Wow, what a night that just was,
Hosted by Liam Peoples, presented by students,
But wait! We can’t forget the special guests,
Michelle and Harry, some say they’re the best.
Well, after that, it’s safe to say the Speech Bubble was a success.
Ok, maybe I should leave the poetry to the professionals and get on with the review, but this just shows the effect that the Speech Bubble has; it encourages everyone to join in. With a friendly audience and the laughter and japery, featuring novices to professionals a like, everyone can perform all kinds of poetry to a live audience and have a fun, enjoyable experience.
The night kicked off with the host, Liam Peoples, performing a sacrificial poem to introduce the event. The host set up the general tone for the rest of the night and the Loughborough students and local residents picked up where Liam left off. Poets from all shapes, sizes and backgrounds took on the stage, where they each had a three-minute slot to perform any original piece they wished. Some even involved audience participation, which allowed for a more engaging and entertaining performance.
As the night unfolded, the audience was treated to the first headliner, award-winner Michelle ‘Mother’ Hubbard. Michelle performed at December’s Speech Bubble, where she clearly had an emotional impact on the crowd. This time, her performances included many political and social correctness elements towards them. They addressed the underlining problems that we as a society tend to turn a blind eye to because it is usually easier. Amongst these were some more lively upbeat performances that covered all sorts of topics, which kept the audience on their toes. To name a few of her poems: ‘Guinness Punch,’ ‘I am Woman,’ ‘Gone,’ ‘Perfect Timing’ and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.
After the break, the audience saw the final student take to the stage before the final headliner of the night, World Champion, Harry Baker. Harry was an exceptional talent. With his charismatic style, he had the audience laughing throughout his performance. Along with demonstrating different styles of competition poetry formats, he performed his own poems, ‘Sunshine King,’ ‘A poem about Phil,’ ‘It’s Complicated’ and a complete reworking of Ed Sheeran’s popular song, ‘A Team’, into a pun-tastic song about desserts. The audience was also lucky enough to hear his world winning poem, ‘Paper People’, which made for an amusing performance.
Well done to all those that took part at the Speech Bubble this St Patrick’s Day. If you are interested in taking part or watching the next event, join the Speech Bubble Facebook page or contact Liam Peoples at l.peoples-11@student.lboro.ac.uk.
Last night’s Speech Bubble performers were Liam Peoples, Sophie Hyde, Charlie Staunton, Chris Bates, Jim Safford, Oliver Bragg, Louis Wood, Harry Ash, Barton Matthews, Mike Green, Dominique Eguren, Steven Thomas, Steve Carrol, Kerry Featherstone, Danielle Ballard, John Wittle, Michelle ‘Mother’ Hubbard- Headliner, and Harry Baker- Headliner.
Courtney Ricketts
