You Are Here – a poetry show

Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott write emotional, complex, funny and engaging poems. Publishers, readers and prize judges alike love them. The poets and Jaybird have worked with a director and designers to build a brand new live literature show. It’s based on poems they’ve written in the ‘I’ voice, the one which poets use to play with ideas about autobiography and selfhood. How the poets move, sit, stand on stage helps the eye support what the ear attends; the words and moods are enhanced with the soft sparkle of delicate lighting design. Together on stage, the poems form a silver-tongued performance of work musing on the identities of performers and audience alike. And the whole shebang is on tour, round arts centres and theatres from January to April 2010.

Some photos …

Some photos to a perky little oboe soundtrack here

Last Orders

It’s nearly over, our tour. Just the one date left, at Kings Place, on Monday 26th April. We might have a little cry in the dressing room beforehand. And a little dance afterwards. Come and join us!

Daniel the Vaniel

Dan. He drives the van.

This is Daniel. He’s driven the You Are Here set, the lighting designer and the producer more than 4,000 miles over the last few months, up and down the motorways to all our shows. He’s shown us more service stations than we ever could have imagined, he’s kept us entertained with his great chat, and he once burnt us a cd of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds so we could sing along. Daniel the Vaniel – he’s done a great job.

Jo Shapcott reflects …

Jo talks about the You Are Here experience here.

Poet in the City

We’ve been to many cities on the tour, and we finish up in the biggest, busiest and smokiest of the country – London. Our event there is arranged in conjunction with Poet in the City – a really inventive and hard-working organisation with whom we’re chuffed to be working. 

Poet in the City is a registered charity committed to attracting new audiences to poetry, making new connections for poetry, and raising money to support poetry education, in particular the placing of poets in schools. The You are Here collaboration is just one of the project’s diverse and stimulating programme of poetry events. You can find out more about the project here.

Come and find out more about the charity’s work before the show at Kings Place, London on 26th April. Tickets available here.

Radio Chat

I’ll be on the Arts Show of east London-based radio station XStream East on Wednesday 7th April, 6pm-ish, talking about the show – details to follow. Here’s the DJ’s blog about the occasion – the listen again bit’s not up there yet.

Hull & Back

No prizes for photography here, but here’s a multi-lingual ‘You Are Here’ sign from the hotel in Hull. English, French & German … but nothing in Punglish, the part English / part Punjabi that Daljit uses to write some his funniest poems.

What happens when you make a Word Cloud from Exit Questionnaires

absorbing accent alive amusing baby bar beautifully brilliant daring deep delightful different enlightening entertaining everyday fine flourishing fun funny glad homes imaginative inspiring intelligent intriguing joy keep life light lost loved melody microscope moments moving open priceless recognition refreshing savoured smoothly spirit surprisingly thought thought-provoking uplifting usual varied wonderful words

created at TagCrowd.com

Team Photo

L to R: Colette, Phoebe Stout (Director), Jo, John Castle (Lighting Designer), bunch of daffs, Daljit, Julia Bird (Producer)

Magnificent Masonic

Another You Are Here at the Masonic Hall

Here’s a review from the Bath show which took place in the bonkers and magnificent Masonic Hall. We were part of the Bath Literature Festival, and bumped into Helen Dunmore in the Green Room, and Jonathan Safran Foer nipping up the stairs afterwards.