9.29°C Yorkshire troupe A Firm of Poets are offering a poetry night with a difference when they visit Colchester Arts Centre on Wednesday 2 December 2015.
The group of four poets will not only perform a mixture of spoken word pieces, but will also encourage budding poets to take to the stage for the first time.
The Firm will hold a workshop on the afternoon of the performance, offering local poets advice and techniques to help refine their craft. Those taking part will then be invited to perform in front of an audience during the evening show.
Ralph Dartford, a founding member of A Firm of Poets, said: “The Firm have been performing for a while, but this is the first time we have involved the audience in this way. We can’t wait to meet budding poets in the workshops before the show and help them perform in front of an audience on the night.”
A Firm of Poets is made up of Ralph Dartford and Matt Abbott, joined in Colchester by fellow poets Luke Wright and Molly Naylor.
Described as a cross between a poetic supergroup and Whose Line Is It Anyway, the show is fast-paced and designed to create a fun and entertaining night out.
The group’s wider aim is to create The People’s Republic of Poetry – a national network of spoken word performers. Work performed by participants will be added to an online e-book that will continue to grow as the tour travels across the UK.
Ralph added, “This is a golden period for spoken word. With the emergence of such artists as Kate Tempest, George the Poet, Luke Wright, Hollie McNish and the reborn John Cooper Clarke, it appears that the nation is wonderfully engaged in rhyme and reason. We will give voice to some of the finest poets nationwide, and, just as important, to the as-yet-unheard voices of any age, gender, race, or background. We want the nation expressing themselves in word. Vive Le Republic!”
