Incite! poetry evening at the Phoenix Arts Club is a night of spoken word, alternative performance art and open-mic poetry, run in association with the Camden LGBT Forum, devoted to featuring all from the gay community in London. As a minority group of modern society it seems we have a lot to speak about, particularly at this point on the verge of equal rights, and these poets certainly made their voices heard.
First on the stage was Vince Laws, a poet, artist and activist who combines spoken word with music, text-art, installation and performance. He performed under a banner made of Y-fronts with letters painted upon them, spelling out ‘POPE IS PANTS’. Apparently this is how he greeted the pontiff when he recently visited Britain. His poetry was thoughtful, affecting and well-spoken, particularly a poem upon HIV – a subject that demands to be spoken more about, but is often shunned into an ill-shamed silence.
English/American poet and comedienne Sophia Walker took to the stage afterwards, who spoke of gay rights and emotional connections at the Capital Pride month in Washington, and humorously conflated perceived stereotypes of straight men by lesbian women. Marcus Reeves, the ‘darling of London’s alternative cabaret scene’, performed next in a glittering silver face mask, singing self-penned songs with tunes he’d allegedly ‘riffed off Madonna’. Catchy but surreal.
Thespian Trudy Howson hosted the night with the suaveness of a true stage professional, and treated us to some of her own poetic gems inbetween acts. Yet it was the open-mic night which was oddly a letdown, not for the quality of the performers (who were great), but for the quantity. Only two or three people from a fairly packed audience got up to speak. Have we not got more to say? If you want to make your voice heard, perhaps it’s worth expressing yourself in lines and getting yourself down to the next Incite! event.
• The next Incite! event will be on June 12th.
