The Songs of Sister Act – Lichfield Garrick

Posted on September 18, 2014 by garylongden

sister act

Out of the Habit

Sister Act has been a hugely successful film and stage musical, the former driven by the charisma and personality of Whoopi Goldberg. The gospel soul tinged music is evergreen, and so it is not surprising that an ensemble, in this case “The Singers of Soul” choir, have chosen to take the music on tour from London’s West End. It is to the Garrick’s credit that it offers productions like this a platform to find an audience.

The show’s aficionados hung on every song, led by an MC, who rabble roused the mid- week congregation. A four piece live band provided the music, a sparse six piece “choir”, two men and four women, provided the vocals. “I Will Follow” ( Not the U2 song) opened the show with promise, a slow ethereal opening giving way to an up-beat ending. From there on it was downhill.

The band shuffled on, looking like they were dressed for a trip to B&Q, not the band for a concert. The Choir wore token gowns, although one of them couldn’t even be bothered to do that up properly. The women looked like they had visited Shoezone and had a competition to find the worst footwear. Judging it would have been a difficult task. Half way through the first half the choir disrobed to reveal clothes that would have made them too feel at home on a Sunday outing to a DIY store. If they can’t be bothered, why should we? How I smiled when they sang “It doesn’t matter what you wear just as long as you are there”. It does boys and girls when people are paying almost £20 to see you perform.

It is usually always a delight to hear “What’s Going On” even if the absence of Marvin Gaye himself becomes more keenly felt in his absence, however their insipid take robbed the song of emotion and meaning. Time after time the arrangements were poor, never has “Ball of Confusion” been more ironically covered.” Dancing in the Street” was simply embarrassing. As for the choreography, I have seen slicker routines on a girls hen night at midnight, and more commitment to the steps too.

Rarely have I witnessed a professional show with lower production values. When the MC announced he was Scottish, on an evening when Scotland was deciding its future, I found myself willing a Yes, with him working the backstreet pubs of Glasgow forever. No programme was available denying me the opportunity to praise some decent voices, but shame the anonymous individuals behind this sham production.

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Open All Hours is coming to the Lichfield Garrick

Posted on September 15, 2014 by garylongden

Albert & Granville in discussion with Gladys from the current production

Albert & Granville in discussion with Gladys from the current production


Open All Hours, an adaptation of Roy Clarke’s sitcom, is coming to the Lichfield Garrick on Saturday and Sunday,20th and 21st, of September. It has toured around the Midlands, taking in Burton on Trent, Stamford, Redditch, Solihull and Shrewsbury. I caught up with co- director Jane Aston to discover the background to this revival of an evergreen show.

Q Tell us a little bit about yourself and Gary Simmons who between you have realised this show.

Gary and I have acted in, directed and produced shows for many, many, years. It’s always been a passion to take a flat script and make it come to life, the journey a production takes is always exciting, but Open All Hours has been the most wonderful experience so far! We knew some of what we were undertaking as we had directed other television classics in the past but nothing prepared us for the magnitude of adapting a national treasure!

Q. This is billed as having been co-written with Gary Simmons who also stars as Arkwright in the show. How have the writing duties been split between the two of you?

We worked side by side on the script, once we had watched every single episode a couple of times we set about weaving together the story lines that appealed to us and the iconic moments the audience would expect. We are a true team and did it all together. Gary taking on the role of Arkwright was not the intention during the writing stage, nor did I have any desire to join the cast. Once the script was written, and we had held a couple of casting read- throughs, it was clear to me that Gary was most definitely the shows Arkwright, also I couldn’t imagine anyone else directing our script, so I decided to direct and I cast Gary as Arkwright.

Q. Obtaining permission from the television series script writer for a stage adaptation is a remarkable achievement. What was the process, and how were you successful in gaining permission?

This I can not take any credit for, Gary did all the leg work, he has always been a huge fan, and as the show celebrated it’s 40th anniversary last year he tracked down Mr Clarke’s agent and asked if we could do the show as a tribute. Roy came back and said yes but there wasn’t a script so if we wanted to do it we would have to write it, the rest is now history!

Q. What was it about the show which made you invest so much time into this project?

The fact that it’s been a life long favourite.

Q. How did you recruit the cast?

We were working with a society at the time and just asked if any of them would like to audition, many of them had worked with us before, they like how we work and what we bring to a script and wanted to be part of the project, it took very little persuasion, although you always encounter a few doubting Thomas’s I think our track record gave people the confidence to trust us.

Q. You and Gary have a formidable reputation on the amateur dramatics circuit in the Midlands, is this an amateur, or a professional, production?

Oooh contentious question! Professional is the simple answer, but what defines amateur or professional? It may sound pompous, but I like to think everything we do carries an air of professionalism, that’s certainly what we strive for, and what many groups and societies achieve. We are all professionals, those who are involved in theatre are dedicated to providing first class entertainment just because some don’t carry equity cards or have to juggle other jobs doesn’t make it less professional.

Q What were the main challenges in adapting the show for stage?

The locations that the television episodes cover, there was always a lot of outside location stuff so we had to think very carefully how to stage it, I think being actors really helps you know if something is practical.

Q At what point did you realise you could tour the production and do you intend to tour it further afield?

After the first trial run, we received so many good comments, and so many people said we should tour, that we thought why not? Yes, we do hope to go out again next year . As for further afield, we’ve had enquiries from Australia!

Q What is it about the original television series which you think has made it so enduring?

The characters are so well drawn, if you look you can see a little bit of us all in every one of them.

Q So is this a “ greatest moments” compilation, or a new production in its own right?

A bit of both, you have to meet the audience expectation. With shows of this nature you can not mess around with the fundamentals, people expect to see the man eating till, the bike, and a string of strange customers, but there are a few surprises in there too.

Q What are your plans for future productions?

That would be telling but watch this space…..

Thanks to Jane Aston for her time, and comments. Don’t forget to check out the show this weekend!

Tickets and further information are available from the Lichfield Garrick and Open all Hours website respectively:

http://www.lichfieldgarrick.com/?full=true&date=20/09/2014

http://www.openallhours.uk.com/

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Ladykillers, The Grange Players, Grange Playhouse, Walsall

Posted on September 11, 2014 by garylongden

ladykillers

The Ladykillers is a stage adaptation written by Graham Linehan based on the Ealing comedy film of the same name which premièred at the Liverpool Playhouse in November 2011. Only just released for amateur performance, the Grange Players are fortunate to have secured the rights so early for a production which is much in demand by amateur companies. It is based on the well-known and much-loved 1955 film of the same title – one of the famous Ealing Comedies. Linehan found fame as a scriptwriter for Father Ted, the IT Crowd and Brass Eye, his writing packs a contemporary punch whilst being affectionate to the Ealing tradition.

The raw plot is anything but comic, but the writing is. A gang of thugs, posing as musicians rent a room in a house, stage a security van robbery, then hole up in the house and draw lots as to who is to kill the old lady who rumbles their plot, and the body count mounts. Tarantino would approve. However the house they have chosen belongs to a batty old widow, Mrs Wilberforce, who lives alone apart from her deformed parrot battling a degenerative disease.

An impressive and complex set, designed by Martin Groves, is a delight, skewed and ramshackle beside the King’s Cross mainline, and springs ingenious surprises throughout the show, providing a platform for a string of inventive sight gags and physical theatre tricks.

Mary Whitehouse is magnificent as Mrs Wilberforce

Mary Whitehouse is magnificent as Mrs Wilberforce


Mary Whitehouse, playing Mrs Wilberforce, is the star of the show. Some time dotty old bird, other times as sharp as a tack. Mary offers warmth, comedy and all round entertainment in an engaging package which carries the show, always hinting at the possibility that she might not be quite so daft as she appears. Opposite her, Dexter Whitehead as Professor Marcus is a worthy adversary. Flamboyant and devious his ingenuity is continually thwarted by awkward picture hanging and Mrs Wilberforce’s careless feet.

