Little Big Dreams invites children to find their voice, move their bodies and spark their imaginations through a packed programme of interactive workshops and live performance. Led by the 2026 Enfield Young producers cohort with Apples & Snakes, the UK’s leading spoken word organisation.

This is a day where words come alive and every child gets to take centre stage.

Drop in, join in, and dream big. Free entry, booking required.

Creative Team

Sheniz Akanay (She/Her) – Marketing Lead
Kai Campbell (She/Her) – Event Lead
Mia Fiawoo (She/Her) – Programming Lead
Helainah Graham-Campbell (She/Her) – Tech Lead

Presented by Apples & Snakes Young Producers at Dugdale Arts Centre. Supported with funding from the UK Government

We are transporting you to diverse London areas for a night of live performances featuring Big Scoop and TK Magic, a spoken-word film screening, and a director led Q&A. Through this immersive experience, you’ll reflect on how your own ends make you feel. Will you be nostalgic, experience freedom, or feel restricted?

Whatever it is, you’re invited to vibe with us as a live DJ spins the decks and sign up to our open mic slots! Tell a friend to tell a friend. You don’t want to miss a FREE night of good, contagious energy and networking opportunities. 

Come and experience Dugdale Arts Centre and Enfield in a way you probably haven’t before!

What to Expect

Poetry Film & Q+A | Magician | Poetry | Live DJ | Music | Singers | OPEN MIC

Get your tickets now and let’s see how your ends make you feel.

This event is brought to you by Apples and Snakes Young Producers in partnership with Dugdale Arts Centre, and is sponsored by Enfield Council.

Creative Team

Gifty Theresa Masaki – Marketing Lead
Ibrahim Mohamed – Event Lead
Allana Thomas – Tech Lead
Ellis Witter – Programming Lead

Presented by Apples & Snakes Young Producers at Dugdale Arts Centre. Supported with funding from the UK Government

Expect inspired improvisation, alongside fun (and quite silly) games that you can join in with. Featuring a special guest performance from Maidenhead poetry legend Coral Rumble, showing you there is more than one way to pen a poem!

This event is free – on a first-come, first-served basis. Suitable for ages 4-11 years.

Hosted & Facilitated by Simon Mole & Gecko, Featuring Coral Rumble

Credits

Funded by Arts Council England & Apples and Snakes
Supported by Rua Arts

Feedback from previous Poetry Party Events:

“Brilliant, fantastic”

“Fun, energetic & full of poetry, storytelling & music!”

“A beautiful mixture of performance and involvement, great to have good music/songs alongside professional poets.”

Follow along at  #MoleGecko
Simon Mole | www.simonmole.com | Facebook: @simonmolepoet    Instagram: @Si_mole | YouTube: youtube.com/simonmole   
Gecko | www.geckoofficial.com   | Facebook: @geckoband TikTok: @geckomusic | Instagram: @geckoofficial
Coral Rumble | www.coralrumble.co.uk | Instagram – @rumblecoral 

We will also be joined by a couple of invited guests to guide and encourage you through the programme and provide a tool bag of skills that you will be able to draw on to bring your poetry alive on stage.

Key Times and Dates

The workshops will run between 6-8pm, and you need to be able to attend all of the dates and the workshops will be in person in Margate on the following dates

09/03/2026
23/03/2026
06/04/2026
27/04/2026
04/05/2026

The deadline for applications is 5pm Friday 28th February 2026. We will be in touch if you are successful by 6pm Monday 2nd March 2026.

About Kareem

Kareem Parkins-Brown is a writer and visual artist who is obsessed with humour, surrealism, grief & Londonisms. He performs at museums, art galleries, libraries, cafes, bookshops, pubs, backgardens, conference centres, people’s dreams, nightmares all over. His first pamphlet, Oi You Lot, came out in 2024 with Little Betty. It was Radio 4’s Poetry Book of the Month.

Featuring powerful women across generations, alongside an open mic offering a chance for you to share your words with the community.

Open mic (15yrs+), all genders welcome to share.

On the line-up: Amerah Saleh, Jan Blake, Leah Thorn, Cherry Eckel and Belinda Zhawi.

About this Event

The Sunday Special is at the heart of who we (Love Supreme Projects) are. We come together to support ourselves, our families, our community and ultimately the world. All proceeds from this evening will go towards Apples & Snakes.

Every ticket sold goes directly to Apples & Snakes. Helping them continue over 40 years of championing fearless performance poetry and creating space for new voices to rise. Apples & Snakes will co-host the evening, with poetry and storytelling in celebration of International Women’s Day. This Sunday Special is all about showing up for each other – for young voices, for creativity, and for community.

Chai and samosas present from 6.30-7pm
Open to all levels 12 years old & up.
In partnership with Love Supreme Projects.

