Yesterday evening I read at Short Fuse Hastings. I figured reading in Hastings would give me a chance to explore the town a little, something I never did when living there in the late 90's. I had a great afternoon exploring, aided by some suggestions from AK Benedict.
My favourite place was Robert's Rummage. Hastings has the sort of proper junk shops that were long since priced out of Brighton. Yes, we have some fun shops, but how many have a drawer labeled 'Locks and keys' containing a miscellaneous collection of both?
I also loved the bookshop that turned into a Thai restaurant during the evening. It was like some long forgotten Transformer toy. During the day it looked like a bookshop, with subtle clues to its other purpose, like a fridge of cakes at the counter, or tables and chairs hidden among the shelves. Far better than a robot that transforms into a VW Beetle, or a walkman.
Hastings does seem a little battered. The pier is closed, and passing through St. Leonard's at 3pm it was a ghost town. You could walk past a dozen ghosts in Hastings without realising - the town feels haunted.
The reading went well. I'd spent a lot of time revising my horror story, The Other Child, and it had stopped seeming weird to me. Standing in front of an audience, I was suddenly aware of how strange and dark it actually was. The main character is grimly unpleasant too, in a manner I definitely am not. At points I found myself being surprised by what was about to read.
I read first, which meant I could relax and enjoy the other stories. I particularly liked VG Lee's story, which had a gleeful malevolence, and Michael Gould's tale about a ploughman, which felt like a traditional story. Hastings Short Fuse is a lovely friendly audience and I hope to read there again soon.
The night ended perfectly. I left the train at Brighton to find the number 7 bus waiting at the stop to take me home.
Below are the gates to Hastings pier. Anyone know what the yellow ribbons are for?
Sarah Charsley, who read a brilliant piece at the last sparks event, is organising a new spoken word night. From the Heart is on Friday 5th February, at the New Venture Theatre. It will feature actors reading short stories. Sarah is currently looking for stories up to 1500 words on the theme of love. Full details are in the image below - click to see a larger version.
I enjoyed last night's readings, especially Naomi Foyle's prose poem, and Sarah Charsley's piece about going camping for the first time with a new boyfriend. I left early, at eleven and was sorry not to have the stamina to stay up partying with the others. Jo promised a surprise at the end of the night, and read out a letter she'd received that morning from Sarah Charsley. It detailed the things Sarah had learned as a consequence of previous Sparks nights, suggesting a certain amount of debauchery after previous events. (The photo above shows Jo reading from the letter).
I'm very sad to be missing the next Sparks event, in February. It's a great night.
The last couple of weeks have felt very busy but, after a tiresome journey on East Midlands Trains, I'm now recuperating at my sister's rural compound. I'm currently working at the kitchen table, watching the chickens while catching up on things - like posting photos from last Thursday's Fear of the Dark event.
Things seemed to go very well. I spent most of the performance backstage, so didn't see many of the acts, but I enjoyed what I heard. Bernadette Cremin did a fantastic series of poems about a woman called Patsy; Kay Sexton did a couple of stories, one of which she dressed as a scary old lady for; Strawberries and a Peach did two lovely musical interludes; and Glue Gun '91 produced a fantastic imitation of a dying swan, and a poem about Ruth Ellis that featured a staged hanging.
The final section of the night was performed in complete darkness. It seemed to work well (apart from one poor member of the audience who suffered an attack of the giggles). The evening was rounded off with serving cake to the audience. I'm not sure what everyone made of it, but I was pleased with what we produced: a spoken word evening like no other.
Another accounts is here (from performance poet/novelist Lou-Ice) and there are some morning-after tweets from @eldevri and @badgermind. The photos below show: Rufus Moonshine and Ruth Ellis relaxing before the show; a view of backstage; Ruth Ellis after the performance; and Gimley Whipple, serving cake, with an axe.
Thank you to everyone who came, and everyone who performed.
The aim of Fear of the Dark was to put on a spoken word event like no-one had seen before. As you can see from the picture, last night's event wasn't your usual spoken-word night. Thank you to Kay Sexton, Bernadette Cremin, Glue Gun '91, Strawberries & A Peach and the Marlborough Theatre for helping make it such a great night. I am going to write a proper post, but that can wait tomorrow. My plans for tonight involve watching House and soaking in the bath.
I wasn't planning to organise another night in the near future, but I had an idea for an event this afternoon...
The final preparations are being made for tomorrow night's Fear of the Dark event. We had a meeting last night to plan the last few details and I'm very excited. When we started work on the event we wanted to do something special and I think we've managed that - tomorrow will be different to any spoken word night you've seen.
I'd love to say more, but I have a couple more things to do before bed. The night starts 8pm at the Marlborough Theatre. For more information look here.
I'm very excited about Fear of the Dark next Thursday, but putting on a night is also a little nervewracking. There are so many things to remember and I occasionally find myself worrying, just before falling asleep. What if I've forgotten something? What if nobody comes, and we're forced to perform to an empty theatre?
But there are some wonderful things about organising a night, one of which is watching a series of performers you think are great. I've just made the final addition to the bill, which is a musician, Strawberries and a Peach (you can listen to some tracks of her tracks on the myspace page).
Meanwhile, I'm continuing preparations with the other performers. I think this is going to be an exciting night, and will certainly be different to anything you've seen before. Tickets are available in advance from the Marlborough or, with paypal, from fearofthedark.eventbrite.com. You must come!
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