Last night John Prescott was addressing the members of the local Labour Party at Bilston Town Hall. Fortunately for me there was an alternative. I chose to forego the pleasure of Mr Prescott's company and visit this month's Bilston Voices to sit comfortably and listen to the evening's five performers.
Andy Moreton kicked off. He was a little nervous as it was his first time to read to an audience but he had no need to be. It's a remarkably performer-friendly venue and his work is strong enough to go down very well. It was a mix of humourous and serious poems and one longer prose piece about a voyeuristic old man and it was all well received. I know Andy from my writers' group and I was glad that Emma had finally managed to persuade him to take part.
Next came Dave Reeves with a well-performed, if rather odd, set. His opening poem, a polemic about reading poetry on the web, was fittingly written on a scroll and he moved on to a slight variation on a poem by Alan Ginsberg in which he had replaced "Levinsky" throughout by "Lewinsky". He accompanied himself on accordion. It was novel but nowhere near as clever as he thought it was. Fortunately other poems in the set were very clever and sometimes very funny and delivered very entertainingly.
A young local poet, Tom Jenkins, rounded out the first half well. His poems were witty and well-crafted and included a nicely done pastiche of Poe's the Raven as well as a worryingly convincing piece about an internet stalker.
After the break we had the highlight of the night, Theo Theobold, whose set was really a stand-up comedy routine interrupted by some very funny poems. His jokes elicited laughter and groans in equal measure and he performed with energy and spirit.
It was, perhaps, therefore unfortunate for Simon Fletcher that he had to follow him. Without Simon's organisation and advocacy of poetry in Wolverhampton it's probable that we'd have neither Bilston Voices nor its big brother City Voices. He also writes poetry and prose with a great deal of technical accomplishment. It would require a sharp ear and a harsh critic to find a mis-stressed syllable or a misplaced word. The trouble is that his writing is usually quiet and contemplative, and often very personal, memoirs of his life and family. If not following Theobold they would have been intimate and sensitive but in the circumstances they seemed a little flat.
So, another great night out in Bilston without a politician in sight. I can't help feeling glad that I wasn't in the Town Hall.
Andy Moreton kicked off. He was a little nervous as it was his first time to read to an audience but he had no need to be. It's a remarkably performer-friendly venue and his work is strong enough to go down very well. It was a mix of humourous and serious poems and one longer prose piece about a voyeuristic old man and it was all well received. I know Andy from my writers' group and I was glad that Emma had finally managed to persuade him to take part.
Next came Dave Reeves with a well-performed, if rather odd, set. His opening poem, a polemic about reading poetry on the web, was fittingly written on a scroll and he moved on to a slight variation on a poem by Alan Ginsberg in which he had replaced "Levinsky" throughout by "Lewinsky". He accompanied himself on accordion. It was novel but nowhere near as clever as he thought it was. Fortunately other poems in the set were very clever and sometimes very funny and delivered very entertainingly.
A young local poet, Tom Jenkins, rounded out the first half well. His poems were witty and well-crafted and included a nicely done pastiche of Poe's the Raven as well as a worryingly convincing piece about an internet stalker.
After the break we had the highlight of the night, Theo Theobold, whose set was really a stand-up comedy routine interrupted by some very funny poems. His jokes elicited laughter and groans in equal measure and he performed with energy and spirit.
It was, perhaps, therefore unfortunate for Simon Fletcher that he had to follow him. Without Simon's organisation and advocacy of poetry in Wolverhampton it's probable that we'd have neither Bilston Voices nor its big brother City Voices. He also writes poetry and prose with a great deal of technical accomplishment. It would require a sharp ear and a harsh critic to find a mis-stressed syllable or a misplaced word. The trouble is that his writing is usually quiet and contemplative, and often very personal, memoirs of his life and family. If not following Theobold they would have been intimate and sensitive but in the circumstances they seemed a little flat.
So, another great night out in Bilston without a politician in sight. I can't help feeling glad that I wasn't in the Town Hall.
1 comment:
Gaz and I enjoyed your excellent review as usual Bob, it was a very good night. Silv
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