We will also be joined by a couple of invited guests to guide and encourage you through the programme and provide a tool bag of skills that you will be able to draw on to bring your poetry alive on stage.

You need to be able to attend all of the dates and the workshops will be in person, in Brighton on the following dates. Sessions are at 6.30pm and will run for 2 hours:

09/02/2026
23/02/2026
09/03/2026
23/03/2026
30/03/2026

How to apply

Applications have no closed.

We will be in touch if you are successful by 6pm Friday 30th January 2026.

About AFLO. the poet

AFLO. the poet (she/they) is a Brighton-based spoken word artist, activist and academic whose work challenges the status quo through bold, lived‑experience storytelling. Emerging during the 2020 resurgence of Black Lives Matter, AFLO. quickly became known for poetry that blends sharp social commentary with emotional depth, exploring race, identity, mental health and justice. Alongside performing on stages from community venues to Glastonbury and TEDx, she facilitates workshops and co-founded the anti-racist organisation BARCO. Currently pursuing a PhD in Social Science, AFLO. uses poetry as protest, healing, and truth-telling—carving out space for marginalised voices and collective liberation.

Get ready for an electric night of performance poetry, rhythm, and truth as Apples and Snakes in collaboration with UniSlam brings the legendary Jawdance to Birmingham Rep.

This is a showcase of the very best in contemporary spoken word – combining the raw, open-mic energy of Jawdance with UniSlam’s spirit of competition, creativity, and community. It’s a celebration of poetry that transcends boundaries and amplifies new voices.

Line-up

Hosting the event will be Apples and Snakes’ very own Associate Director (and charismatic performance poet) Ty’rone Haughton.

Ty’rone Haughton

Ty’rone Haughton is a poet, arts leader, and thought leader whose work centres on social justice, identity, and the power of lived experience. Born in Jamaica and based in Leicester, he is the founder of Literati Arts and the Leicester Poetry Committee, and is the Associate Artistic Director at Apples and Snakes, the UK’s leading spoken word organisation. 

An exponent of performance poetry, Ty’rone is known for pushing boundaries to create work that is both emotionally resonant and socially urgent. His acclaimed poetry show Made You Look exemplifies this, merging powerful storytelling with cultural critique. 

Through poetry and public engagement, Ty’rone continues to challenge narratives, uplift communities, and drive meaningful change.

Mr Shay

Mr Shay is a Leicester based Poet & Rapper, titled Leicester’s first Poet Laureate in 2025. Shay is influenced by social topics such as cultural heritage, immigration and identity. His poetry is a melting pot of intricate rap flows fused with South Asian roots. Off the stage, Shay works as a community arts practitioner, leading poetry, rap and music workshops with young people across the UK.

Some stand out poetry commissions include, Future Pathways (Thames Water), From Ratae to Leicester (Jewry Wall Museum) and Golden Mile (BBC Radio Leicester), which was nominated for the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry 2022. He has performed on stages across the UK including, Soul Revolution Festival (West Midlands), The National Justice Museum (Nottingham), Brighton Fringe (Brighton) and Shambala Festival’s iconic, Phantom Laundry Stage (Northamptonshire).

Instagram and X: @mrshay_artist
Facebook: Mr Shay

Keisha Thompson

Keisha Thompson FRSA is a Manchester based writer, performance artist and producer.  She is currently the Programme Manager for Legacies of Enslavement Programme at The Guardian. She is a trustee for the Independent Theatre Council and Olympias Music Foundation. In 2024, she was the recipient of the DARE Art Prize 2024 from Opera North and the University of Leeds in association with National Science and Media Museum and Yorkshire Contemporary. 

Laurie Ogden

Laurie is a northern multi-award winning writer and performer. A previous Roundhouse Resident Artist and Barbican Young poet alumna, her debut pamphlet ‘Humaning’ was published by flipped eye. She was recently longlisted for the Bruntwood Playwriting prize and shortlisted for the Women’s prize 2025. Laurie is co-editor of online magazine And Other Poems. 

What is Unislam?

Never heard of it? Check out the video below to find out what Unislam is all about, and why it’s so important:

Are you between 18 and 25 and passionate about event planning? Whether you’re just starting out or looking to build on your existing skills, our Trainee Producers Programme is designed for you!

Over the course of 12 engaging weeks, you’ll dive into all aspects of event planning, plus the exciting opportunity to co-produce your very own live poetry event at Dugdale Arts Centre with the programme co-hort.

Perks of the programme

Through Young Producers, you will develop key industry and transferable skills in creative producing. We do this through a programme of workshops, leadership training, networking opportunities and professional practice, working with some of the UK’s leading poets, industry professionals and arts organisation.

As well as producing your own professional event, you will also:
– Be part of a cohort of young producers
– Gain skills in programming, production and marketing
– Contribute to the cultural landscape in Enfield.

