Stanley Arts & Apples and Snakes: Scratch Lab

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.