Monday night saw Speech Bubbles second dose of Spoken Word; an open-mic night with poetic musicality and guest appearances from the professional performance poets: David Parkin and Mark Gwynne Jones.
Cognitos was transformed into a rustic coffee-shop setting, with circular coffee tables and lounging chairs and a plate of iced biscuits. The room was brimming with brave artists anticipating the opportunity to reveal their poetic creations, as well as spectators looking for a relaxed night out.
Loughborough’s budding ‘Home Grown Students’ took to the stage during the first part of the evening, with a diverse turn out from English, Politics and Design courses. The performances came alive with each individual’s extra additions; from robust rap-poetry leaving the audience motivated and inspired, satirical spins on everyday observances – like the on-going debates associated with Youtube – and jovial instructions on how to write poetry.
The second half of the night was a chance for Loughborough locals and spontaneous enthusiasts to send their inspirational waves into the mesmerised audience. Up to ten slots were dished out with a three minute time allowance. Crumpled bits of paper were to hand, scrawled with the imaginations of the mind. It was a well rounded night, with people from all ages.
For many, this was the first or second time they had performed, and it took a leap of faith for many to get onto the stage after encouragement from other spoken word performers.
Each performer held their own in the casual ambiance, demonstrating that there is more to poetry than the written words on a page. The audience were forever supporting in their applause.
Finally the two professional poets, David Parkin and Mark Gwynne Jones, turned what had been an entertaining night packed with enthusiasm, into a truly remarkable experience.
David Parkin gave the audience a brief taster of ‘The Good Friday’ tour: a collection of poetic expressions accompanied by the intonations from his piano. It revealed a difficult period of his life, which he terms as “a clinical depression concept”. The audience related to the deep concepts, and sympathised with appreciation for his writing entitled ‘Scrabble for Beginner’s'. They then found solace in his recordings of the newly discovered appreciation of life in ‘Running’.
Mark Gwynne Jones’s energetic performance concluded the night with a heightened morale. He consistently held the audience in hysterics as he mocked the clichéd poet and sources of his poetic stimulation, as well as samples from his new book ‘Psychic Bread’. His eyes were wide open with fixation as his talented assortment of animated voices gave life to his writing.
Speech Bubble is currently aiming to host a spoken word night every term, each with a headlining guest performer. The next event will take place in the summer; you can keep up to date with all Speech Bubble events or sign up for a performance slot through Speech Bubble’s facebook page.