Expenses for travel will be covered and you will receive a freelancers fee for the event days.

Last year, our group of 10 producers put on a sold out show in DAC, hosting some of Enfields finest poetic talent.

Sessions

Sessions are in person between December and January, with final event days taking place in February and March 2026. Full details can be found on our project page. Follow the ‘apply here’ link to read more.

How to Apply

Please submit your application form by 5pm Wednesday 19th November. We will be in touch if you are successful by 6pm Monday 24th November.

Contains Strong Language and BBC Upload present the Words First Talent Showcase, celebrating the most talented emerging poets and spoken word artists from across the UK.

Introducing Rechella Ketedzi, Imogen Grover, Rayhanah Rowe, Tariq Brown, Charlotte Cropper, Jenny Pilkington, Rhian Jade and Prav Jandu.

This event is free to attend – book your free place.

BBC Contains Strong Language is a partnership between the BBC, Word Up North and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. It is supported by Arts Council England.

We’re back again this September with our much loved and highly energetic hip-hop environmental show.

Plot 17 is a hip-hop eco block party; join underground hip-hop hero and eco-warrior Kenny Baraka AKA The Green Man and his DJ, D’Vo as they travel the world raising awareness, inspiring action and spreading the message of “making things green”.

With a soundtrack guaranteed to make you want to plant a tree and sure to help the seeds grow.

Using spoken word, lyrics, visuals & DJ-ing, PLOT17 is an outdoor, interactive performance for audiences aged 7-11.

This event is free – no need to book. Just turn up!

BBC Contains Strong Language is a partnership between the BBC, Word Up North and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. It is supported by Arts Council England.

You’re invited to a very special performance in Hillsborough Park to celebrate the summer!

PLOT 17 is a hip-hop eco block party for audiences aged 7+ and their families. Written & performed by Kenny Baraka, with DJ D’vo on the decks.

Join underground hip-hop hero and eco-warrior Kenny Baraka AKA The Green Man and his DJ, D’Vo as they travel the world raising awareness, inspiring action and spreading the message of “making things green”. With a soundtrack guaranteed to make you want to plant a tree and sure to help the seeds grow!

The event in Hillsborough Park will include free planting and craft activities. Please bring your own seats and/or blankets to sit on, and feel free to bring a picnic tea if you like! Depot Bakery will be open before the show, but will close at its usual time.

Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Donations help to support our future creative and community work in the area.

There are a limited number of free tickets available ​which include a free ​packed lunch, specifically for children eligible for free school meals. ​These can be booked via iPal ​or https://sheffieldhealthyholidays.org/

Please see their website for more accessibility information.

Plot 17 Show Credits

Producers: Apples and Snakes
Sheffield Collaborators: RivelinCo and Parson Cross Intitiative
Music: Drew Horley/Conrad Kira/DJ D’Vo
Design: Paul Burgess
Design Assistant: Rad Konieczny
Producer: Lisa Mead
Story development: Kenny Baraka, Carl Ford and creative team.
Supported by Arts Council England, The Albany & Team London Bridge

You’re invited to a very special performance for Winn Gardens residents in Middlewood Park to celebrate the summer!

PLOT 17 is a hip-hop eco block party for audiences aged 7+ and their families. Written & performed by Kenny Baraka, with DJ D’vo on the decks.

Join underground hip-hop hero and eco-warrior Kenny Baraka AKA The Green Man and his DJ, D’Vo as they travel the world raising awareness, inspiring action and spreading the message of “making things green”. With a soundtrack guaranteed to make you want to plant a tree and sure to help the seeds grow!

The event at Winn Gardens will include free planting and craft activities, and after the show you can join the kitchen table mobile 12.30pm – 2.30pm for some free food and a conversation about your neighbourhood!

Tickets are free or a pay-what-you-can donation. Donations help to support our future creative and community work in the area.

There are a limited number of free tickets available ​which include a free ​packed lunch, specifically for children eligible for free school meals. ​These can be booked via iPal ​or https://sheffieldhealthyholidays.org/

Please visit their website for more information around accessibility.

Plot 17 Show Credits:

Producers: Apples and Snakes
Sheffield Collaborators: RivelinCo and Parson Cross Intitiative
Music: Drew Horley/Conrad Kira/DJ D’Vo
Design: Paul Burgess
Design Assistant: Rad Konieczny
Producer: Lisa Mead
Story development: Kenny Baraka, Carl Ford and creative team.
Supported by Arts Council England, The Albany & Team London Bridge

You’re invited to a very special performance at Mount Tabor in Parson Cross to celebrate the summer!

PLOT 17 is a hip-hop eco block party for audiences aged 7+ and their families. Written & performed by Kenny Baraka, with DJ D’vo on the decks.