The rest of his criminal gang might not be first choice for a Quentin Tarantino team. Al Barzdo’s nervy, cross dressing Major Courtney is a wonderful vignette, as is Rod Bissett’s pill popping Harry Robinson. Playing a buffoon is not as easy as it seems, timing is all, but Joseph Hicklin carries it off with ease as One Round. The team’s enforcer, Christopher Waters as Louis Harvey offers the menace that laced the film, yet touchingly swerves killing old ladies.
lady cast

There are many hilarious moments, most notably when the non -musicians find themselves having to give a musical recital. “Being fooled by art is one of the primary pleasures afforded to the middle classes,” declares Professor Marcus, as his quintet perform to a gaggle of visiting ladies whose dresses suit to wildly varying degrees!

Les Wilkes , as Constable MacDonald, pleasingly bookends the play with dry aplomb and some contemporary references to Scotland and the Middle East to boot. Indeed in a week when the whole concept of being British is being debated Ladykillers is a satisfying slice of Britishness, awash with quick-fire wit and tea at all times.

lady live

Special mention should be made of Rosemary Manjunath, Director, Producer, set assistant, Costume Mistress, properties assistant, head of Box Office and front of house hostess ( and those are just the jobs she admits to!). Her hard work , dedication and commitment are an impressive thread throughout the whole of a tremendous show of which she, and her cast, should be enormously proud . Ladykillers runs until Saturday 20th September.

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British Female Pop Stars of the 1980’s

Posted on September 8, 2014 by garylongden

1980 fashion
legwarmer

The third instalment in my occasional series which has become widely read, much to my delight , and surprise. For the avoidance of doubt, this piece includes those solo British singers who came to prominence in the 1980’s, who have not been mentioned in my two previous pieces on the 60’s and 70’s, but I think are significant.

The original 60’s piece was a celebration of the breadth of talent British women had to offer back then, with several artists narrowly excluded by my arbitrary judgement of interest, talent, influence and impact. The 1980’s sees the field thin out considerably. American artists dominated, Debbie Harry with Blondie, Chrissie Hynde with the Pretenders were amongst the vanguard of the interesting female fronted bands, whilst Madonna swept all before her as a solo artist. Which is not to say that there was nothing of interest about.

Annie Lennox was arguably the foremost British female artist in the 80’s, but it was with the Eurythmics, her solo career not really launching till the 90’s, and my next piece. I also offer an honourable mention to Corrine Drewery who was the voice of Swing out Sister, but not a solo artist, whose hit single “Breakout” promised so much which was never subsequently realised. The eagle eyed will notice that I have omitted Bonnie Tyler from both the 70s piece, and here. Her chart success and popularity are a given, but for me her music is the distilled result of the best of what has gone before, offering little originality. I would love to have included Kylie, who is really an honorary Brit, and the awesome Bananarama fail to make it as a band even though they did so much for girl groups, for better or for worse.

It is remarkable how Britain continues to produce such diverse female talent, particularly compared to their more conservative American counterparts.

Hazel O’Connor endures beyond her chart success because of one song, with a timeless sax solo, “Will You”. Her talent is undeniable. She starred in the hit new wave film musical Breaking Glass, she wrote all the songs, and Tony Visconti produced the album. “Will You” is an oddity. It was written before the other material and stylistically is quite different, a song George Michael would have killed for. Although O’Connor wrote the song, Wesley McGoogan scored and performed the sax solo, defining the song as a classic. Subsequently, commercially, there was only gradual decline. Why?

By the time Breaking Glass was released punk was dead, new wave had fractured into a myriad forms, and the story looked backwards, not forwards. The music, whilst successful, commercial, catchy and well written had been outpaced. Nowhere was this more painfully evident than when I saw her at a sold out Dominion Theatre in London, supported by the unknown Duran Duran. Twelve months later the Duranies were leading the way, and Hazel would struggle for a headline spot. At various times she dated Hugh Cornwell and Midge Ure, but she had neither the cynical opportunism and determination of Cornwell’s Stranglers, nor the musical vision of Ure. But her reading of the formers’ “Hanging Around” is amongst the most satisfying of her career. Hazel still tours, her phrasing, and singing remains a delight.

Rochdale is a fairly anonymous mill town, but there was nothing anonymous about its resident Lisa Stansfield. A fine singer, her greatest success came with her album “Around the world” and the eponymous single, but for me her best recorded song was a version of “Young Hearts Run Free”. Soul is her strength and it is surprising that she has not fleshed out a pretty successful solo, self-penned career with more covers of standards. Recently she has also become a favourite on the jazz circuit. This clip showcases her at her best, a segue from Live Together into Young Hearts Run Free, live.

Alison Moyet came to attention first as Alf , the voice of Yazoo, before excelling as a solo artist. Her powerful , and deep ,mellifluous, resonant voice appeared to be assisted by a larger than average figure. But in recent years she has slimmed down to an unrecognisable extent, looks great for it, and still sounds fabulous. She is a brilliant phraser of lyrics, nowhere more so than on the wonderful “Love Resurrection”.


Her continuing talent, and new figure, were wonderfully showcased in this tribute to Cilla Black with her reading of “Anyone Who Had a Heart” in 2013.

Enya is of course Irish, not British, yet she resides in the British Isles, so qualifies. Her musical upbringing was impeccable, born into a family of musicians who formed the internationally renowned Clannad. Leaving was brave, but the making of her, propelling her into the vanguard of New Age music, and making her one of the richest female musicians in the world. It was her breakthrough album watermark which sealed her place at the top of her profession, with the catchy Orinoco Flow the song which brought her to everyone’s attention.

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Midlands Poetry Whats on September 2014

Posted on September 3, 2014 by garylongden

Sun 31st August Sound and Music Swan with two nicks, 28 New St, Worcester WR1 2DP,730pm, free in,and we’re back! Have you missed us? We’ve missed you, ever so much!! Come along to the Swan with Two Nicks and lets get re-acquainted…Worcester’s wonderful open mic event wants poet-people, prose-people, music people and audience people for one heck of a night! We are part of the lovely, stupendous Worcester Music Festival and all money raised goes to their fabulous charity for young carers in Worcester. Come on in, you know you want to!

Tues 2nd Y Theatre. 7 East St ,LE1 6EY, Leicester
Come to Word!’s LGBT Special when we’ve got amazing Jay Bernard as our guest.

Jay Bernard was born in London in 1988. She was a winner of the Poetry Society’s Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award in 2005, and of the Respect Slam in 2004. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry London, Chroma, The Guardian, The Independent, and in several anthologies. The Guardian named Bernard as one of the UK’s most inspirational 16-year-olds in 2004. Her first collection of poems, Your Sign is Cuckoo, Girl (tall-lighthouse) was published in 2008 and was selected as the Poetry Book Society’s pamphlet choice.

Bernard has read her work at Buckingham Palace, the Globe Theatre, London, and at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s inaugural event at the newly refurbished Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. She has written for the Royal Opera House and has read on a number of BBC radio and television shows, including The Verb and The Culture Show.

In 2008, Bernard was poet in residence at a north London allotment, writing on the theme of place as part of the Apples & Snakes project My Place or Yours. She was also a poet in residence at the StAnza Poetry Festival, St Andrews, in 2010, and has acted as a mentor for younger poets taking part in SLAMbassadors UK.

She is a graphic artist as well as a poet. Her work has appeared on the cover of Wasifiri, and in Chroma, Diva and Litro.

Bernard took the title of her collection from Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time: “In retrospect, I think I was looking to explore a similar kind of womanly introspection – full of nightmares, infatuation and lunacy.”

Many of the poems in Your Sign is Cuckoo, Girl chart both physical and emotional growing pains. “Lingerie was not on the shopping list . . . It is why, at twelve, I had sagging breasts,” declares the narrator of ‘Lingerie’, where the discomfort of her changing pubertal body and the subsequent introduction to the confusing adult world of brassieres is humorously analysed:

. . . polyester wakens the rage of
the most patient saint and it chafes
the petalled skin of tiny
new gods
who command
an imperious trot punishing
fun with excruciating pain.

