SHOT FROM THE LIP: a new season of poetry & spoken word events in London launches this week

SHOT FROM THE LIP

28 February - 27 April 2007 - various venues

SEASON LAUNCH - Wednesday 28 February at 8pm Soho Theatre
featuring John Hegley, Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze, Billy Childish, Patience Agbabi, Lucy English, Fran Landesman, Abraham Gibson and Andy Craven-Griffiths.

Shot From The Lip is a season of Spoken Word events from 28 February - 27 April 2007 put together by a group of the artform’s leading artists and promoters to help new and existing fans navigate their way through this burgeoning scene. Challenging outdated notions of what Spoken Word nights are all about, the season reflects the exuberance and diversity of events filling bars, clubs, theatres, galleries and dedicated poetry venues throughout the capital. Featured artists include Patience Agbabi, Brendan Cleary, Crisis, Kat Francois, John Hegley, Gautam Malkami, Simon Munnery, Lemn Sissay and many more.

Shot From The Lip opens on 28 February at Soho Theatre with an event highlighting some of the country’s finest, established Spoken Word talents as well as some below the radar and ripe for discovery. The launch is presented by Apples and Snakes, the UK’s leading promoter of performance poetry and features Billy Childish, Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze, Fran Landesman, Abraham Gibson and John Hegley.

The season encourages people to explore the variety of different types of Spoken Word events that can be enjoyed year-round. Some boast lots of live music, such as OneTaste in Balham or the popular penned in the margins at The Spitz and the stylish Poetry n Motion on the Embankment. At others, such as Speakeasy Reloaded in Hackney, or the hugely successful Book Slam, performances are interspersed with DJ sets, while London Liming evokes the scorching sounds and tropical vibes of the Trinidadian ‘lime’.

There’s also plenty on offer for those who prefer things word-pure, including New Blood at the Poetry Café in Covent Garden and Express Excess at Chalk Farm, or with a comedy vibe at The Poetry Shack. Events with a particularly literary leaning include tall lighthouse and the Barbican’s spotlight on poet and live artist Raman Mundair, while PoetryFilm introduces the best experimental text/films put together especially for Shot From The Lip.

The season of course also includes opportunities for the very keen to have a go themselves, particularly at Word4Word at Stratford East, an evening of music and poetry with ample opportunities for audience members to take up the mic and perform.

Shot From The Lip is managed by Audiences London and developed with and steered by a consortium of spoken word promoters and artists. Accompanying the season is a Shot From The Lip Guide complete with listings of regular events in the capital. It can be downloaded at www.shotfromthelip.org from January 2007.

For further information please contact Tim McKeough on 020 7403 0599 or 07984 669 432 or email timmckeough@hotmail.com

SHOT FROM THE LIP

www.shotfromthelip.org

Season Launch
Wednesday 28 February at 8pm, Soho Theatre, Dean St W1
Shot From The Lip is launched by Apples & Snakes and features performances from eight of the country’s finest poets – from well-known names to well-kept secrets. Featuring: John Hegley, Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze, Billy Childish, Patience Agbabi, Lucy English, Fran Landesman, Abraham Gibson and Andy Craven-Griffiths.
The event also marks the first of Apples & Snakes bi-monthly events at Soho Theatre Studio.
Tickets; £8/£6 0870 429 6883 or at: www.sohotheatre.com

One Taste
Sunday 4 March, 7 - 11pm, The Bedford (Globe Theatre) 77 Bedford Hill, SW12
Throwing a spotlight onto underground music and spoken word artists, the line up of poets, musicians and cabaret performers includes wordsmith, Inua Ellams, the ‘suburban gothic’, the performer and film-maker Suzanne Andrade and the host of Radio 4’s, Bespoken Word, Mr Gee.
Tickets: £6 on the door or £5 online www.onetaste.co.uk

Speakeasy Reloaded
Monday 5 March 8-10pm: Marie Lloyd Bar 289 Mare Street, London E8
Featuring a remarkable range of styles and interspersed with DJ sets, this is another chance to see John Hegley in this east London theatre bar that also boasts Tracy Emin art. Sets from poets Roger Cliff-Thompson and Crisis also feature.
Tickets: Free

