Hammer & Tongue Hackney

Hammer &Tongue are back Featuring Zena Edwards and Thick Richard, plus the open mic poetry slam, hosted by Sam Berkson, Richard Purnell and Lydia Beardmore

For May's edition of Hackney's branch of the biggest network of slam nights in the UK, we bring out the seasonal themes of blossoms, fertility and revolution.

Zena Edwards:
Raised in Tottenham and performing for 20 years as a writer, facilitator and vocalist, Zena Edwards is one of the most unique voices of performance poetry to come out of London. She was nominated for the Arts Foundation Award for Performance Poetry and won the Hidden Creatives Award 2012. She is published in several anthologies including Dance the Guns to Silence (Flippedeye) and Tales of Mirror City (TongueInChic). She has has been commissioned and written for BBC 3 and BBC 4, the Birmingham Rep, and is Associate Artist at the Albany. She has also written and performed three one woman shows, touring them nationally and internationally with quality reviews and critical acclaim.

 - “A conscientious writer, dynamic performer and ground breaking artist.” Kwame Kwei-Armah – Playwright and Actor

Thick Richard:
Thick Richard has been pedalling his potty-mouthed poems at festivals and clubs up and down the land for the last 16 years. His cynical, lyrical, jet-black humour, intelligent wordplay, well-crafted verse, and occasionally acerbic, well-targeted comic attacks have earned him much respect from artists and audiences from Edinburgh to Glastonbury. Occasional support for Kate Tempest, Thick Richard was also presenter of BBC 6 Music's Beat of the Day. This spring, he will once again be headlining the Hammer & Tongue tour of the south. He is usually to be found performing a wide variety of live music and cabaret venues particularly his regular slots at Manchester's Dancehouse Theatre.

Open Mic Slam: 8 places available, 3mins on the mic. Sign up from 730pm. 1st come 1st served!

Time: 7.30pm - 11pm

Price: £6 / 5 concession

Contact: hackney@hammerandtongue.com