Bernard delves into the corporeal with both rawness and delicacy. ‘Eight’ describes female genitalia in intimate detail as “something slick, curled suspended” and “familiar and untouchable; distant,/ downed, exceptionally there; lithe origami/ of moisture and hair.” She delivers insights from the murkier side of love and desire in ‘Tongues in Velvet’ (“I’ve met those who’ve left their faces/ on the lonely floor of marriage/ I’ve met boys who stand in fishnets/ on the corner dressed as women”), to the touching yearning for the beloved in ‘News’:

If I could translate the sound of those
thoughts to the language of touch –
. . . then my arm could hang
loose around your shoulders –
my body in the evening city,
my breath in the inlet of your ear.

Bernard’s verse is carefully paced, as in ‘Souvenir’ – a story of a relationship that has come to an end – in which the dramatic subject matter is contained in precisely measured metre and the microscopic description of a discarded heart sitting “unbeating in the bin” amongst “the teabags and the melon rinds./ I could just see the tapered end ripped/ through with black veins and slightly/ shaded with white fat.”

Her poems are often set against an urban backdrop, and in ‘Migration’ she imagines London’s tube system as a human body – “The tunnels were arterial,/ the intermittent lamps like a spinal constellation/ and each station was a throbbing heart” – and its buildings linked to human history, as in “the blank menace of so many windows,/ imagine the fear of the first people huddled, haunted/ one hundred, thousand years ago.”

Pascale Petit has said: “One of our most promising young talents, Jay Bernard writes powerful and sensuous scenes from the metropolis: a teenager flies like a moth, a woman with scissors sings bees. Disturbing, joyous and always surprising.”

© Rebecka Mustajarvi

Bibliography

Your Sign is Cuckoo, Girl, tall-lighthouse, London, 2008

Jay Bernard’s poems have appeared in:

Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century, Bloodaxe, Tarset, 2009
City State: New London Poetry, Penned in the Margins, London, 2009
Salt Book of Younger Poets, Salt Publishing, Cambridge, 2011

Links

Jay Bernard’s blog
Bernard’s poetry publisher, tall-lighthouse
An interview with Jay Bernard

Jay Bernard talks to Dominic O’Rourke about her time as poet in residence at a north London allotment. Read the resulting poems and see the drawings and pictures from Bernard’s residency on the My Place or Yours website.

Details of our Support Act to follow

Also visuals by Keith Allott and music and lighting courtesy of The Y.

Come along at 7pm to sign up with the compere in the bar for an open-mic slot.

£4/£3

Wed 3rd Spire Writes White Swan St Marys gate, Chesterfield.

Autumn’s on the way, but Spire Writes can warm you with poetry as the nights draw in. In September, we’ll have guest sets from two familiar faces, Rob Stevens and Al Mclimens.

Al has performed at Bang Said the Gun and read alongside Liz Lochead, the Scottish Makar. He’ll have copies of his pamphlet ‘The Suicide of John Keats’ for sale on the night.

Rob is the Buxton Bard who runs Word Wizards poetry slam and he has recently presented new work commemorating the First World War, ‘Remember Willie Beard’.

As ever, it’ll be free to get in and there will be open mic slots available (no more than 5 minutes each).

We’ll start at 8 and finish in time for last trains back to Sheffield and beyond

Thurs 4th Blackdrop TOP DOG GOURMET, 53 LENTON BLVD NOTTM, LIVERPOOL VS NOTTINGHAM match of lyrics!Kick-off 8pm with drum role call not to be missed,followed by a lively delivery of open mic floor slots.ALL WELCOME TO CONTRIBUTE/PERFORM
Whistle half time and in comes Liverpool’s finest CURTIS WATT aka C-ZERO,CAN YOU HANDLE IT? ALL THIS FOR JUST £3.00!
JOIN US 8-1OPM BLACKDROP, the spoken word specialists:Making every month Black History Month! REAL POETRY, FOR REAL PEOPLE! Michelle ‘The Mother’ Hubbard Freelance Cultural Arts Practitioner and Consultant (Lyricist, Poet, Storyteller, African drummer, Workshops facilitator, Performer)
mobile: 07977 804 858

Thurs 4th Shrewsbury Poetry @Eat Up Shearmans Hill, Milk St, Shresbury SY1 1SZ
The return of Three Men – Tom Wentworth. Barry Tench and Adam John Rutter. What will they get up to this time? And a guest slot from Fergus McGonigal. Plus: Peter Shilston Carol Forrester Gary Carr and William McCartney Oliver Jones et al
sat 6th Stratford Arts Festival Poetry at St Chads church Greengate St, 9.30am -3.30pm

Staffs Arts Festival Poetry at St Chad’s Sat 6th September 2014 Time

START / RBW Writers (TBC) / Possible Open Mic Slot/Andrea Smith 9.30 – 09.45
Surjit Dhami 9.45
Jack Edwards 9.55
Mal Dewhirst 10.05
John Mills 10.15
Gary Carr 10.25
Runaway Writers 10.35 – 10.50
Brendan Hawthorne 10.50
Cherry Doyle 11.00
Kuli Kohli 11.10
Kezzabelle 11.20
June Palmer 11.30
Phil Binding 11.40
Al Barz 11.50
Mike Alma 12.00
Mogs 12.10
Janet Jenkins 12.20
David Calcutt 12.30

LUNCH 12.40 – 13.00hrs

The Young Poet Laureate Applicants 13.00 – 13.30 hrs
John Williams 13.30
Stoke Poetry Stanza 13.40 -13.55
Nina Lewis 13.55
John Lindley 14.05
Ben Wilkinson 14.15
Fergus McGonigal 14.25
Barry Patterson 14.35

The Lichfield Poets (Tribute to Jan Arnold) 14.45 – 15.00
Tom Wyre 15.00
Natalie Cotterill 15.10
Presentation of Young Poet Laureate 15.20

END 15.30

Sat 6th Ben Norris, Mac Birmingham Apples and Snakes in partnership with Arts Council England and mac birmingham presents
BEN NORRIS: THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE FAMILY

Join UK all-stars poetry slam champion Ben Norris for a one-off preview performance of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Family, a one-man show exploring his often difficult relationship with his father through the music of Gerry Rafferty, the endearing near misses of Luton Town Football Club, and Britain’s best-loved motorway.

When: Saturday 6 September, 7.30pm
Where: mac birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham

Sat 6th Tin Music and Arts Centre, Coal Vaults , Canal Basin, Coventry, 6.30pm, £15, music, comedy and spoken word

Shoots proudly presents a showcase of Coventry &
Warwickshire’s finest local professional artists at The Tin Music & Arts Centre, Canal Basin, on Saturday 6th September.

The event celebrates the diversity of arts and peoples within Coventry and Warwickshire, which is rich in quality and genre. Culture Shake will showcase a hand picked ‘cream of the crop’ of what this dynamic area has to offer.

Tickets via Box Office: 02476230699,
online: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/281930
from Shoots: http://www.cvshoots.com or from artists.
£12 advance. £15 on the door.

Feel free to contact the Shoots facebook page or just comment below for enquiries on how to purchase tickets in person or get on the advance guest list.

With your support, this event can be expanded into a fuller scale Festival, including more local artists & genres, and with a funding application (if this year succeeds) we can bring the price down too 🙂

Running Order:
6.00 Doors.
6.30 Capoeira Demonstration – Martial Art/Dance
7.00 Alan Wales – Original Play Excerpt
7.20 Sarah Bennett – Fingerstyle Guitar
7.50 Spiros Abatis – Psychedelic Folk
8.20 Jools Street – Bluegrass Fiddle
9.00 Sonrisa – Latin/Jazz/World Fusion
10.00 Joe O’Donnell’s Shkayla – Celtic/Rock/Jazz Fusion
– Yexi Collaborations Installation Art throughout

Culture Shake began as a small showcase and jam session in the tent of Habibi Restaurant, Coventry in 2012. It has since gathered momentum and support and with this showcase underway Shoots hopes to secure funding for a fuller scale annual festival starting in 2015. With the support of local peoples this event will once again mark Coventry as a town for peace, reconciliation and damn good music. We will lay a positive foundation for this event, and others like it, to grow and for local artists of all styles to thrive together.