Join underground hip-hop hero and eco-warrior Kenny Baraka AKA The Green Man and his DJ, D’Vo as they travel the world raising awareness, inspiring action and spreading the message of “making things green”. With a soundtrack guaranteed to make you want to plant a tree and sure to help the seeds grow!

The event at Parson Cross will include free planting and craft activities, and pizza and pop will be available too. Plus you can meet professional poets Sarah, Wemmy and Amber in their beautiful bell tent to share how you feel about your neighbourhood and get your very own poem in return!

Tickets are free or a pay-what-you-can donation. Donations help to support our future creative and community work in the area.

Head to their website for more details on accessibility.

Plot 17 show Credits

Producers: Apples and Snakes
Sheffield Collaborators: RivelinCo and Parson Cross Intitiative
Music: Drew Horley/Conrad Kira/DJ D’Vo
Design: Paul Burgess
Design Assistant: Rad Konieczny
Producer: Lisa Mead
Story development: Kenny Baraka, Carl Ford and creative team.
Supported by Arts Council England, The Albany & Team London Bridge

Playing Poetry: Coventry Showcase

Apples and Snakes are proud to platform the next generation of performance poets in an evening of scratch shows from the most exciting voices coming out of Coventry.

Playing Poetry is a development programme for emerging poets wanting to create solo performer shows. For eight weeks, they have been working with nationally established artists to bring their shows to life!

Plus, some special performances from Jasmine Gardosi, Bradley Taylor and Coventry Poet Laureate, John Bernard.

This event is part of See It First 2025.

Acts of Imagination: The Power of Art to Create a Better World

We will be powered by words and imagination.

Join poets, authors and activists to imagine a future where we have renewed our relationship with nature and, perhaps, overcome the ecological crisis.

Inspired by Amber Massie-Blomfield’s book exploring the power of art to change the world, a fascinating group of voices, alongside yours, will imagine the reforesting that needs to take place – in our cities and riverside communities.

Peppered through the afternoon, Apples and Snakes poets Bhumika Billa, Eileen Gbagbo, Adjei Sun and Anneliese Amoah perform poems connecting us with nature and wider climate issues.

This interactive event will gather around a long-table, centre-stage at OT, and as a finale take a walk and share our ideas with the river.

Apples and Snakes supports the development of extraordinary poets, hear the freshest new voices and be inspired to see how your voice and ideas can help create change.

This event is part of the Richmond Arts & Ideas Festival 2025 (13-29 June), exploring the theme Cultural Reforesting.

Pay what you can and join us on Sunday 15 June!

Book now for the accompanying workshop with Laurie Bolger

About Amber Massie-Blonfield

Amber Massie-Blomfield is a theatre producer, arts consultant and writer, working at the meeting point of climate & culture. Formerly Executive Director of Complicité and Camden People’s Theatre, she has worked for clients including Actors Touring Company, tiata fahodzi, Barbican, Pro Helvetia, English PEN, Free Word Centre and China Plate. Her first book, Twenty Theatres to See Before You Die, was shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize and recipient of the Society of Authors’ Michael Meyer Award, and her second book, Acts of Resistance, published in 2024, received the Gladstone Library’s Political Writer-in-Residence Award and an Arts Council England Project Grant. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, and as an activist, she has been involved with Writers Rebel and Extinction Rebellion.

www.ambermassieblomfield.com

The Richmond Arts and Ideas Festival is supported by the British Council.

Poetry as Reconnection: A Creative Writing Workshop with Poet Laurie Bolger

Join poet Laurie Bolger, founder of The Creative Writing Breakfast Club, for a warm and inspiring workshop inviting participants to imagine a future shaped by kindness and connection via nature and our animal selves.

Through individual and collaborative writing exercises Laurie will invite you to celebrate how the simple act of listening to nature and each other can lead to transformative change. Let your creativity flow, and together we’ll reimagine a future where nature and humanity are good friends.

This two hour session invites you to scribble your own individual poem, as well as a collective piece created by the group.

So whether you’re an experienced writer or a complete beginner, all you need is a curious mind and maybe a cuppa and your favourite pen to keep you company.

This event is pay what you can – from £3.

About Laurie

Laurie Bolger is a London-based writer and the founder of The Creative Writing Breakfast Club. Her work has been showcased at Glastonbury, TATE, the Royal Academy, and Sky Arts. Laurie’s work has appeared in The Poetry Review, The London Magazine, Magma, Crannog, Stand, and Trinity College Icarus, among others.

Her poems and short stories have been shortlisted for The Bridport, Live Canon, Winchester and the Sylvia Plath Prize. In 2023, her poem Parkland Walk won The Moth Poetry Prize, judged by Noble Laureate Louise Glück, and was also Highly Commended in the Forward Prize for Poetry.

