Tuesday 9 September 2014

A double-bill of poetic mischief

The Edinburgh Fringe has passed, and already I'm remembering it with a rosy glow. I seem to have forgotten the hours spent standing in the rain, attempting to find new and interesting ways to say "please take my flyer"; instead, I seem to recall it as a whirl of excitement and shows and smiling audiences. Even the occasion when we got locked out of our venue and I ended up shepherding the audience into a small shed and performing in the pouring rain has become, in my memory, a fun adventure rather than a soggy headache:



But however selective my memory may be, one definite positive thing to come out of my first proper run at the Fringe has been the reviews. It's usually not easy to get reviewed as a spoken word artist, but the Fringe is awash with reviewers and I managed to somehow tempt a few into my venue, which means that now I can use the following words whenever I want to plug the show:




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***** "Genuine and passionate, a must-see...makes this serious subject matter not just light-hearted but bordering on hilarious." - edfringereview.com
**** "Exciting, enraging and inspiring...he changed the way I perceive activists." - ThreeWeeks
**** "Infinitely better than Deep Throat Live" - theatrereviews.co.uk


exciting, enraging and inspiring tales of his life as an activist. Am I praising him because its my moral duty to? Partly, but thats because Chivers was convincing enough to make it my moral duty; he changed the way I perceive activists. - See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/#sthash.MqEYqJsk.dpuf
exciting, enraging and inspiring tales of his life as an activist. Am I praising him because its my moral duty to? Partly, but thats because Chivers was convincing enough to make it my moral duty; he changed the way I perceive activists. - See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/#sthash.MqEYqJsk.dpuf
A top five Edinburgh Fringe spoken word pick for both WOW247 and Fringe Review

Shortlisted for the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award and the Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award

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For which I am very grateful. I'm particularly grateful to all the amazing volunteers and performers on the Free Fringe, without whom I would not have been able to perform at all (to put on a show in one of the paid Fringe venues, you have to stump up thousands of pounds in advance; the Free Fringe, by contrast uses free venues and asks performers for just a small donation to cover costs). Huge thanks also to everyone who came to see the show, wrote about it, talked about it, and persuaded others to come along. Without you I would be, well, bellowing rhyming couplets at an empty room. More than usual.



So what next? Well, a Very Exciting Thing: I'm going to be performing the show as a double-bill with the wonderful whirlwind of lyrical energy that is Pete The Temp. He's touring his excellent show "Pete The Temp vs. Climate Change", and we'll be performing both our shows back-to-back (not literally) at the Free Word Centre in London on Friday November 21st. If that sounds like the sort of thing you'd like then you can book tickets here.

Hope you're all well, and maybe see you soon...

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