“We share our culture, our experience, our feeling, in our music together. It’s mixing all of our heritage, history and melodies.” – Ahmad Moslemifar

“Playing songs can simply bring people together to dance, to have fun, to break down boundaries. It’s just good.” – Chloe Juliette

“Music takes you home, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, you can go home with music.” – Ahmad Moslemifar

Quotes from documentary ‘The Music Takes You Home’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RRANJxNxqw) filmed in 2012 and based around fusion album ‘Beat Breathe’ and the initial Culture Shake events.
Further information can be found here: http://www.cvshoots.com/culture-shake

Sat 6th Confab Cabaret The Cube,Albert Rd North Malvern,WR12 2yf Summer of Fun. We are absolutely thrilled that ConFab Cabaret X will be at The Malvern Cube with easy (free) parking and bar!. (You may be wondering whether that’s X as in the number ten or X as in X-rated. So are we.)

Tip Top Hostess Amy Rainbow will be smoothly, smoothy overseeing the proceedings. Myfanwy Fox is poised with Fox Pops, ready to gather you up into the world of audience biro participation. The Poetry Tree is back in its entirety. Come see what goodies blossom forth for the Silliest Raffle. The tenth ConFab is also introducing a brilliant book swap where each and every attendee brings a pre-loved book to exchange in the interval with another literary wonder. Entry to the whole evening’s shenanigans is by Donation 🙂

See us for free
If you like what you see
Pop in a note
or a coin that’s shine-nee*

On the Bill is:

YOU! Come armed with your 2 mins of delight. Sign up on the door for a open mic talent slot. Poets, Songsters, Tricksters, Jokesters, Storytellers. The stage is yours!

PTR Williams sings of jumpers, smiles and dogs with his trusty geetar. Not a smiling Jumper guitar playing dog! (Not yet , but we are hopeful!) Enjoy his tales of the real world as he waits his turn on the Dr Who throne.

You’ll recognize Chrissy Velveteen from the excellent Jonny Gash and the Bleeding Catfaces. This time she is sans band. Chrissy plays the Ukulele and combines music and poetry.

Lindsey & Catherine have performed alongside Reginald D Hunter and Andrew Maxwell, Rhod Gilbert and Orville the Duck. They’ve pre-packed their imaginary instruments and will be singing ABBA truth and bringing Poetry Sunshine down below to those in the absolute know. Together, they’ve performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Cheltenham and Swindon Festivals of Literature. They trust each other explicitly and have been known to partly execute each other following strict Health and Safety protocols.

Please feel free to invite friends and share the event – all welcome. See you there!

*all monies gathered go towards paying the evening’s invited performers and future guest acts.


Mon 8th Wordminers, Red Lion Wirksworth 7pm, £4 in inc buffet “Tapping the seam”

Tues 9th Mouth & Music 32 Boars Head, Kidderminster, 7,30pm start £3 in

**** NB EARLIER START TIME 7.30pm ****

Our theme for September is

“CRABBED AGE & YOUTH”

with

UK All-Stars Poetry Slam champion

BEN NORRIS

“Performs his sharply crafted poems with breathtaking verve and expertise.” Cheltenham Poetry Festival

“Accessible and arresting – crucially, never at the cost of complexity and depth.” Bohdan Piasecki (Apples & Snakes)

plus

Poems & songs about dementia
by
SARAH TAMAR & HEATHER WASTIE

open mic sign-up from 7.00

Tues 9 City Voices, Lych Gate Tavern, Queen Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1TX, 7.30-9pm. This month features performance poet Steve Pottinger. Basir Sultan Kazmi will also be sharing some poems and translations from his latest collection ‘Passing Through’ from Crocus Books, Manchester. Tickets £2.50/ £1 (under 16s) on the door

Wednesday 10 , 7pm | ORT, 500-504 Moseley Road, BirminghamMAIA Creatives presents ScratchBHAM
After a successful stint in London, The Scratch Night returns home to Birmingham. Celebrating creative writing and the process, we invite artists to explore/share/test their work at any stage in development, in front of a live audience, in exchange for your thoughts.

Thurs 11th PUREandGOODandRIGHT, Leamingston Spa Admission £3 (free to performers)
PUREandGOODandRIGHT is an Open Mic poetry event taking place at ,The Fox & Vivian.32 Clarendon Ave, Leamington spa, CV32 4RZ Every second THURSDAY of the month,(except December) ,Next event:,Thursday 11 September 7.30 p.m start
This month’s guest is the fantastic Barry Patterson,Barry Patterson is a writer and performer, who is a well known figure on Coventry’s poetry scene. His alter ego, the Wild Man of the Woods is Britain’s widest travelled and longest running, green man performance. His first collection, Nature Mystic was published by Heaven Tree Press in 2008. Since then he has won at the Coventry Festival of Speech & Drama, visited The Republic of Ireland in the Coventry-Cork Poets’ Exchange, and had his poem, Advice to a Geordie Miner Lad at Pooley, mounted as public monument
at Pooley Pit Head, N. Warwickshire. In 2013, he self-published a small pamphlet entitled Buddha of the Carboniferous, a journey into the mysteries of landscape & identity. “Feeding on many traditions, slave to none, Barry Patterson’s poems contrive to be both delicate & muscular; the twisting hammered music of their lineation evoking the excitement of his flamboyant live performances.” Jon Morley, The Writers’ Centre, Norwich You can book an Open mic slot on the night! Admission £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

From time to time we are located upstairs, so please let us know if you require disabled access before the event.
If you would like to know more about the night email: pgrpoetry@gmail.com


Sat 13th Poets Place Come to Poets’ Place Library of Birmingham (Café Mezzanine), Birmingham 35pm free to make new friends, discover new poets, share and have your work critiqued, make useful connections, set a writing schedule…Poets’ Place can be whatever you as a poet decide to make of it.

 Just show up with your poems or a blank notebook!

and on 27 September, 3-5pm

Monday 15th Shindig, Great western PH, Great Western St, leicester, 7.30pm free in

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL! Crystal Clear Creators and Nine Arches Press presents Leicester Shindig! open-mic poetry evening, a Soundswrite Special, with featured writers Caroline Cook, Jayne Stanton and more. All welcome. Sign up for open-mic slots on the door.

Wed 17th Find the Right Words @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm | £5 The Western, 70 Western Road, Leicester

With two big name poets and ten open mic acts, Find the Right Words is one of the most electric poetry and rap nights in Leicester. Created and compered by Jess Green, headliners for 17 September are Emma Jones and Hannah Silva.

Open mic sign up from 7.30pm.

Thurs 18thThe Victoria, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham 7.30pm Hit the Ode A unique performance poetry night bringing world-class spoken word artists to the heart of Birmingham. If you have friends who think they don’t like poetry, bring them along…

Featuring: Stephen Morrison-Burke, Sally Jenkinson, Nilson Muniz (Portugal)

When: Thursday 18 September, 7.30pm
Where: The Victoria, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham

Thurs 18th Birmingham Poetry Festival starts

Fri 19th Poetry at the Ort, 500 Moseley Rd Birmingham,7.30pm,Our Monthly evening of spoken word, poetry, stories, comedy and just a little bit of music 😉 suggested donation of £3 , a few open mic spots will be available on the night

Wed 24th Elvis McGonigal, The Hive Worcester, 7.30pm,£10
World Poetry Slam Champion 2006, UK Slam Champion 2006
elvis

UK All-comers’ Poetry Slam Champion 2004

‘funny, angry and tightly written…McGonagall combines anger, polish and carefully crafted verse in a way which recalls John Cooper Clarke’ 4-star The Scotsman

‘verses shot through with a moral umbrage and rhetorical power…a bracing throwback to the days when comedy made room for militant eccentrics with a knack for scansion and a bolshie hankering to change the world’ 4-star The Guardian

‘side-splittingly funny’ The Reading Rant

Stand-up poet, armchair revolutionary and recumbent rocker, Elvis McGonagall is the sole resident of The Graceland Caravan Park where he scribbles verse whilst drinking malt whisky and listening to Johnny Cash. Elvis is the 2006 World Slam Champion, the compere of the notorious Blue Suede Sporran Club and a regular guest of BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live. His new R4 series is Elvis McGonagall Takes A Look On The Bright Side.