PoetryFilm
Friday 9 March, 8-11pm: Saatchi and Saatchi, 80 Charlotte Street, London W1
A selection of PoetryFilm’s best experimental text/films put together by Malgorzata Kitowski especially for the Shot from the Lip season.
Tickets £5 reserve at: info@poetryfilm.org

penned in the margins @ The Spitz
Thursday 15 March, 8 -11pm, The Spitz, Spitalfields Market, London E1
Fusion of leftfield poetics and live music in east London’s best alternative music venue.
Tickets: £6/£5 020 7392 9032 www.wegottickets.com

Apples & Snakes: Fresh
Friday 16 March, 8pm-11pm: The Albany, Douglas Way, London SE8
Poetry meets hip-hop in a fast-paced night of rhythm & rhyme. Open mic slots available for poets and spitters alike.
Tickets £7/£5, £4 for under 25s 020 8692 4446 www.thealbany.org.uk

New Blood
Wednesday 21 March, 7:30 - 9:30pm: Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, WC2
New Blood has been showcasing new writers alongside established ones since the ‘80s. The current team presents Ashna, an astonishing 14-year-old writer of wisdom, wit and observation, Scroobius Pip the trail blazing bearded ‘unspoken’ word artist and Todd Swift, one of the leading Canadian poets of his generation. Open mic slots available.
Tickets: £5/£3 concs on the door

Poetry n Motion
Sunday 25 March, 8:30 -10:30pm @ Motion Bar (downstairs), Victoria Embankment, WC2
Host Nii Parkes introduces US imports and some of the UK’s best lyrical artists. Including Crisis and Metis.
Tickets £6 (£3 online or call 08700 600 100) www.ukfridays.com

tall lighthouse
Wednesday 28 March 8-10pm: Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, WC2
A line-up full of award-winning poets from this independent poetry press in the intimate surroundings of the Poetry Cafe. Plus a few open mic slots and an opportunity to buy the books.
Tickets: £4/£3 concs on the door www.tall-lighthouse.co.uk

Book Slam
Thursday 29 March, 8.30pm – late: Check www.bookslam.com for venue details
Founded by award-winning author Patrick Neate and sometime pop superstar Ben Watt, Book Slam mixes poetry, prose and live music, with plenty of breaks for chat and drinks. Guests include Gautam Malkani, celebrating the paperback publication of his debut Londonstani, and Salena Godden, notorious poet, singer and raconteur.
Tickets: £5 on the door

Express Excess
Wednesday 4 April, 8:30 -11pm, The Enterprise (upstairs) 2 Haverstock Hill, NW3
With feel-good tales from Roger Robinson and poems & tales of Simon Munnery and Julian Fox (possible harmonica playing may also feature), this is a fine night of snaking tales, wit and leftfield word play.
Tickets: £5/£3 concs on the door www.expressexcess.co.uk

The Poetry Shack
Tuesday 10 April, 7:30pm: Old Crown Public House, 33 New Oxford St WC1
The Poetry Shack’s headliner is the eccentric, iconoclastic poet AF Harrold, leading a cast of performers to welcome the spring… There are also open mic spots and a competition for the best poem on the subject of astrophysics! Tickets: £5 on the door www.thepoetryshack.co.uk

Word4Word
Sunday 15 April, 8pm-10pm Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15
Hosted by Kat Francois, Word4Word is an evening of music and poetry but most importantly open mic, in the theatre’s cosy bar. There are performances from two writers and musicians and the rest of the night is over to the audience.
Tickets: Free www.stratfordeast.com

Raman Mundair
Wednesday 18 April, 7:30-10pm, Barbican Library, Barbican, Silk Street EC2
Born in India and now based in the Shetland Islands, Raman Mundair’s poems inevitably explore identity and journeys of all kinds - cultural, political and geographical. With special guests she presents a heady fusion of words and music.
Tickets: £6/£4 0845 120 7500 www.barbican.org.uk

London Liming: a spoken word lime in London
Friday 27 April, 7:45pm-12am, Rich Mix, E1
Music, DJs and spoken word under one roof, with lots of soca, brazilian and dance sounds on tap. Shot from the Lip’s closing event features John Agard, Patience Agbabi, Anthony Joseph and is hosted by Lemn Sissay and Melanie Abrahams. Presented in association with Rich Mix.
Tickets: £7/£5 concs 0207 613 7498 www.renaissanceone.com