Laurie runs Poetry & Nice Things, a sustainable creative market stall. She’s also published three poetry pamphlets: Box Rooms with Burning Eye Books, Spin with Smith Doorstop, and Makeover with The Emma Press. Her debut collection, Lady, is coming out later this year with Nine Arches Press.

“If I could jump inside her poems I would…I imagine it’d be lovely & warm in there”
Hollie McNish

“If you ever want a cosy, creative, calming place to explore writing, Laurie’s workshops are perfection…My heart is so full (I know what that means now)”
Breakfast Clubber 2025

Instagram @lauriebolger_ | Twitter @lauriebolger | www.lauriebolger.com

More about this event

This event is part of the Richmond Arts & Ideas Festival 2025 (13-29 June), exploring the theme Cultural Reforesting.

Join us and help us imagine a future where we have renewed our relationship with nature and, perhaps, overcome the ecological crisis. 

Inspired by Amber Massie-Blomfield’s book exploring the power of art to change the world, a fascinating set of voices, alongside yours will imagine the reforesting that needs to take place – in our cities and riverside communities.

This interactive event will gather around a long-table, centre-stage at Orange Tree Theatre, and as a finale take a walk and share our ideas with the river.

Apples and Snakes X Fire & Dust @ Belgrade

A special edition of Coventry’s longest running spoken word event, Fire & Dust in partnership with Apples and Snakes. Audiences can expect an open mic and headline set from Jasmine Gardosi.

Sign up for open mic on arrival, they will be three minute slots. Open mic names pulled out at random.

About Jasmine

Jasmine Gardosi is the former Birmingham Poet Laureate and an Honorary Doctor of Letters. They are a multiple slam champion, beatboxer, winner of the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry and winner of the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Performer 2023. Their work exploring identity, LGBTQ issues and mental health has appeared on Button Poetry, at the Tate Modern, Glastonbury Festival, Symphony Hall and BBC. They were featured on Sky Arts’ BAFTA-winning show Life & Rhymes and their poem about the pandemic, filmed on a rollercoaster, was broadcast across America on PBS. They have taken their poetry across Europe, including at Romania’s Transylvania International Spoken Word Festival, and Estonia’s historical, first-ever queer poetry slam for Baltic Pride. Most recently, they were funded by West Midlands Combined Authority to perform and run workshops for the poetry and queer communities in the Philippines.

They are a previous Writer in Residence at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Poet in Residence at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and BBC Arts Young Creative. Their poetry/beatbox/Celtic dubstep show Dancing To Music You Hate explores gender identity and was commissioned by Warwick Arts Centre. After premiering to standing ovations, it won Best Spoken Word Show in the Saboteur Awards and its titular track was performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, broadcast on BBC Four. Following a sold-out show at Symphony Hall, the show toured the UK in the summer of 2023. Jasmine has most recently penned a new rock anthem for Birmingham, Brummie Steel which was performed by a mass collective of 300 musicians, commissioned by Misfits Music Foundation.

About the Organisers

Apples and Snakes is England’s leading organisation for spoken word with an international reputation for producing engaging, transformative and inspiring experiences for audiences across the UK.

Spoken word trailblazers, the company commissions and produces events, develops artists and runs participation programmes across the country. It exists to amplify ignored voices, support and champion poets and poetry in performance and challenge expectations of what poetry is and can be.

Fire&Dust is Coventry’s premier monthly poetry event. Held every first Thursday of the month at the Priory Visitor Centre, with headline sets from guest poets plus open mic. Fire&Dust is a friendly, supportive environment where everyone’s welcome to share poems and experience live spoken word performances!

Apples and Snakes X Fire & Dust @ Belgrade

A special edition of Coventry’s longest running spoken word event, Fire & Dust in partnership with Apples and Snakes. Audiences can expect an open mic and headline set from Bradley Taylor.

Sign up for open mic on arrival, they will be three minute slots. Open mic names pulled out at random.

About Bradley Taylor

Bradley Taylor is an award-winning performance poet born and based in Birmingham. In 2024 he won the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, the night of which was the biggest poetry slam in history, and in 2025 he releases his debut collection You Missed The Best Part with Verve Poetry Press. Bradley is also the co-host of The Big Gay Poetry Night alongside M. L. Walsh, which has featured poets such as Joelle Taylor, Kandace Siobhan Walker & Sanah Ahsan.

Bradley has appeared at the Hay Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival, The Inspirational Youth Awards, on BBC News and on BBC Radio 6 Music as part of Craig Charles’ ‘Class of 2024, in which Craig Charles described him as ‘A brand new voice and a fresh perspective on the art of poetry and performance’.