Elvis has written and performed for BBC’s Saturday Live, The Today Programme, The Culture Show, Arthur Smith’s Balham Bash, Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show, A Good Read, The World Snooker Championships, BBC Radio Scotland’s MacAulay & Co, Random Acts (C4), Café Direct and Greenwich Dance Agency. He was Glastonbury Festival Poet-in-Residence 2007.

‘comic poetry with a stand-up charge, coupled with intelligent leaps of the poetic imagination’ Shortfuse

‘flamboyant, razor-sharp text, intense energy…reminds me of Adrian Mitchell, John Cooper Clarke and Linton Kwesi Johnson, all the right people’ Simon Vinkenoog

‘the fire is withering, even if it is delivered with a smile and a twinkle’ Greg Freeman, WriteOutLoud

‘A poet of panache & zip & steely politic & unadulterated tartan’ UK Touring

http://www.elvismcgonagall.co.uk

His poetry collection Mostly Dreich is published by Nasty Little Press.,

wed 24th 42 Held at Drummonds, The Swan with Two Nicks, 28 New Street, Worcester WR1 2DP on the final Wednesday of each month, 42 Worcester starts at 19:30. You can book a slot via the Facebook page or email Andrew at andrew@42worcester.com

Worcester, the Worcestershire gothic, horror, sci-fi and fantasy event, returns on September 24th 2014. Theme this month ‘Robots, Cyborgs & Steampunk’.

Confirmed performers include:

Polly Robinson
Leena Batchelor
Kevin Brooke
Andrew Owens
Timothy Stavert
Nicole Amy Louise Pott
Jo Grant
Thurs 25th Elvis McGonigal Theatre Severn Shrewsbury, 7.30pm £10 in


Sat 27th Poets Place Come to Poets’ Place Library of Birmingham (Café Mezzanine), Birmingham 35pm free to make new friends, discover new poets, share and have your work critiqued, make useful connections, set a writing schedule…Poets’ Place can be whatever you as a poet decide to make of it.

 Just show up with your poems or a blank notebook!

Sun 28th One Woman in Time,7.30pm,Midlands Art Centre,Cannon Hill Park, B12 9QH Birmingham, United Kingdom From Somesuch Theatre
A new play by Deirdre Burton and Tom Davis
Showtimes: 2.30pm/5.30pm/8.30pm

‘One Woman in Her Time’
with
Lorna Meehan and Ramesh Krishnamurthy

At: the hexagon theatre, midlands arts centre
cannon hill park – opposite edgbaston cricket ground
B12 9QH

“Who am I? What’s happening to me? And what’s all this strange stuff that’s going on inside my head?”

What happens when a young woman, an experienced Shakespearian actress, decides – somewhat impulsively – to try an intensive ten day meditation retreat?

What happens is more than a little surprising. Memories, dreams, reflections and strange encounters. With laughter, tears, powerful poetry and cheerful chatter, it becomes a celebration of life and love, the mysterious mischievous mind, and the magic of theatre.

Running time: 60 minutes

tickets: http://www.macarts.co.uk or 0121 446 3232
£8/£5 (concessions)

Saturday 11th Cheltenham Poetry Festival Slam
” We’re doing something a bit different at Cheltenham this year. In celebration of our and the festival’s close involvement with poetry slams since their arrival in the UK in 1994, we’re hosting two events on Saturday 11th October – an invitation-only Qualifier at 3.30pm, from which five poets will proceed to join ten previous UK Allcomers and UK All Stars winners in the Grand Final at 8.45pm. Early booking is strongly advised.”

Saturday 11th Life and Times of the Tat Man Dance Workshop Theatre, 132 Alcester Rd, Moseley, Brum 7.30pm

Black Country theatre at its absolute finest. For the second time this year Regional Voice Theatre brings The Life and Times of Tat Man to Birmingham.

Described as a ‘tour de force’ of regional drama, we invite you to be a witness. Performance runs on October 11th, 7.30pm at The Dance Workshop theatre venue. Tickets cost just £6. There is also a bar and food.

To book please follow the link below. Any questions or queries, just get in touch:

regionalvoicetheatre@gmail.com

Also please see the Life and Times of the Tat Man facebook page for other autumn dates.

http://livebrum.co.uk/moseley-dance-workshop/2014/10/11/the-life-and-times-of-the-tat-man

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Journey’s End, Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on September 1, 2014 by garylongden

journeys end
Amongst the myriad events marking the centenary of the start of the First World War,Sutton Arts Theatre chose R C Sherriff’s “Journeys End” as their offering. Written in 1928, some fourteen years after the event, Sherriff originally struggled to find a theatre to stage it. Fortunately a letter of endorsement by George Bernard Shaw ensured its first night at the Apollo theatre, with a young Laurence Olivier taking the lead role of Captain Stanhope. The production subsequent ran in the West End for two years.

The single set, an officer’s mess in a dug out, is convincingly created by John Islip and his team, dank claustrophobic and scant refuge from the savagery which envelops it.

Sherriff’s account of life in the trenches benefits from the authenticity of his experiences serving in, and being wounded in, the trenches. The language and dialogue is of its time with decent public school types, and times being topping or beastly, but its everyman tale of war comes from the heart and still moves the soul. That skill was later to shine in his screenplay for “The Dambusters”.

The play opens with contemporary battlefield film projected onto a front screen, and ends with a roll of remembrance for those who gave their lives during Operation Michael. Simple candles provide the only illumination save for the backlit steps in a white light only production which is introduced by an in depth analysis of a sock, which was as exciting as it was for much of the time in the trenches. Director Emily Armstrong is fortunate in having Robert Newton as the lead, Captain Stanhope. Newton carries the production with his neurotic, powerful, compelling portrayal of a young man burdened with the responsibilities of command. Alan Lowe is a strong support as “Uncle” Lieutenant Osborne, a quiet, assured, touchstone for Stanhope, and the conscience of the tale. Jon Flood is outstanding as rookie fresh faced second Lieutenant Raleigh, whose gushing enthusiasm is soon tempered by the cruelty of conflict. To modern eyes the characters are well established stereotypes, an officer suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; a quietly heroic school teacher, and po-faced top brass.

Sherriff’s script is much stronger in the second half than the first, which both run to around seventy five minutes. The defining scene is when Stanhope confronts a terrified second Lieutenant Hibbert who is determined to try to leave his post. Tom Frater movingly emotes Hibbert’s distress, Stanhope combines pugnacity with compassion.

The writing combines typical soldiers black humour with a whimsy which the television series MASH developed several decades later. Osborne quotes Lewis Carroll: “‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said,/ ‘To talk of many things:/ Of shoes – and ships – and sealing-wax – / Of cabbages and kings’.” Mason, the cook, is pilloried for running out of pepper: “War is bad enough with pepper. Without pepper it’s…bloody awful.”

Emily Armstrong skilfully negotiates an effective ending with Stanhope mourning the death of a colleague as the cacophony of a German onslaught deafens, the players gathering for the curtain call behind a mesh curtain as the roll call of the actual dead plays on the front of the curtain. Poignant and moving. Journey’s End runs until Saturday 6th September.

