Stage4Beverley: John Hegley

Star of radio, T.V. and school assemblies, is coming back to the East Riding Theatre with a clutch of new verses a few older favourites and a cardboard camel with a moving jaw.

The biscuits in the show derived from a phrase used by Romantic Poet, John Keats:
“a scarcity of biscuit” – not the sort of phrase or spelling you expect from a romantic poet.

The show delves into the more eccentric side of Keats, alongside everyday goings-on in the Hegley homes of now and yesteryear. Includes 7 drawings of elephants, myths discos, daleks, optional community singing and the search for a sense of self-worth. Designed more for adults, but suitable for the odd nin-year-old, The show won a ‘Lustrum Award’ at the Edinburgh Festival 2022, even though there are no biscuits.

The DeanWorld Valentine’s Variety Show

The legend Dean Wilson returns with another ALL-NEW secret line-up of the best live acts Hull has to offer. Expect to be surprised, amazed and (occasionally) mildly impressed.

It you’ve not been to a Deanworld show before, you won’t know what to expect; if you have, then you know to expect the unexpected.

An evening for lovers, the lonely, the lost and the lusty*

*Lustiness subject to licence

Steve Backshall Ocean

Steve Backshall’s new show Ocean is a love letter to the most exciting environment on our planet – and a great way to learn more about what we need to do to save our seas. Stunts, experiments, props, cutting edge science and big screen footage from his two decades in TV, will all help Steve to bring the icons of the Big Blue to life.

From great whites to great whales, seals to sardine shoals, Orca to the oddities of the deep: this is a fantastic opportunity for fans of all ages to dive deep into the wonderful world beneath the waves. A must-see for all the family!

Philip Larkin: Love, Death & Hull

Experience Philip Larkin’s life in Hull through film, poetry, music and readings in an immersive experience that fills the whole of the beautiful James Reckitt Reading Room at Hull Central Library.
The installation has been commissioned as part of Larkin 100, a year long celebration of Larkin’s centenary, and designed by Palma Studios, the creative team responsible for Made in Hull, which opened Hull’s 2017 City of Culture year to great acclaim.
Access has been granted by the Larkin Estate, the Larkin Society and other associated bodies to Larkin’s personal photographs, letters, draft poetry, artefacts and even doodles and these will all be included in an immersive experience utilising multiple projectors and surround sound to turn the beautiful James Reckitt Reading Room into a representation of Larkin’s internal thoughts and external influences as he lives and works in Hull.
This is a free public event and booking is not required. Open during normal Central Library hours.
Not to be missed!

The Gods The Gods The Gods

THE GODS THE GODS THE GODS is the third show in the internally acclaimed series of Myths from the two ‘masters of storytelling’ (Fourth Wall) Wright&Grainger. Following their multi-award winning tellings of ORPHEUS and EURYDICE, Wright&Grainger call us to the crossroads where mythology meets real life.

Performed as a 12-track album, THE GODS THE GODS THE GODS is an exhilarating weave of big beats, heavy basslines, soaring melodies and heart-stopping spoken word.

The 65-minute show weaves together 4 stories: Two kids meet out dancing, they’re set to fall hard; A woman is on a beach, alone at night, looking at the stars; A bloke is on a bridge, thinking about jumping, just before dark. It’s a show about what we continually look for outside of ourselves, and what we might find in those people who surround us.

Hull Truck Theatre, 29 June, 2023

Talking Heads

These two monologues, originally written for television by Alan Bennett; one of Britain’s best-loved and most highly acclaimed writers, are brought to life live on stage by ONE OFF PRODUCTIONS. Their stories are poignant, hilarious, sometimes sad and occasionally uplifting. They showcase Bennett’s sharp powers of observation, comic timing and exquisite turn of phrase. Alan Bennett may be regarded as a national treasure, but that title belies the darker, sinister and more satirically barbed nature of his work.

A Chip in the Sugar – Performed by Jamie Wilks
A Grown man, alone and still living at home Graham enjoys a safe and uncomplicated life with his mother. That is until Frank, Mam’s old flame, makes an unexpected and utterly unwelcome reappearance.

Bed Among the Lentils – Performed by Jackie Rodgers
Susan is a vicar’s wife who doesn’t necessarily believe in God, an alcoholic who steals the communion wine and whose floral displays are never up to much. But when she begins to buy her sherry from the handsome Leeds grocer Ramesh, life begins to look a little less ordinary.

Literary Fireworks

Time for sparks to fly at Wrecking Ball Arts Centre as poets included in the new Grist Books’ anthology We’re All in it Together: Poems for a DisUnited Kingdom, alongside Michael Stewart, the author of Four Letter Words, Killing The Horses author John Newsham and Roger Hyams, author of The Lightman System, come together on Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night to provide audiences with literary fireworks. All of the poets and authors appearing produce work that goes off with a bang.

With readings from:

Michael Stewart
Steve Ely
Safia Khan
Gaia Holmes
Jim Greenhalf
Aamina Khan
John Newsham
Roger Hyams

The event will also include short films made based on short stories contained within Four Letter Words, Q&As with the writers, a chance to get up close, personal and ask the important questions of poets and authors and an opportunity to buy books. The event will close with a panel discussion.

