Tongue Fu: Night of Festivals Touring

Market Square, Nottingham has seen many rebellions and protests over the years. From the Cheese Riots of 1764 to the framebreakers of 1811 and more recently, the encampment by the Occupy Movement. Tonight it is home to a celebration of ‘freedom through artistic expression’ as part of Night of Festivals Touring.

The event is put on by ArtReach and Writing East Midlands and will feature Chris Redmond and the Tongu Fu team. I first came across Tongue Fu on The Space, their work with Kate Tempest is easily my favourite of all the commissions. Artists instruct a band on what type of music, tempo and rhythm they want playing and then perform their poetry over the top. It’s an impromptu performance that generally works well every time. The Jazz Poetry at Bar Deux works on a similar principle, though Tongue Fu are more flexible in that they can create any type of genre.

Representing Nottingham is Aly Stoneman, Poetry Editor at Leftlion Magazine. Winner of Nottingham Poetry Society’s Performance Poetry Competition 2011 and a commissioned poet for WEM’s Lyric Lounge. Recently Aly has appeared at Ledbury Poetry Festival, Nottingham Festival of Words and Copenhagen International Poetry Festival. Her debut chapbook Lost Lands was published by Crystal Clear Creators in 2012 and explores the relationship between humans, myth and landscape. I should also confess that she is ‘er indoors, but emotional biases aside, I think her poetry is mesmerising so I’m really looking forward to it.

Sureshot aka Michael Brome is a poet, rapper and music-loving lyricist based in the East Midlands. He was a contributing artist to the ‘Freedom Showcase’ spoken word show for the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, and later this year will feature as part of WEM’s Lyric Lounge , at the Off The Shelf Festival, and in a spoken word project exploring Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream Speech. Sureshot does these amazing recitals and is a big lover of jazz. I unsuccessfully tried to create a jazz evening with him and septuagenarian John Harvey (who has a jazz loving detective in his Resnick novels) a while ago. I though the contrast would work really well. But never say never…

If you’re thinking of attending, don’t worry if it starts to rain. The event takes place in a cosy inflatable nook called The Dome.

Night of Festivals, Old Market Sq, Nottingham, Friday 13 September, 7.30pm (in the Performance Dome) 7.30-9pm. Tickets £5. The Dome has limited capacity so please book ahead through nightoffestivals@artreach.biz or 0116 261 6882