Slam Poetry at Tyneside Cinema

Organised by Radikal Words, local purveyors of all things spoken word, Slam Poetry is the Tyneside “more than just a” Cinema’s monthly performance poetry event.

For the uninitiated, the art of poetry slamming originated in the US (doesn’t everything?) in the 1980s and involves performance poets doing battle with their finest three minutes of verse.  Round by round performers are eliminated by audience vote, with the ‘last man standing’ crowned slam champion and, usually, scooping a cash prize.

So off I went to the Tyneside, ready to have my emotions stirred by cerebral literary works, only to find that, rather than poems, each entrant was going to be delivering three minutes of song lyrics from the Hit Parade’s finest and strangest.  Welcome to the Lyrical Slam!

Hosting duties were shared by friendly local wordsmiths Jeff Price and Simma, who warmed up the audience with his spoken word rendition of classic one-hit wonder, Stuck in the Middle With You, before sending us off on the world’s weirdest lyrical odyssey.  From The Kinks to 2 Unlimited, via Kate Bush, Bon Jovi and, my personal favourite, the theme from WonderWoman.

Of course, some songwriters feel a strong kinship with poetry, so it was no surprise that Canadian master of melancholy, Leonard Cohen, featured twice.  Velvet-voiced Aidan Clarke’s sobering performance of Cohen’s poem-cum-song A Thousand Kisses Deep had the room spellbound and provided a welcome contrast to the glut of comedic performances.

It wasn’t to be Aidan’s night in the end though, as Scott Tyrrell walked away victorious (and a staggering £30 richer) thanks to his unique stuttering rendition of Lady Gaga’s P-p-p-poker Face.

Tyneside Cinema bar: light and airy

The evening provided a fun and light-hearted introduction to the world of poetry slamming and my companion and I had great fun trying to identify each tune as they were performed by a mix of seasoned performance poets and brave newcomers.  The audience also seemed to be made up of a mix of regulars and first-timers and the mood was friendly and welcoming with no sign of the elitist atmosphere that one might stereotypically associate with poetry readings.  The light and airy Tyneside Bar proved a great venue too, with its relaxed cabaret style seating, modest corner stage and decent drinks selection.

The only real minus point of the evening was the fact that all but one of the performers were male, which left me wondering if females are as vastly outnumbered on the performance poetry scene as they are on the comedy circuit.

Lyrical Slam was a great way to chase away the Monday blues and I’ve definitely been inspired to seek out another poetry slam event.  You never know, I might even get to hear some poems next time!

Slam Poetry events are usually held on the second Monday of each month. Details of future slams are advertised on the Tyneside Cinema website.