Bradley’s work has appeared in Gutter Magazine, Shooter, Strix and across Birmingham train stations as part of Birmingham Hippodrome’s collaboration with photographer Paul Stringer’s project The City That Spoke To Me.

He writes for, and about, people.

About the Organisers

Apples and Snakes is England’s leading organisation for spoken word with an international reputation for producing engaging, transformative and inspiring experiences for audiences across the UK.

Spoken word trailblazers, the company commissions and produces events, develops artists and runs participation programmes across the country. It exists to amplify ignored voices, support and champion poets and poetry in performance and challenge expectations of what poetry is and can be.

Fire&Dust is Coventry’s premier monthly poetry event. Held every first Thursday of the month at the Priory Visitor Centre, with headline sets from guest poets plus open mic. Fire&Dust is a friendly, supportive environment where everyone’s welcome to share poems and experience live spoken word performances!

Apples and Snakes X Fire & Dust @ Belgrade

A special edition of Coventry’s longest running spoken word event, Fire & Dust in partnership with Apples and Snakes. Audiences can expect an open mic and headline set from John Bernard.

Sign up for open mic on arrival, they will be three minute slots. Open mic names pulled out at random.

About John Bernard

John Bernard is a Coventry Poet Laureate, musician, and mentor whose work champions the elevation of young voices. A finalist in BBC Words First 2020, John has become a standout figure in the UK’s poetry and music scene. His powerful performances have featured at major events and venues including Shambala Festival, Godiva Festival, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and Symphony Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

He has also created commissioned work for a wide range of organisations and brands such as Formula 1, BBC, Flannels, TBN UK, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Belgrade Theatre, and many more.

Beyond the stage, John is deeply involved in community engagement, leading creative workshops that empower young people to find their voice and express themselves through poetry and music.

About the Organisers

Apples and Snakes is England’s leading organisation for spoken word with an international reputation for producing engaging, transformative and inspiring experiences for audiences across the UK.

Spoken word trailblazers, the company commissions and produces events, develops artists and runs participation programmes across the country. It exists to amplify ignored voices, support and champion poets and poetry in performance and challenge expectations of what poetry is and can be.

Fire&Dust is Coventry’s premier monthly poetry event. Held every first Thursday of the month at the Priory Visitor Centre, with headline sets from guest poets plus open mic. Fire&Dust is a friendly, supportive environment where everyone’s welcome to share poems and experience live spoken word performances!

Apples and Snakes X Fire & Dust @ Belgrade

A special edition of Coventry’s longest running spoken word event, Fire & Dust in partnership with Apples and Snakes. Audiences can expect an open mic and headline set from Miss Yankey.

Sign up for open mic on arrival, they will be three minute slots. Open mic names pulled out at random.

About Miss Yankey

Miss Yankey is a spoken word artist known for her engaging performances globally, from London to New York. Recently recognised as Best International Artist at the National Spoken Word Awards in Chicago, she has contributed her writing and creativity to TV, radio, theatre, film, and music. In addition to her artistic endeavors, she founded Poetry Prescribed, offering workshops and spoken word services that connect with diverse audiences. Her work has been featured in notable venues such as Shakespeare’s Globe and the West End’s Criterion Theatre, as well as on a BAFTA award-winning show, reflecting her commitment to bringing Spoken Word to creatively diverse audiences.

About the organisers

Apples and Snakes is England’s leading organisation for spoken word with an international reputation for producing engaging, transformative and inspiring experiences for audiences across the UK.

Spoken word trailblazers, the company commissions and produces events, develops artists and runs participation programmes across the country.  It exists to amplify ignored voices, support and champion poets and poetry in performance and challenge expectations of what poetry is and can be.

Fire&Dust is Coventry’s premier monthly poetry event. Held every first Thursday of the month at the Priory Visitor Centre, with headline sets from guest poets plus open mic. Fire&Dust is a friendly, supportive environment where everyone’s welcome to share poems and experience live spoken word performances!

Plot 17 – our favourite hip-hop eco block party – returns for the last time this summer!

That’s right, the horsebox that contains PLOT17 is retiring (her name is Ivy!) so this will be our last tour of PLOT17 for the summer! We’re pleased to announce that we’ll be at Stockwood Discover Centre this May for one last party.

Using spoken word, lyrics, visuals & DJ-ing, PLOT17 is an interactive performance for audiences aged 7-11. Familes are welcome to join too.

Join underground hip-hop hero Kenny Baraka AKA The Green Man and DJ D’Vo as they work to save the environment one sick track at a time.

PLOT17 is a mobile block party travelling the world raising awareness, inspiring action and spreading the message of “making things green”, with a soundtrack guaranteed to make you want to plant a tree and sure to help the seeds grow. 

As part of the day, you can also enjoy free plant-and-grow workshops alongside the show. PLOT17 is free to participate in, and is a drop in session. Come and join us at the start of the time slot to enjoy the full show.

