What’s on: Spoken Word

Liam Overend: Do Poets get Encores?

Liam Overend @JustLiamPoetry

If you haven’t done so already, forget the poems they taught you at school; you’ll find none of that here. Instead, let Liam share with you his heart-warming anecdotes and poetry inspired by real life events (mainly his), from changing nappies, fighting with a cactus, being terrorised by peacocks and a brief bout of Bell’s Palsy.

Miners’ Hall: 31st July 3.15 p.m. (40 min)

Luke Caley: Spiritual Traveller in the ghetto

Another Perspective

A performance about educating people on the importance of helping the elderly and the most vulnerable in the ghetto while creating a peace movement worldview and creating a humanistic mind heart and soul to create alignment and safety in the ghetto through self awareness self knowledge and helping charities.

Miners’ Hall: 31st July 4.00 (30 min)

Stories from the Streets: Brogan Brannan

Brogan Brannan

Born in Somerset, raised in Scotland, sullying the north east for the past 6 years, Brogan is a spoken word poet and performer with salty rants, structured rhymes and no reservations. Her work often illuminates how deeply personal experiences are often universally felt and she doesn’t shy away from the grisly details.

Grab her anytime she’s not on stage to buy a QR code to download her audio album and take some pieces of her home!

Miners’ Hall: 31st July, 5.20 p.m & 2nd August 8.00 p.m. (30 min)

Stories on the Streets: Dan Husband

Dan Husband and guests

‘Stories from the Streets’ strays away from the one hour show to be broken down across a weekend, whilst allowing other spoken word talent and opportunity to showcase their style alongside me! Think less all my ramblings, think more ‘Husband Material presents:’

D.L. ‘Dan’ Husband is a North East England born & bred writer, poet and performer. With two collections (HMVI & HMV II) published alongside a score of individual pieces in various publications, he pens poetry and prose with acid in the inkwell & compassion in the heart. Unflinching writing and performances at various venues and Fringe festivals discussing addiction, homelessness, life, love, growth and all that lies in between. He has also featured on BBC upload ‘best of 2025’ show and the Northern Voices podcast. “He’s absolutely FAB” (Emma Millen, BBC UPLOAD)

Get after his work @husbandmaterialpoetryandprose

Guests: Gary the Hat, Gaeran Southern, Kev Robson, Adam Berkeley

Miners’ Hall: 31st July, 6.00 p.m (50 min), 1st August, 6.15 p.m. (10 min), 2nd August, 6.30 p.m. (30 mins)

Erasmus Croc’s and Aaron Wright’s Guide To Life

Aaron Wright

Erasmus Croc is the world’s first poetry crocodile, performing alongside his young protégé, Aaron Wright. Together they present their guide to life, the universe and everything through spoken word, poetry, low-tech props and bubbles. Expect tales of possessed tumble dryers, blinged-up slugs and other surreal wonders. Soak in sumptuous visuals and audacious auditory skills as a crocodilian delivers rhythm and rhyme, aided and abetted by his star pupil.

A playful, poetic, and joyfully strange Fringe experience.

Miners’ Hall: 31st July, 7.10 p.m (60 min) & 1st August, 3.25 p.m. (45 min)

Tom Priestley performance poet

Tom Priestley

Comedic poetry aimed at celebrating and criticising the poetry scene. Filled with observations of mundane every day life whilst satirising social habits. Think John Cooper Clarke meets George Carlin

Miners’ Hall: 31st July, 8.15 p.m. (60 mins)

John Hobson: Funny Onion

John Hobson

A standup comedy performance poetry show featuring poems about vegetables as well as Rebecker the double decker, a useless football referee and a stovepipe hat. Funny Onion made its debut earlier this year in Sheffield to a sell-out audience and has played at multiple venues at the Buxton Festival Fringe during July.

Miners’ Hall: 1st August 4.15 p.m. (60 mins)

LEDGE: Principles of the Mind

LEDGE

What if the impossible was just a matter of belief? Join psychological entertainer Ledge as he demonstrates the hidden powers of YOUR mind through stunning mentalism. In this 45-minute journey, discover how belief, visualization, silence, and change shape reality itself. You’ll witness thoughts read, predictions revealed, and the boundaries between possible and impossible blur. This isn’t just a show—it’s proof of what becomes possible when you truly believe. Prepare to question everything you think you know.

Miners’ Hall: 1st August 5.30 p.m. (45 mins)

Georgia Goodson: Terrible Beautiful Things

Georgia Goodson

Georgia builds a set around her latest publication, with bits and pieces thrown in from the previous, as well as some unpublished work that is building for a potential future release. Big themes of grief, nature, loss, love.

Miners’ Hall: 1st August, 6.30 p.m (30 min) & 2nd August, 6.50 p.m. (20 min)

The Notorious PIP: Domesticon. An Antifragile Poetry Play

Pip McDonald

An experimental solo spoken word & comedy performance unpacking lived (and dead) experience of domesticity, consumerism, grief, mothers (mams), relationships, supermarkets, education, and health through performative poetic outputs. Trigger warnings: grief, death and Tesco. 

Miners’ Hall: 1st August, 7.15 p.m. & 2nd August, 3.30 p.m. (60 min)

Mwelwa Chilekwa: ReSIStance

Mwelwa Chilekwa

Women are the villains and society is the judge, jury and executioner. Our heads lay bare on the guillotine and with one false move…

But this show changes our story and empowers others. A passionate and emotive one-woman show featuring poetry to SMASH the patriarchy. From light-hearted topics like school life and dating to the more darker aspects: abuse and sexual assault. Trigger warning for those topics, this is how the world is. Experiences far too many women and girls, myself included, face. Why?

Together, no matter your gender, we are going to put the sis in resistance! 

Miners’ Hall: 1st August, 8.20 p.m. & 2nd August 4.35 p.m. (60 mins)

Anne-Marie Draycott: The Good Girl is Revolting

Anne-Marie Draycott

She was taught to stay quiet & small. Not anymore.

A sharp, funny spoken word show about women taking up space and reclaiming their voice.

Raised to keep the peace, Anne-Marie learned early that staying small meant staying safe – but at what cost? Through honest and at times light-hearted spoken word, she draws on her experience of growing up around domestic violence and unpicks the invisible rules that teach girls and women to be polite, quiet and accommodating. But no more. The “good girl” is revolting.

Miners’ Hall: 2nd August, 6.00 p.m. (45 min)

Keith Ford

Keith Ford

Keith Ford is responsible for:
6% of the musical talent in Mr Ford and Mr Gibbs;
11% of the beauty and brains in Mr Ford and Mrs Ford;
3% of the inherent hiphoprisy in Geordie Genes;
49% of the cheerfulness in DJ Cheap and Cheerful;
17.3% of Speech Therapy’s hosting history;
0.2% of his own browsing history.
However, he is entirely 100% responsible for any of the nonsense in his poetry. You do the math….

Miners’ Hall: 2nd August, 8.35 p.m. (60 min)