First Night Review

We’d been planning it for what seemed like months, buying rattles, scribbling out stories and frantically sending invites. It was a relief when the day finally came………but a pretty nervous relief. Arriving at the Marlborough Theatre to set up, we were all waiting and hoping that people would turn up, that no-one would lose their story, or forget how to speak just before they were on.

We needn’t have worried. By 8pm, the venue was pretty much full, and we kicked off with Ed Rowe’s ‘Spearhead’. Eight more stories followed, on topics as varied as social media, cannibals, and lottery tickets. Special guest Louise Halvardsson, award winning performance poet and novelist, read ‘Playing Nurse’, a dark tale of teenage seduction (and blogged about the night here). Jo Dillon did a sterling job at the helm, leading debate and encouraging the audience to give us their thoughts and shake their rattles. The vibe from the punters and performers in the bar afterwards was of feeling excited to have been involved in the start of something new: something we hope will go on to make an ongoing and unique contribution to the Brighton spoken word scene.