Gary Longden

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Midlands Poetry What’s On August 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by garylongden

Tues 5th, Word, Y Theatre, East St Leicester
We’ve got the amazing George Szirtses as our guest poet!

George Szirtes was born in Budapest in 1948 and came to England as a refugee in 1956. He was brought up in London and studied Fine Art in London and Leeds. His poems began appearing in national magazines in 1973 and his first book, The Slant Door, was published in 1979. It won the Faber Memorial prize the following year.

By this time he was married with two children. After the publication of his second book, November and May, 1982, he was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Since then he has published several books and won various other prizes including the T S Eliot Prize for Reel in 2005.

Having returned to his birthplace, Budapest, for the first time in 1984, he has also worked extensively as a translator of poems, novels, plays and essays and has won various prizes and awards in this sphere. His own work has been translated into numerous languages.

Beside his work in poetry and translation he has written Exercise of Power, a study of the artist Ana Maria Pacheco, and, together with Penelope Lively, edited New Writing 10 published by Picador in 2001.

George Szirtes lives near Norwich with his wife, the painter Clarissa Upchurch to whose website this is linked. Together they ran The Starwheel Press. Corvina has recently produced Budapest: Image, Poem, Film, their collaboration in poetry and visual work.

http://www.georgeszirtes.co.uk/

LAUREN FOSTER-local guest act

George is supported by talented local guest act, local guest act, Lauren Foster.

Lauren’s early scribblings were mostly about ponies but thankfully things have moved on. She has performed at Lyric Lounge, Nottingham Women’s Centre, supported John Hegley at Leicester Comedy Festival, as well participating in other events around the East Midlands, and has just completed the first year of a part-time Creative Writing degree at Leicester University. Lauren will read a selection of poems from a work-in-progress chronicling a barmy Derbyshire childhood.

Come along at 7pm to sign up in the bar for the open-mic.

£4/£3

Visuals by resident film-maker to Word!, Keith Allott.
Music and technichal support courtesy of The Y.heatre, Leicester

Wed 6th, Spire Writes, Whie Swan. 16 St Marys Gate, Chesterfield,
In August, we’re lucky enough to have a guest reading from Kayo Chingonyi.

Kayo was born in Zambia in 1987, moving to the UK in 1993. He holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Sheffield and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London and works as a writer, events producer, and creative writing tutor.

His poems have been published in a range of magazines and anthologies and in a debut pamphlet, ‘Some Bright Elegance.’ He has also won the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize.

‘Kayo weighs each vowel and syllable as if it’s a thing of beauty, which it is, even when the words themselves are breaking your heart’ – Apples and Snakes

There’ll also be the usual open mic slots (one poem each) which you can sign up for in advance or on the night.

As usual, it’s free entry, great bar and we’ll finish in time for last trains to Sheffield.

Thurs 7th Eat up, Shearmans Hall, Milk St, SY11SZ Shrewsbury, Shropshire Shrewsbury, 7..30pm, Readings from: Jonathan Day, Meg Cox, Robert Harper, ; Bethany Rivers, Liz Roberts, Barry Tench Lucy Aphramor and Ledbury Poetry Festival slam champion, Steve Harrison

Tues 12th Mouth and music, Boars Head, Kidderminster, KIDDERMINSTER ARTS FESTIVAL SPECIAL,“WAR AND PEACE”, Boxer and Poet, MATT WINDLE, SIRKEL, Scandinavian influenced folk duo , sax, flute, violin, accordion, guitar & mandola , plus guest appearance from clog dancer Ayliffe Edwards!, MC Sarah Tamar, open mic sign-up from 7.30 (5 mins spoken word or 2 songs), Admission £3 (free to performers)

Thurs 14th Moseley Ashfield Cricket Club,B13 9LB 6pm -9pm
Ashfield Cricket Club is a beautiful pavilion in an idyllic setting, first opened in 1914. There are two 1st WW memorials so an ideal place for our poetry evening.Free.

Thurs 14th Worcester SpeakEasy” at: ****THE OLD RECIFYING HOUSE**** , Worcester, at 7.30 pm, all invited.“Worcester SpeakEasy” is a monthly event of poetry and prose from the page and the stage (and a little music now and then), which takes place on the second Thursday of each month. The event promotes, showcases and encourages writers from the whole of Worcestershire and further afield; there is an invited headline poet each month. If you’d like to book a slot for September, please email Maggie and Fergus at speakeasy.litfest@gmail.com, or leave a message on our Facebook page.

August’s running order will be shown below. If you haven’t got a slot and would like to take part then four, two-minute open mic slots will be available on the night: whether you are a seasoned performer or a complete novice – we want to hear from you!

The event is brought to you by your very own Worcestershire LitFest & Fringe, via Poet Laureate Emeritus Maggie Doyle and the Worcestershire Poet Laureate 2014 Fergus McGonigal, SpeakEasy’s host and MC.

Doors open at 7:00pm for a prompt 7:30pm start; we aim to be finished by about 9.45pm.

Fri 15th Word Up , Coffee Lounge.11 Navigation Street, B2 4BS, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’S Word Up’s 2ND BIRTHDAY YAY YAY!!. It has taken leaps and bounds to come this far and we hope that you’ll all be joining us in celebrating this momentous occasion.
Join us for Word Up AUGUST 15TH @ OUR NEW VENUE COFFEE LOUNGE right OPP NEW ST STATION 11 Navigation St B2 4BS

There WILL be cake. Let’s make it a night to remember – get your dancing shoes on, put on your best threads, and we’ll see you there!

Have a question? Want a slot? Message us on here (fb), email us at: word–up@hotmail.com

Wednesday, 20th at 11:00am – 2:00pm,Gas Street Basin,Gas St, B1 2JT Birmingham, United Kingdom
Join Bridge the Gap powered by Beatfreeks on the Birmingham canals for this never done before, intergenerational tea party on a boat with spoken word open mic! Expect free tea, coffee, cakes and sandwiches! All ages welcome! We will be joined by Northfield’s ‘Other Side of the Door’ and ‘The Kings Norton Seniors’ for this epic intergenerational afternoon of story-telling, poetry, water, history, conversation and fun! Please arrive at Gas Street Basin on Gas Street off Broad Street by 10:45am latest to board and leave on the boat for 11am. This will be a 3 hour boat trip, touring the canals of Birmingham, dropping you back off at Gas Street Basin. The first hour will be an awesome poetry workshop lead by Seasick Fist, followed by light conversation, story-telling and free food. Finishing off with an exciting open mic, where all are welcome to sign up and grab a slot! Tickets are £5 (booking fee of 78p) which will cover your place on the boat, food along with tea and coffee (extra drinks are available to buy on deck). Limited ticket availability due to the size of the boat (grab yours before they sell out!) Hope to see you there! Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bridge-the-gap-tickets-12450169793

Wednesday, 20th, at 7:30pm – 9:00pm,Centre for oneness, Great Western Street, Wednesbury, WS10 0AS,Unity in the Community event is to inspire unity with songs and poetry on the theme of happiness. Enjoy and share oneness in the rich diverse celebration called life. Seeing past all divisions, we can see there is so much to see.

Thursday, 21st,at 7:00pm – 9:30pm,The BHG ( Boars Head Gallery, Kidderminster),DY10 1EW Kidderminster,A Night of Spoken Word with Heather Wastie and Sarah Tamar. A chance to listen to short sets of spoken word with plenty of time to browse the art in between. To book a performance slot, email info@kidderminster-creatives.org.uk. Plus a market with a difference, a wide range of Art, T shirts, prints plus a selection of the weird and wonderful for sale. Admission free – donations welcome.