We’re All in it Together explores the fault lines of national and regional identity and the rupture precipitated and exposed by Brexit. What does it mean to be ‘British’ now? Is it possible for the Kingdom to become United? Is it even desirable? It’s the poetry collection that Guy Fawkes would have wanted.

Four Letter Words – Bold, gritty and blackly comic, Michael Stewart’s new collection of short fiction, Four Letter Words, explores twin contemporary urban dystopias: work and home.

Killing The Horses – Killing The Horses is rooted in the landscape and dialect of West Yorkshire and fuses realism with the mythical. It brings the macabre and darkly-religious world of the American Southern Gothic to the north of England. 

The Lightman System – “A superb novel – beautifully, beautifully written and with such heart-breaking truth and insight. Time is both cruel and kind, chance is more cruel than kind, and trying to defeat both is hard. This novel is a supreme example of how fiction can tell this story.” – Stephen Fry

Literary Fireworks will take place during the afternoon of November 5 and will run into the evening. The full line-up, additional guests and event schedule will be released soon.

Rugby League World Cup Cultural Festival: ‘The Power of Poetry’

Inspired by the Rugby League World Cup strapline “The Power of Together” artist and poet Robert Montgomery has joined forces with Emergency Exit Arts and eight leading poets, to create four, striking, double-sided light poems. ‘The Power of Poetry’ has been created in collaboration with poets Malika Booker, Vicky Foster, Jackie Kay, Zaffar Kunial, Sinéad Morrissey, Jacob Polley, Shane Rhodes and Louise Wallwein.

The poems will journey across the North of England stopping off at locations in and around Rugby League World Cup host cities, from civic squares, to stadiums, libraries to local rugby league clubs. Keep an eye out for the poems in Hull.

Hull dates, times and locations are as followed:

Tues 18 October 4pm-10pm in Queen Victoria Square

Wed 19 October 4pm-10pm on Humber Street and Hull Marina

Thurs 20 October 4pm-10pm on Humber Street and Hull Marina

Fri 21 October 4pm-10pm in queen Victoria Square

Sat 22 October 5pm-11pm at The MKM Stadium

 

East Riding Festival of Words

Tickets are now on sale! We have another fantastic line-up for you this year, from the thrilling to the heart-warming, deep discussions and long journeys. Save money with a day pass for our popular espionage and crime themed day on Saturday, 15 October and the bestsellers day on Saturday, 22 October.

David Hodge – The Boy Who Sat By the Window

Join Wrecking Ball Arts centre for an evening with David Hodge, author of The Boy Who Sat By the Window: The Story of the Queen of Soho. David will read from his memoir and be in conversation with Dave Windass.

“My story is one of laughter and hedonism, dressing up and showing off. I played Queen in a parallel universe of glamour, rhinestones and couture outfits. It’s also one of alienation and loneliness and of always being the odd one out. I lived through AIDS, Princess Diana and Thatcher but came out singing and dancing my way through Soho and the West End. I survived a murder attempt and bankruptcy. I am still here. Now I paint my feelings and not my face and once again feel as if my journey is beginning. This is my truth. Grubby at times but mine to tell. Here it is. Uncensored.” – David Hodge

Kate Fox: Where There’s Muck, There’s Bras

Stand up poet and broadcaster Kate Fox performing at Wrecking Ball, shares some of the stories from her book of amazing Northern women, Where There’s Muck, There’s Bras, including Hullensians Barbara Buttrick, Amy Johnson, Ethel Legniska and Lillian Bilocca.

The show sold out at Hull Truck in 2019 and a book version has now been published by Harper North.

A funny and provoking look at voice, Northernness, gender and who we choose to remember – and forget.

Eastendless

Finally – the scandalous truth behind Eastenders revealed!

Gasp as walk-on actor Tony Coventry lifts the lid and spills his beans!

“Sad, moving and very funny” – The Telegraph
“A delight, funny, charming, poignant” – The Sunday Times
“A fantastic show!” – Lindsey Coulson, Eastenders Cast

In Conversation with Rosie Millard & Alan Johnson

In this centenary year, the Larkin Society brings together its President, Rosie Millard, and one of its Vice-Presidents, Alan Johnson, for a conversation about the great poet and more.

Both fans of Hull and Larkin, both writers, both commentators on the cultural and political world, they will be providing a knowledgeable and personal look at Larkin the writer, Larkin the man and the controversy that sometimes surrounds him.

But their exchange will inevitably touch on the role that Hull played in all their lives. What is it about this city with its ‘different resonance’ that inspires great poetry?

Showing Poetential by JB Barrington

Showing Poetential by JB Barrington Cult performance poet JB Barrington is a Salford-born award-winning performance poet is renowned for his searing and satirical poetry, snarling delivery of strong sentiments and sharp rhymes.

The Confessional

The Confessional is a project that blends live interactive music with spoken word. Our show invites ANY member of the audience to get up and use our microphone to tell the room what is on your mind…it can be happy, sad, a rant, a poem or just a good old fashioned top ten list!!
Sometimes we will post themes in advance of a show to get your creative juices flowing (but feel free to ignore them altogether if you have your mind fo used on something else)

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