Hosted by London South Bank University poetry team and ‘Uncle Errol’
On Wednesdays or Thursdays I love to go to random events in
London, I call these my “mid-week mash ups", which I love because they’re a
simple, fun and easy way to break up the working week and find a comfortable
work-Life balance.
Thurs 20th March, South bank universities
poetry team held a poetry slam at Tamesis dock on Albert Embankment, London.
Tamesis dock is a bar on a boat which I think is a really
nice idea. Inside the venue is very colourful and has an interesting mix of
styles, furniture and designs.
The poetry slam stage was on the lower deck which was
very cosy but a little small for the event.
The bar area is on the upper deck of the boat and was not
sealed off from the lower deck which made things very difficult for the
performers and audience as the bar customers were not a part of the show and
were very loud minus the microphone.
Regardless of the extra noise the show was really good.
There were more than a few technical difficulties with the sound system but the
host and performers handled it well and kept the audience engaged.
The show was hosted by ‘Uncle Errol’ who was energetic,
funny and full of vigour. He performed a few poems which were very entertaining
and captured the audience’s attention every time.
The first part of the show was the open mic segment. The
performers which really stood out for me were Ms Lauren Deevah Kay, where she
gave us her poet analogy of food and sex, and what a great combo.
A vocal spoken word duo titled ‘You & Me’ (Raggo Zulu
Rebel & Asabi Hawah) performed a beautiful guitar acoustic song called
“Use you”, I absolutely loved it. I was singing it all the way home. Some sensual
words by Ms Open Minds…..let’s just say the temperature on the boat rose by at
least 10 degrees during her poem.
Mr Uncivilised Arts graced us with his witty and thought
provoking poem.
Each performer was so well received, almost made me want
to get up and sing…maybe another time.
After the open mic segment came the poetry slam. Around
10 performers were judged out of 10 audience members and the top 5 were then
judged by a panel.
There was a lot of energy during this part of the show;
the poetry team did well with the organisation of the set, props and audience
engagement.
Performers who stood out for me were Miday Sotubo, a
powerful performance which really touched me, Joyce Raj a potent mix of honesty
and intensity, Collette Freeman, and Mell B Nyoko who, in my eyes, was the
rightful winner of the slam. This woman was on fire. I had goose bumps all
throughout performance.
Her poetry was strong, enticing, powerful, stimulating
and entertaining....”…not a one in a million girl, a once in a lifetime woman”
she said it all and spoke right to my very core!
*clicks fingers*
I would definitely go to this event again and I will be
keeping in touch with all of my favourite performers to stay informed about
their upcoming shows and performances….watch this space.
All in all a great night out, I met some really talented
people.
There was a really nice energy and everyone was
encouraging, friendly and positive.
Well done to all the performers, Uncle Errol and all the
London South Bank Uni Poetry team.
Overall rating for the night 8/10
Shay
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