Writer’s Paradise
Radikal Words
Newcastle Northern Stage
12th November 2014.
Twice
a year Stage 3 of Northern Stage is home to the eclectic spoken word event that
is Radikal Words. An evening made up of a mixture of passionate poetry with
soothing musical interludes.
During
the first spoken word set host Jeff Price waxed lyrically about the issues of
age and relationships. Highlights included losing your daughter temporally as
she heads off to her first festival and Saga
Louts, about how the older folk misbehave. Jeff’s 20 years of experience
came across as he entertained the appreciative audience.
Teeside’s
Jo Colley loves her rabbits, and not just because they eat their own poo. Hungry was one of 2 poems to elaborate
on the furry creatures. Jo also highlighted how careers advice for girls has
changed and the suggestion that the pinnacle of a girls ambition might once have
been an air hostess.
James
McKay increased the pace with shorter pieces like Piccadilly, reflecting upon his experiences of living in London. 300 000 was an extended piece about the chaos of Radio 1’s Love
Parade in Leeds as ten times more people turned up than expected. Mixing up the
shorter and longer work kept the pace up.
Acoustic
music from Ditte Elly started both halves in her third appearance at Radikal
Words. Ditte was finger picking her way through numbers on diverse topics from North Sea shipwrecks to winter via
her feelings about her brother.
Northern
Stages’ own Vinny Boy McHugh clearly loves writing poetry and he articulated
the experiences of a young man living in Tyneside who is acutely aware of the
history of the region. It is refreshing to hear the writings of a happy poet.
His reflection of society’s woes was strongly pulled into focus with the
brilliant Bankers.
The
show finished with a performer who blast though like a fast moving steam train.
Through strong personal experiences working with young people Joelle Taylor
passionately presented the issues of self-respect and self-esteem of a troubled
generation. Poetry about the young carers on the Isle of Skye and the harsh nature of coming
of age on the council estates are presented without judgement or
prejudice. Joelle ensured that the
evening finished with an energetic conclusion.
Poetry
should be presented live and the evening’s performances, and the fabulous word
craft, were a joy to behold.
This
review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR
(www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen
@panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo
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