3.5 STARS
So, after finally giving into the fact that my friend and I really couldn’t locate the venue and asking the lovely staff at Lee Rosy’s to guide us towards it, we finally ventured into The Lofthouse 5 minutes after the performance had begun. Whilst, admittedly, we were both running a tad late, a venue which is hidden behind a very ordinary door on a street which really doesn’t give much indication that performance poetry could occur there, wouldn’t be the easiest place to locate on the best of days!
Once inside, we found ourselves happily plunged head-first into the mixed-media world of the Mouthy Poets. The performances ranged from comments upon such topics as institutional racism to online dating and each piece conveyed a poignant message about the world we live in. The poems were all very cleverly written; especially one of the short videos entitled Escape to Venus which really made use of alliteration and as a result was particularly effective when read aloud. The pieces improved as the show went on; the younger members of the troop in particular performed their poems in a manner which made you empathise with the speakers. The most overwhelming thing, however, was the Mouthy Poets’ sense of community. They were all in tune with each other’s performances and not only did they feed off each other’s energy but it was clear that a lot of practice and care had gone into their recitals.
On the whole, whilst the venue was slightly disappointing (not only because of its obscure location but also because it was hard to see and hear at points), this didn’t stop my friend and I from agreeing that we’d witnessed something pretty impressive. As English students, we know that writing poems are hard, writing poems for performance are even harder and actually performing a poem, well, that’s the hardest thing of all!
If this sounds like your type of event, check out their website.
Image Sources:
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