Poetry Slam gives Courthouse a breath of ‘Fresh’ air!

An independent arts charity has enjoyed an incredibly successful first season working with up and coming and established performers across the region.

Over the last 6 months, Rural Arts in Thirsk has been pioneering it’s ‘FRESH’ scheme, a series of monthly ‘pay-what-you-think’ events working with a variety of performers from North Yorkshire with an array of talents. The season is finishing on a high with a night of performance poetry with not one, but two, celebrated poets, Andy Humphrey and Laurence O’Reilly.

Andy Humphrey is a prize-winning poet, writer, and co-host and organiser of the ‘The Speaker’s Corner’, a monthly open mic night performed in York for poetry, storytelling and spoken word performance. He released his debut poetry collection A Long Way to Fall in May 2013 – of which five of the eight poems were awarded First Prize Winners in competitions across the country, and has recently released his second collection, Satires.

Laurence O’Reilly is a poet, rapper and actor who has gained plaudits for his dark blend of poetry, hip-hop and spoken word to delve into the darker side of our daily interactions. He has recently spoken at TEDx Pocklington, and in February this year was a special guest at ‘The Speakers Corner’, so these two poets know all about each other!

This season of ‘FRESH’ has been such a fantastic way to showcase the talent we have on our doorstep’ said Rural Art’s Sophie Backhouse ‘I cant think of a better way to end the season than with Andy and Laurence, who are two performers we have wanted to book for a long long time!’

What has made ‘FRESH’ such a unique season is the fact that all of these events have been ‘pay-what-you-think’, which gives everyone in the Thirsk and the surrounding areas the opportunity to come and watch a local performance.

The Summer Slam is on Thursday 27th August at the Rural Arts, The Courthouse at 7:30pm, ‘pay-what-you-think.’

More information can be found at www.ruralarts.org or by calling 01845 526 536. Join the conversation online at @RuralArts #FRESH

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