Meet Craig

With smash-hit shows performed by hundreds of thousands of young performers worldwide, Craig Hawes is one of the leading writers and composers of children’s musicals.

Craig was born at a young age in a small Buckinghamshire village. With Ozzy Osbourne and Val Doonican as neighbours, and Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton creating classics just round the corner, something special was clearly in the water. Craig was destined to be a musician, writer, or international bodybuilder. And so it came to pass. Not the bodybuilder part, obviously. That was just for mystery and suspense.

Craig duly developed a passion for silly writing—the sillier the better. His comical stories, humorous poems, and funny songs were designed to tickle teachers and make classmates chuckle. As a teenager, he won a BBC story competition, scooped a national songwriting prize, reached a Rock Band competition final, and, at 16, wrote and directed his first musical.

Packing his pen, paper, and piano into a very large suitcase, Craig headed to London. There, he trained in the mysterious dark arts of music, followed by the even darker arts of… teaching!

Craig’s career has spanned professional theatre, TV, radio, and feature film, alongside 15 years as a primary music specialist. Teaching ten-year-olds led to his earth-shattering scientific discovery: children love to laugh. They also love to perform, sing, dance, and act. His mission was clear: write fun-packed musicals that let them do exactly that. And so it came to pass… again.

Musicline Publications published Craig’s first musical in 1998 and has published every show since. A few years later, he hung up his teacher gown to write full-time, creating a global catalogue of theatrical joy.

From Pirates of the Curry Bean to Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies and Grossbusters, his international bestsellers have been performed in over 30 countries across the globe and beyond. Well, probably not beyond. But you get the idea.

Craig lives and writes in Sherwood Forest. When he’s not scribbling or tickling the ivories, he runs a children’s theatre company with his wife, award-winning director and choreographer Hayla Hawes. Together, they have spent more than 30 years putting young performers into stripy tights and sending them out onto the stage.

That’s a lot of children. And a truly astonishing number of tights.