Bath: Valerie Bloom

Wed 4 Jun 2008
1.30pm and 5.00pm, £5 / £7
The Egg
Theatre Royal Bath
Sawclose Bath
BA1 1ET
www.theatreroyal.org.uk
Box office: 01225 448844 / 01225 823409

Come, Me Pickney!
A new performance by Valerie Bloom for children aged 7+.

Acclaimed children’s author, Valerie Bloom, will be performing a brand new short story, interspersed with poems and Jamaican folk songs, set to a specially commissioned soundscape and theatrical lighting at the egg, Theatre Royal Bath. Enter 10-year-old Joe’s world of football and looking cool in front of his friends. When his gran comes to visit from Jamaica he is expecting a sweet old lady and not the feisty woman who insists on walking him to school and kissing him in public! But Joe’s gran has a wealth of stories, songs and poems to share. From helping with impossible maths homework to transforming the most mundane household chores into lots of fun, Joe’s gran is a rapping, singing, modern Mary Poppins in jeans and a T-shirt. Forget a spoon full of sugar and think ripe bananas and fresh callaloo, jerk chicken and rice an’ peas. This show bursts with fun and flavour. Valerie Bloom is one of the best contemporary authors for children. A superb writer on the page and a brilliant performer on stage, you will find yourself joining in her poems and songs. She brings literature to life. Valerie will sign copies of her books after the event.

Valerie Bloom is a fine, fine poet and a wonderful storyteller - Michael Morpurgo.
A Valerie Bloom reading is an uplifting experience - Poetry Archive

Valerie Bloom grew up in Jamaica and came to England in 1979. She was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for her services to poetry. Her nine collections include Whoop n’ Shout, Hot Like Fire, and Let Me Touch the Sky. Her most recent novel published in 2007 is The Tribe.