PETER Walls died four years ago. He had schizophrenia and struggled with addiction; he spent 30 years busking poems on the streets of York and was regularly arrested for begging.

"He always maintained that he was simply reciting poetry, for which people spontaneously offered small change," says his father, Don Walls, the York poet. "The police saw it differently."

Unlike his many homeless friends and associates, however, Peter had a home to sleep in every night: Don's home. "He lived with me here, but he spent every day out on the streets of York," says Don. "He couldn’t get a job. People didn’t realise how his mental illnesses affected him, so to ordinary people he just looked like a down-and-out."

Boosted by a crowd-funding campaign that raised £6,000 and supported by York Theatre Royal's Takeover Festival, Don's 75-minute verse play, The Beggars Of York, will tell Peter's story in the Theatre Royal Studio on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Staged by Joshua Goodman's Tiny Window Theatre Company, 86-year-old Don's mix of performance poetry, Greek tragedy and physical theatre is not only a eulogy to his son but also explores the wider issue of these who have experienced homelessness in the city and the trying social conditions under which beggars and rough sleepers live.

York Press: Don Walls

Writer Don Walls

The play chronicles Peter’s experiences and those of his associates on the streets, and as well as depicting the horrors and humours of living rough, it challenges us all to fight for better integration of social and care services.

"There were a number of reasons why I wrote the play; it's a commemorative piece for Peter, but I also woke up one morning thinking 'poetry is not that popular; what can I do with this story? Well, how about poetry in action, which basically means drama?" says Don.

"Then there was the other reason: to raise awareness about people on the streets of York; the mentally ill, the homeless and the drug addicts. So I started writing in poetic verse as I just felt it would be a good thing to express myself in poetry in action."

Don found himself paying particular attention to the rhythms of speech in conversation, along with the colloquial, everyday things people say. "I thought of Shakespeare, who I don't think would have ever sat down and said, 'I'll write in iambic pentameter'; I think he would thought of the rhythms of people talking, and by doing that, he wrote poetry in action," he says.

"Listening to people's intonation has really paid off in my writing too, and as with any form of writing, I found it became easier, the more I did it."

Turning his thoughts to Peter once more, Don says: "Peter was no angel, but it was painful to see what was happening to him and how his schizophrenia affected him, but in spite of his difficulties and his illnesses, he got on with everyone, and I learnt from him in the way that he could get on with anyone, from the Lord Mayor to his friends on the street. He just took them all in his stride."

Writing The Beggars Of York has had the cathartic effect of helping Don bring his thoughts to a resolution. "There are a lot of people like Peter on the streets, and a lot of people who never seem to get care, though things have improved with Arc Light and SASH, though Arc Light often seems to be full," he says.

"One of the characters in the play says, 'What we need is a place of caring', and now Clifton Hospital has been closed, we need to find an alternative in York."

Tiny Window Theatre Company presents The Beggars Of York, at The Studio, York Theatre Royal, TakeOver Festival, July 12, 7pm, and July 13, 2pm and 7pm, with a post-show discussion after the Wednesday evening show. Age recommendation: 12 plus. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. A percentage of proceeds will be donated to York charity SASH.