Thursday, 21st at 7:20pm,Akamba,Tythe Barn Lane, Shirley, B90 1PH Solihull
A Limited Edition Poetry Anthology about the Natural World and how it is Declining. Poems from Born Free’s Poet in Residence Richard Bonfield and Virginia McKenna. Poetry From- Antony Owen, Caroline Gill, Chris Fewings, Claire Walker, Clare Power, David Barber, David Calcutt, Elaine Catherine Christie,Eugene Egan, Giovanni ‘Spoz’ Esposito, Helen Calcutt, Jade Phipps, Jan Watts, Janet Jenkins, Janine Allen, Jude Ashworth, Matt Nunn, Mike Alma, Nina Lewis, Rangzeb Hussain, Sarah James, Tessa Lowe, Tom Wyre. Poems from Animal Liberation Front, Famous Quotations and poems from Wordsworth, Blake, Dickinson, Browning etc. Fantasy Art from Josephine Wall too! This is a collection not to be missed, all funds go to fight the fur trade. Our Fabulous HOST for the evening is TESSA LOWE

Sunday, 24 th, at 4:30pm,Adam and Eve,Bradford Street, Digbeth, B12 0JD Birmingham, United Kingdom
We love it when our friends become successful. The Dollcanoes feature one of the Sunday Xpress’ founding mothers Lizzy Piffany and much-loved regular going here by the name of PC ‘Fingers’ McGee.

Since forming last year, the Dollcanoes have been asked to perform alongside very important Birmingham bands such as Miss Halliwell and Misty’s Big Adventure, supported Jeffrey Lewis and the Jrams at the Actress and Bishop, and recently appeared at One Beat Records’s One Beat Weekender at MAC Birmingham.

The Dollcanoes are a fab combination of lo-fi indie and riot grrl sensibilities (is that right?) combining their sounds with eye-popping DIY aesthetics – home made costumes, paper chains, gaudy plastic toys – everything. A splendid time will be guaranteed for all. Free in as well.

Open mic for all – remember to book your place here.

Monday, 25th at 11:00am,Workhouse Gallery Presteigne,This year’s Workhouse Gallery exhibition features prints from Os, a work in progress by Presteigne-based photographer Alex Ramsay, considering bones and the various meanings they hold for us. At this event he is joined by poet Liz Lefroy , winner of the 2011 Roy Fisher Prize, who will read from her recently published pamphlet Mending the Ordinary. £6

Wed 27th, 42, Swan with two Nicks, 28 New Street, WR1 2DP Worcester

42 Worcester, the Worcestershire gothic, horror, sci-fi and fantasy event, returns on August 27th . Open theme this month. Sign up on the night. Any subject, any genre.

Held at Drummonds, The Swan with Two Nicks, 28 New Street, Worcester WR1 2DP on the final Wednesday of each month, 42 Worcester starts at 19:30. For further information leave a message on the Facebook page: or email Andrew at andrew@42worcester.com

Wed 27th , Inspire Cafe and Bar, Christchurch Spire, New Union Street, Coventry, West Midlands CV1 2PS 7.30pm This edition of Fire & Dust will be held in Coventry’s third-biggest spire (out of three) – Inspire Bar and Cafe! All writers are welcome for readings of poetry, spoken-word performances and short stories (keep them to 10 mins) Inspire is a venue with great atmosphere and an extensive range of ales and continenta lager beers! Doors open from 7.30pm – FREE To get a reading spot, please arrive early and we’ll add you to the list. Come with an open mind and an open ear! Venue details:

Inspire Cafe and Bar
Christchurch Spire,
New Union Street,
Coventry,
West Midlands
CV1 2PS

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspire-Cafe-Bar/230329543668993?rf=115225465200798

Check out http://www.silhouettepress.co.uk

for more event info!

Sun 31st, Swan with two Nicks, 28 New Street, WR1 2DP Worcester 7.30pm, and we’re back! Have you missed us? We’ve missed you, ever so much!! Come along to the Swan with Two Nicks and lets get re-acquainted…Worcester’s wonderful open mic event wants poet-people, prose-people, music people and audience people for one heck of a night! We are part of the lovely, stupendous Worcester Music Festival and all money raised goes to their fabulous charity for young carers in Worcester. Come on in, you know you want to!

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Midlands Poetry What’s On July 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by garylongden

Tues 1st

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Midlands Poetry What’s On June 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by garylongden

Sun 1st

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The Cornbury Festival

Posted on July 9, 2014 by garylongden

simple minds
The posh festival. That is what I read prior to my first visit. So it proved.

Behind the posh festival tag lies a much more intriguing sub-plot of “toff wars”, with Cornbury promoter and impresario Old Etonian Hugh Philimore falling out with erstwhile hosts, Lord and Lady Rotherwick ( it does not seem wise, does it?),and relocating to Great Yew, while the Rotherwick’s promote the rival Wildnerness festival nearby, displacing Cornbury’s recent home. Although Phillimore might not be as good with money as the Lord and Lady, he certainly knows how to put a show together. A promoter that likes, and has a feel for, music is a good start, and the bill was a good mix.

We arrived late afternoon to encounter no traffic. We just drove straight in and parked. It was as simple as that. Anticipating what two people might need for three days is no easy task and the car was laden with enough provisions to mount more an expedition than a weekend. Only upon arrival did it dawn that those supplies have to be carried. Suddenly the attractions of a backpack bivouac become all too obvious.

The organisers have thought of this and provide trolleys for hire ( for a £50 deposit) and £5 per thirty minute hire charge. Two problems become apparent. Firstly the car park is a long way from the camping. Secondly the trolley is about the same size as a supermarket trolley, when a flat bed of articulated lorry proportions is required. Unless the hauler is a cross between Linford Christie and Shergar, with the packing skills of a magician, this was going to be a long job. A marathon ( charge) not a sprint.

Fortunately a combination of charm, status and blagging resulted in my being able to park about three metres from my ultimate pitch for reasons so secret that I have handed the dossier to the Home Secretary, who has lost them.

The first artiste I did not see, but heard. It was Suzanne Vega, whose dulcet, doleful tones drifted over the afternoon fencing, Marlena on the wall and Luka both sounded good, the rest sounded much like Marlena on the wall and Luka. I think that Suzanne is best listened to like this.

Inside the arena a myriad stalls unfurled like a brightly coloured carpet, part village fete, part fairground, part market , with something for everyone. There were also lots of children, not a few, not teenagers, lots of children. It was then that I noticed that the trolleys also came in wagon form, complete with canopy and cushioned interior. This enabled children to be towed ( why adult versions are not available I am unsure), the cushioned interiors enabling them to be towed while sleeping ( why adult versions are not available I am even more unsure).

And so it was time for my first live encounter. A somewhat fleeting one, with Arrested Development, an American alternative hip hop group, founded by Speech and his then best friend Headliner as a positive, Afrocentric alternative to the gangsta rap popular in the early 1990s. In theory this is A Good Thing. In practice, rap that does not involve distasteful misogyny and multiple murder can be a little bland, and so it proved. Sophie Ellis Bextor drew a big crowd to the Songbird tent, and she looked fabulous. But her problem is that she only has two songs of note (“ Groovejet” , “Murder on the Dancefloor”) best played in a disco when inebriated ,and that most of us remember her mum as a Blue Peter presenter. A few songs in, I looked at Jane, Jane looked at me, we left.

Friday’s headliners were Jools Holland and his big band, who were indeed, very big. Jools has come a long way since I first saw him perform unobtrusively as a keyboard player in the newly formed Squeeze. A packed auditorium gathered to see him strut his big band stuff, playing big band music, in a very authentic and accomplished big band way. To make things interesting, he features several members of the band whose talents might best have been reserved for solos rather than entire songs. He also has guests. Marc Almond joins him early on for a ridiculously brief two numbers, a Marvin Gaye cover “This Love Starved Heart of Mine (It’s Killing Me)”, which was magnificent, and the grand, poignant “ Say hello, wave good bye”). Then he was off, and the show never quite recovered. Mel C sang three numbers very well wearing a simple understated shift dress, and it was the singer and the song which caught the eye, not the Spice Girl baggage. “Sir Duke” ended her trio, a difficult song, a complex arrangement, which she carried off with some aplomb. Then she too departed all too soon. The rest was fine, but curiously soulless. One for the cognoscenti, but not the neutral.

