Fay says:
I’m afraid to say that, if you didn’t make it, you missed a corker! The photos are going up on Flickr, Facebook and right here and, in the meantime, here’s a few words to describe what you missed (sorry!):
For a change we were in the ground floor of MADCAP and that turned out to be a blessing as the sheer scale of constructing a Poetry Garden for our performers became apparent. A bevy of artists, technicians and just generally wonderful and useful people respectively conceived, created, set up, lit, amplified and arranged the Poetry Garden, and made the seating and bar areas cozy and intimate with candles, tablecloths and home-made food. The Garden came complete with picket fence, symbolic sun and eight-foot “tree", along with flowers, grass and blossom. The performers sat, stood or strode around in the garden space and boy did they ever.
What performances! Four brave souls dared the Slam Competition - eliminated over three rounds until the only-one-point-in-it final! Jan, Lionel, Steve and Alison competed over the length of the evening, and it was nail-biting stuff as our judges from the audience tallied up their scores for content, performance, style and just sheer KAPOW!
KAPOW!osity occurred throughout the night in the Open Mic sections and featured local performer slots. Audience members and comperes alike awarded KAPOW!s left right and centre for those stand-out moments of passion, humour, precision or just wow! that occurred throughout the evening. And it didn’t stop with the performance poetry - Rooh’s set of inimitable acoustic blues, poetry and story-telling were, if possible, even better than ever; the poet-tree leaves that audience members inscribed and pinned to the tree drew plaudits and prizes.
Poetry, art, music, and a great chance to meet and mingle with other poets, artists, and musicians. And free flapjack. What more could you have asked for?!
Until next time...
Ian says:
Wolverton briefly became the focus of MK literary life on Easter Saturday when the Madcap Theatre hosted the Poetry Kapow ‘Spring Thing’. Starting with audience members and performers being asked to write impromptu ditties on leaf-shaped notes to be later hung from a poet-tree (groan) the night continued with a range of work from poets and musicians gathered from local regional talent. Poetry Kapow took the form of an open mic night where aspiring poets signed up to get four minutes to showcase their own work followed by the ‘slam’ section which was something akin to a raucous gladiatorial battle where the combatants fought it out in an a knock-out contest of three minute slots. Contestants wielded their best rhymes to be judged by the displaying of the familiar TV talent show style score cards punctuated by loud shouts and waving of “Kapow!” symbols in a 1960’s Batman style whenever the crowd felt a poet had left a particularly good impression. There was some amazingly good work on display here from hilarious stand-up comedy acts to poignant, moving work which genuinely brought a lump to the throat. You thought poetry was all elbow patches and tweed jackets? Think again: Kapow!
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