A word from Kenny:

Credits:
Produced by Apples and Snakes
Photo by Suzi Corker

Come and join us for the final showcase for SCRATCH LAB

SCRATCH LAB is a collaboration between Stanley Arts and Apples and Snakes. It brings together emerging voices aged 18-35, from rap, lyricists and performance poetry backgrounds to develop a final performance piece.

Over four dynamic sessions, these artists have been mentored by leading professionals in poetry, theatre, and movement. Come and join us to celebrate their new work live on stage.

About Stanley Arts

Stanley Arts is one of South London’s premiere arts and performance venues, providing our local community with a vital home for cultural expression and discovery. As a radically inclusive space we seek to foreground under-represented voices, providing artists of colour and LGBTQ+ creatives with a platform to reach out to audiences across South London and beyond.

meet The artists

Annabelle Sami

Annabelle Sami is a writer and arts producer based in London. For children, Annabelle has written 12 novels and has been longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and won the Spark! Book Award and Stockport Children’s Book Awards. For adults Annabelle writes poetry, articles, essays and short form prose, and has been featured in Writer’s Mosaic, Peaks of Colour Nature Writing Journal, Fab Prize and Fearlessly Magazine. 

As an arts producer Annabelle has worked with several prominent touring arts companies and artists, focusing on community, participatory and experimental work. 

She can often be found swimming in the sea, taking pictures of her dog or doomscrolling on TikTok.

Blessed Poetry

Blessed Poetry is a spoken word poet, singer/songwriter and playwright, who incorporates both faith and life as a young black woman from East London in her work. She has been performing for a decade and has performed most notably at the UK premiere and exclusive screenings of the movie, ‘Queen and Slim’, the Hackney Empire and the Royal Court Theatre stage. After a 2 year hiatus, she’s overflowing with creative ideas, ready to share and bring light to impact a dark world with her Christ-like mentality.

zish

Zish (b. 1410 AH/1989 AD. London, UK) is an a Brit(ish) artist and learning practitioner who aims to reconcile the past and complicate simple images in the public realm by re-looking at colonial, personal, pop-culture and music archives for moments of resonance.

Meditating on these moments, Zish uses automatic drawing, writing and collage to communicate with their subconscious and embodied ancestry. The images and words conjured, coalesce their research and are translated into expanded cinema: video, sound, sculpture, design, performance, installation and spoken word.  

Zish’s intention behind producing artworks is to create opportunities for conversations and connections regarding social justice for self and community healing.

Their work has been shown in solo exhibitions,“Kin-Aesthetic Mother Tongue” at Metroland Cultures in 2025, and group shows: New Contemporaries (2022. Ferens Art Gallery & Humber Street Gallery, Hull and South London Gallery, London), How to Lift Heavy (2021. Margate Now Festival), Show Me (2020. The Margate School, Margate) and Take Back Control Show (2019. Crypt Gallery, London)

They have also performed at: White Noise 50 (Corsica Studios), White Noise 48 (St Johns on Bethnal Green), The Life of Now (Willesden Gallery), KMT Private View (Metroland Cultures) and SAOM 19 (Avalon Cafe).

Annum Salman

Annum Salman is a multidisciplinary artist and a published Author of “Sense Me-“ a poetry collection. She writes in both English and Urdu, exploring themes of identity, race, gender, and mental health. Annum is also a theatre maker and debuted her first play Ghar Ghar in 2024 as both playwright and director. She runs Outcasts on the Mic, a poetry night spotlighting the creativity of the diaspora and platforming brilliant poets often overlooked. Annum has performed across the UK and Pakistan, including at the LOAV Festival, Nottingham Poetry Festival, Brixton House, Verses and the Roundhouse, and has judged the Young Muslim Writers Awards for four years. Find her on Instagram: @writeroholic

Denis

Originally from Donegal in the North West of Ireland, Denis moved to London to pursue a Masters in Theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Since then he has worked professionally as an actor both on stage and screen with credits in London’s West End, leading Jamie Lloyd’s The Commitments and most recently The Choir of Man. As a writer his work centres around Ireland, queer culture and mental health. He would like to dedicate this performance to his late mother Margaret. 

Yvette G Santana 

She was born and raised in the south Bronx of NYC, the home of HipHop. While being in such an artistically inspiring environment, Yvette still struggled with her own mental health. She soon turned to poetry, she went from performing to creating her own project called the I AM NOT CRAZY MOVEMENT.  Her dream and passion is to bring mental health and poetry together in every space. 