As Jools performed so the drizzle began to fall. As we entered our tents so the drizzle changed to downpour, for the night. Fortunately our tent, of capacious, five man-and –some proportions, was up to the task, sadly for those in £19.99 Argos two man tent economy jobs, some were not. Not that I was in a position to gloat, our recently acquired double air bed , £9.99. from Argos, proved to be as hopelessly unable to retain air as the cheapo tents proved hopelessly unable to repel water.
frank watet

But not all water is bad. Frank Water is a not for profit organisation which funds clean water projects in India. Amongst the stalls that charge £10.50 for a burger and chips, Frank’s proposition is a clever one. Buy a sturdy, reusable, branded water bottle for £5, then have unlimited refills for the remainder of the festival. With stalls selling water at £1.50 a bottle, that is a saving of over £10 over three days, for four bottles a day, and the water is fresh, filtered and cold. Because of the refills, the plastic bottles are not discarded too, making it environmentally friendly. Everyone wins, India, the environment, and the environmentally conscious consumer.

“The good news is that you have a slot at Cornbury and are on the main stage, the bad news is that you are opening at noon” Not that Jon Allen seemed to mind at all. Playing an amiable brand of original folk/rock guitar music, the songs hint strongly at his late 60’s/70’s influences providing a pleasant enough wake up call to the day. The Duallers brand of ska and reggae coincided with the sun shining through, a big plus for them, encouraging a lazing crowd to skank and jiggle, just a little bit.

Thirty four years ago I was at Knebworth with 120,000 other people to see Led Zeppelin, on the supporting bill were Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Their early fame came from the reflected glory of various band members’ association with Bruce Springsteen, and for a few years it seemed as though they might emulate some of that success. But although commercial fame eluded them, their reputation as a reliable, crowd pleasing, touring act endures, with those talents shining in the midday afternoon. The veteran brass section is as stirring in “I Don’t Want To Go Home” as it is plaintiff in “Don’t Walk Away Renee”, and the crowd loved it.

As the day wore on I conducted a vox pop of the most keenly anticipated band. The answer- Scouting For Girls, not a super-group of Savile, Harris and Hall, but a power/indie pop band who seem incredibly popular with young girls and mums pushing baby buggies. Their fan base loved them, I left them to it. Georgie Fame was old when I was young. Now I am old he is very old, but he nonetheless enthralled the Songbird stage with the Guy Barker Big band, offering classy music, great songs, and talent to burn. A real treasure from the sixties era which produced so many musical maestros.

My relationship with the Saturday night headliners, Simple Minds, is ambivalent. I have some sympathy with those who describe them as “U3” , a U2 derivative act, who would work best as a tribute band. But their “Live in the City of Light” live album is one of the great live albums, and their performance of “Mandela Day” at the Wembley Mandela Tribute concert at Wembley one of the great live performances anywhere. When I last saw them a decade ago at the NEC in Birmingham they were dreadful, so on the night, I was prepared for pretty much anything.

As he prepared to come on stage, Jim Kerr waved to those of us side stage who caught his eye. It was a snapshot of what was to come. Jim waves a lot. My issue with Simple Minds is that they don’t really have a full set worth of memorable songs, however, when Jim puts his mind to it, he overcomes this with enthusiasm, bravado and showmanship. The opener, “Waterfront” is a simple twelve bar blues riff ( and I mean a riff) played around with a bit with synthesiser motifs, and Jim wailing a lot. Yet with a dazzling light show, tight band, lots of major chords and bass, it works.

Jim has three main moves, waving to the crowd, pointing to the crowd, and encouraging everyone to clap along. He does this a lot. The crowd likes it. “He’s waving at me!” “He’s pointing at me”. Occasionally Jim kneels down for gravitas, but wisely not too often, as getting up again takes a little longer these days.” Promised You a Miracle”, “Don’t You Forget About Me” and “Alive and Kicking” were predictably excellent, “Love Song” the surprise highlight. It was a shame they played neither “Mandela Day” or “Belfast Child” as both numbers, slow ballads, highlight the voice of Kerr and the musicianship of the band in a way that the high-octane set could never do. But I suspect that Kerr was mindful that a festival crowd is awash with neutrals and keeping the energy and volume high is wise. The biggest crowd of the festival lapped it up, I thoroughly enjoyed the set which was by far the best of the weekend, and Jim waved, pointed and clapped at the end. Forever the pro.

Sunday is going- home- day, the bill seemed awkward. I chatted to the BBC Radio Oxford crew. They were struggling like mad both to secure interviews with the stars, and fend off interview requests from Sam Bailey. I was able to tip them off that they had missed Orlando Bloom in the VIP area the day before, but who had come from the Oxfordshire/ Gloucestershire elite otherwise was shrouded in speculation. The Camerons were joining the search for lost files, Clarkson was worried about all those microphones, even if they were on stage, and Rebekah was baking Andy a cake with a hacksaw in it, so it was rumoured. The VIP area, including an Annabel’s marquee to make the London Clubbing set at home, was full to overflowing throughout. The only time the Police were needed at all was when someone claimed that the Krug was running low., if anything represented an emergency, that did!

Gabby Young & Other Animals

Gabby Young & Other Animals

Kings Parade, Boris Johnson’s favourite buskers, performed a set which suggested that their recent arrest by the Met had more to do with providing a public service than any breach of Section 14. They were followed by Gabby Young & Other Animals who played circus rock combined with jazz, pop and folk. Looking like Lene Lovich reincarnated, she was quite clearly bonkers, as the crowd sat transfixed, not knowing whether to laugh, cry, or applaud.

An afternoon which could have imploded into apathy was reignited by Kid Creole & The Coconuts. August Darnell is no fool. He has a handful of great songs, so he stretches them out to around ten minutes each. Might this be a little long for the unconverted? Yes. So he adds three scantily dressed backing singers/dancers to strut, pose and jiggle a lot and change costumes three time in sixty minutes. The result is an afternoon delight complimented by his daughter, a backing singer , singing “My Boy Lollipop”.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

I am an X Factor fan and found Sam Bailey a strong winner on the TV show, but live, the wrinkles started to show. There are lots of singers who can sing standards well, doing so is not enough, even though likes of “No More Tears” and “Skyscraper” were despatched well enough. It’s a festival. Most people could neither see, nor care, that she is pregnant. The only criteria is “is she any good?” Her between song banter was rough, fine if you are moving along awkward inmates, not so good for a festival audience. Her attempts at being one of us floundered, we want our heroes to be stars. Psychologically she seemed unable to make that shift. Her short set was well received, but she needs to enjoy this while she can, because she will be our side of the stage again soon enough.

10cc’s position under Gypsy Kings was a bit of a mystery. Most of the audience knew most of 10cc’s songs, most could name none of Gypsy King’s songs. Although only Graham Gouldman survives the classic line-up, the current band is both accomplished and hard- working, playing a greatest hits set which was crowd-pleasing and a delight. The sound of several thousand joining in with the encore chorus of “Rubber bullets” was delightfully incongruous from a well-heeled, but libertarian sort of audience. That left Gypsy kings to close the evening, their Latin rhythms pleasing their aficionados, but despatching the rest for an early evening getaway.

But Cornbury is about much more than the music. Cat Weatherill entranced all with her storytelling, the comedy tent was packed with people and laughs, and the late night fireside sing-alongs provided good spirits and company. The bane of festivals, the toilets and showers, was well and truly cracked with the toilets clean and the showers excellent. Ironically the provision of posh superloos for an additional £25 weekend pass probably helped taking some pressure off the ordinary facilities.

So the Posh Festival? Well if posh means clean, well run, well organised ( a steward actually said they were there to help me!) with decent people intent on simply having a good time, well yes, posh. And long may it continue.

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