ‘dinner-table syndrome’ for books and TV as a child. I loved fantasy, dreamlike novels like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Earthsea, and I could relate to Anne of Green Gables because of her fiery, imaginative temperament echoed mine in so many ways. These kinds of books became the backbone of inspiration for me, but they were just the start. As a neurodiverse person I wanted to feel more immersed in what I was reading, and I found that in William Golding, Bruce Chatwin, and Roald Dahl’s adult short stories, which were blackly funny and beautifully succinct. These days I enjoy sparse, imaginative literature that gets to the point without cliché.
- As an individual who is deaf, do you feel that your personal relation with sound has changes the way you personally approach your writing?
I hadn’t quite thought of it like that. I am prelingually deaf, having become deaf at 16 months from bacterial meningitis. How can I mourn what I have never known? Growing up, my intellectual development was more characteristic of Deaf culture because my experiences of social exclusion reflected those of many Deaf people whose first preferred language is BSL. It is that need for belonging, not any relationship I have had with sound, that informs my writing. We are social animals, and I am no different.
- Do you feel that your writing style differs from the style of writers who are hearing?
Yes, definitely. As a MA Journalism student at Central Saint Martin many years ago, I was encouraged to visit the Paris and London catwalks and report back to college. My tutor, Jane Mulvagh, often said that my writing offered a refreshing perspective because it was uninfluenced by the music that often accompanied these shows. Instead, it focussed on visual details, and drew comparisons with films I had seen, rather than the mood, or theme, the designer wanted to evoke.
- You recently partnered up with Paula Garfield to screen write ‘The Promise’- can you tell us a bit more about how this came about and how it has differed from the other work you are usually involved with?
The Promise is my debut as a playwright for the West End and nationwide. I have never written for the physical stage before (although I have scripted three films, which are more technical in a way), so this is an incredibly exciting new development in my career. However, I want to stress that this a joint effort between Paula Garfield and I- it’s a Deafinitely Theatre play, not a Melissa Mostyn play. Paula was very keen to develop a play about Deaf people living with dementia. Dementia is a hot topic in drama at present, but none of the plays or films produced so far highlight what makes the Deaf perspective different. Also, after 20 years of playwriting as a dyslexic Deaf BSL user, Paula had had enough. She and I go back 30 years, so she was well aware of my writing experience. Rather helpfully, I had taken part in one of Deafinitely Theatre’s Writers’ Hubs in 2014, and later I wrote a 20-minute monologue based on my lockdown experiences as part of their ‘Talking Hands’ virtual performance series. Really it was a matter of synchronization.
- What themes does ‘The Promise’ cover and what is the main message, as the screen writer, that you want to convey within the performance?
The Promise is essentially the story of a Deaf woman and teacher who is passionate about BSL equality and Deaf education but experiences an erosion of her own human rights when she acquires vascular dementia. It takes place over 40 years in a non-linear fashion, which both highlights the nature of memory loss caused by dementia and draws parallels with what was happening in Deaf education, LGBTQ+ history, and working-class politics affecting the North of England. The overall message Paula and I wanted to convey with The Promise is that despite 40 years of campaigning for Deaf equality, LGBTQ+ rights, workers’ rights, the basic human rights of Deaf people with dementia are not being addressed.
- Away from writing, what else do you enjoy doing and why?
My other regular practice is small-scale fine-line drawing. I have recently branched out into mixed-media collage and watercolour painting, which I absolutely love because of the myriad of ways in which various pigments react upon contact with water and while drying on paper. It’s thrilling. I originally trained as a fashion illustrator, so I’ve long enjoyed the feel of mark-making on textured paper with a fine line. You can make so many tiny shapes, or patterns, with just one line.
- What advice would you give to someone who is deaf and perhaps apprehensive about pursuing their passion for literature?
Try journaling every day for 10, 20, 30 minutes- whatever time you can find in your day. Stop worrying about grammar and punctuation, or even making sense. Many great writers have got where they are today because they blocked off a set period and wrote something every day. You don’t need a desk or a fancy MacBook- an iPhone or a notebook you feel comfortable with, is enough. I like to wake up at 5am and journal straightaway for 20 minutes or so. I find my best ideas come when I’m just coming around from an extraordinary dream and want to jot it down before it evaporates.
- Here at Signature, we are incredibly excited about the prospect of a GCSE BSL qualification. What are your thoughts on this and why do you think it is important for both deaf and hearing pupils to have this opportunity?
It’s awesome! When the BSL Act first became law in 2022 I was very sceptical of its true repercussions due to the lack of government funding involved. But then high-profile Deaf community figures that I have always looked up to came forward for the BSL Board, positive Deaf representation on TV and the stage grew, and I eventually realised that a BSL GCSE could actually be a possibility. But I am cautiously hopeful. I just want to see this GCSE taught by real experts- those Deaf people who have grown up with BSL their whole lives. It’s a challenge rolling out this process nationwide while maintaining the core integrity of the language. But yes, both hearing and deaf student should benefit from learning BSL GCSE.
- Finally, do you have any goals or future aspirations that you would like to share with us, perhaps an exciting project that you are working on?
I couldn’t possibly say. I don’t like to publicly announce any future plans and then be held to them if I change direction, which I am likely to! I love what I do! I love writing, drawing, painting, and creating. I guess it’s a form of self-care given my family responsibilities- I am a single parent-carer and home educator, so my time is precious. Being creative at 5am is my reminder that I exist outside of my maternal role.
Here at Signature, we would like to thank Melissa Mostyn for sharing with us her passion for creativity and her words of wisdom to those who are apprehensive to kickstart their literature journey. It has been great to learn about her experiences co-writing the screenplay, The Promise, alongside Paula Garfield. We look forward to seeing what Melissa produces in the future.