Tariq

IAM Tariq is a spoken word artist whose poetry blends social commentary with intricate wordplay, rooted in his mantra of people, power, and politics. A key member of the Flo Poets and Poetic Unity, and Co-founder of the creative arts collective House of Vox, his work has featured across the UK on platforms such as Word on the Curb, TFL, and Poets Palace, championing heartfelt cultural critique. He is currently a key artist in the BBC’s Words First development programme.

frances

Frances is a poet, performer, maker from South-East London. 

She is interested in poems as living, breathing things, and has recently been working on how to bring poem and performance into the same room.

Her obsessions right now are growing pains, bodies and writing about the feeling change. 

Apart from this, you’ll find her at open mics speaking her words aloud. She is currently focusing on writing a first play, influenced by this ongoing practice and poetry’s permission to mess with form.

Solomon O.B iii 

A Spoken word and movement artist, using music and media to create their own unique brand of Performance poetry & theatre. 

Dynamic, explosive yet soulful and intricate, he finds the most fulfilment at the edge of comfort zones, encouraging audiences to join him in moments of discovery. 

Former National Slam Champion, Spoken word artist of the year and mentee of Kae Tempest & Zena Edwards, Solomon is a young yet mature artist, now realising his full voice.

Destiny

(Bio incoming…)

Stanley Arts & Apples and Snakes: Scratch Lab

Calling poets, rappers, MCs, lyricists and writers!

SCRATCH LAB: a development programme led by world-class artists 

If you are an early career poet, rapper, or lyricist interested in building your writing and performance skills, then SCRATCH LAB is for you!  

Throughout four sessions, you’ll work with world-class artists to write and perform a 5 – 8 minute poetic performance which you’ll then share to a public audience.  You’ll also receive 1-2-1 advice on how to make your performance even better.

How it works

Apply for this free performance development programme for early-career poets, rappers, and lyricists aged 18–35! Work with world-class artists across 4 sessions, sharpen your skills, and perform live on 26 July in South London.

A maximum of 25 applicants will be invited to attend an open workshop focused on writing and performance. This takes place on Saturday 21 June from 2 – 5pm and will be led by director Rob Watt.

Following this workshop, a maximum of 10 will be selected to take part in three further dynamic sessions led by top-tier mentors, building powerful poetic pieces for live performance. Expect expert guidance, 1-2-1 feedback, and the chance to showcase your work on stage at a final public sharing.

Workshops will take 2 – 5pm on Saturday 5, 12 and 26 July with a final sharing of work on the evening of 26 July.

Location: Stanley Arts, 12 South Norwood Hill, London, SE25 6AB

Who can apply

• Aged 18 – 35
• Minimum 2 and maximum 10 years of experience of being a practising artist
• Priority to those who live/work or study in Croydon or surrounding boroughs, Bromley, Lambeth, Lewisham & Southwark.

How to Apply

Applications are now closed.

You will be notified by 11 June if you have a place at the workshop on Saturday 21  June.

About the Organisers

Apples and Snakes is England’s leading spoken word poetry organisation, delivering high-quality creative projects and events that make a lasting impact on artists, audiences, and participants across the country. Performance is at the core of our work, and we are widely recognised for our commitment to artist development. We run the annual Words a Stage programme and co-deliver the BBC Words First initiative. Poets we’ve supported from the early stages of their careers—such as T.S. Eliot Prize winners Roger Robinson (2019) and Joelle Taylor (2021)—have gone on to achieve national and international acclaim.

Stanley Arts is one of South London’s premiere arts and performance venues, providing our local community with a vital home for cultural expression and discovery. As a radically inclusive space we seek to foreground under-represented voices, providing artists of colour and LGBTQ+ creatives with a platform to reach out to audiences across South London and beyond.

Photo credit: Kat Francois at NYLON – Roundhouse. Suzi Corker Photography.

If you know a child who’s 7-11 years and loves to discover the amazing world of art then this treat is for them! 

Join one of our library partners below for a free 6 week creative writing programme called Telling Tales where imaginations come to life. 

Children work with a poet to become a poetry pioneer by discovering, creating and sharing poems they write alone and with others. On the last session each child receives a certificate of completion in a fun, special event at the end to mark it. 

The next upcoming events are running below. Pleaes get in touch with the borough you would like to attend and find out more:

• Kensington and Chelsea – 26 Apr-31 May, 2-3.30pm, Brompton Library. Contact libraries@rbkc.gov.uk or call 020 7361 3013
• Camden – 26 Apr-31 May, 2-3.30pm, Pancras Square Library. Contact libraries@camden.gov.uk or call 020 7974 4444
• Westminster – 15 May-19 Jun, 4-5.30pm, Pimlico Library. Contact pimlicolibrary@westminster.gov.uk or call 020 7641 6200
• Hammersmith and Fulham – 17 May-21 Jun, Shephards Bush Library. Contact libraries@lbhf.gov.uk or call 020 87534 2842.

See more on the Telling Tales page.