BIRMINGHAM: Hit The Ode

Thursday, January 13th, 2011, 7pm doors, 7.30pm start, £5 (on door only)
The Victoria,
48 John Bright Street,
Birmingham
B1 1BN
Info: Bohdan Piasecki bohdan@applesandsnakes.org

After a hugely successful launch in November 2010, Hit the Ode begins its monthly run at the Victoria on Thursday, January 13th. Each Hit the Ode features one act from the West Midlands, one from elsewhere in the UK, and, uniquely, one international guest. The star-studded January edition will give Brummies the chance to see Wolverhampton’s Emma Purshouse, Cambridge-based Ross Sutherland, and Sardinian performer extraordinaire, Sergio Garau, alongside local open mic poets.

Our resident DJ Soesmix Edan will once again provide wonderful musical counterpoints to all the spoken word.

Note: if you write and perform poetry yourself - there will be a (very) few open mic slots available, so get there early on the day to sign up!

Wolverhampton: Emma Purshouse
Emma is a performance poet, writer, stand-up comedienne and workshop facilitator who can effortlessly switch from character to character, from the comic to the tragic, from a fast-paced delivery to a more meditative pace. Emma performs her work nationally, is a published author and winner of multiple poetry slams.
“Emma Purshouse is a fine poet, actress and comedienne, and she combined all three to delight all.” – Behind the Arras

Cambridge: Ross Sutherland
Ross Sutherland began performing poetry aged seventeen, as support for punk-poet John Cooper Clarke. A mere few years later, Ross was included in The Times list of Top Ten Literary Stars of 2008. He is a founding member of the live poetry collective, Aisle16, whose 2005 theatre production, Poetry Boyband, was Time Out Critics’ Choice of the Year. His debut solo collection, Things To Do Before You Leave Town, was published by Penned in the Margins in January 2009.
"Sutherland is compelling, veering between earnest and flippant, erudite and heartfelt." – The Independent

Italy: Sergio Garau
Born in Sardinia, Italy, Sergio is a performance poet in the truest sense of the word. His multilingual pieces challenge preconceptions of what spoken word can be and leave audiences wondering what just happened. Sergio has performed across Europe, won slams in several countries, and shared the stage with the likes of Henry Bowers, Kat Francois, and Saul Williams. He is currently dividing his time between Torino and Berlin."