"A diversity of incredible voices" - RTB @ Arnolfini

By Joe Gorecki, Deputy Music Editor

Now firmly settled in their new home at the Arnolfini, Raise the Bar knows how to put on a night like no other.

As you enter the white cube of Gallery 3, you’re met by the afrobeat grooves of resident DJ Ngaio that invite you to dance, and whose playing creates the atmosphere more of a party than just another poetry evening.

This enthusiasm is encouraged by co-hosts Kat Lyons and Danny Pandolfi who get the audience to practice their clapping and whooping, raising the atmosphere and making the audience excited for what is to come.

The performances begin with a trio of excellent poems from Raise the Bar’s ‘Spotlight’ series, all of them glimpsing at exciting up and coming new voices. This is followed by a set from Brenda Read-Brown, whose ‘Crowd Pleaser’ poignantly describes her role running poetry workshops for the terminally ill.

"her performance, encompassing both acting and singing, mesmerises"

Kat Francois, the first headliner of the evening, then takes the stage with a set that eschews norms. Instead of simply performing her poems into a mic, she takes it from its stand and uses the entirety of the stage space to perform, starting with the autobiographical ‘Poetry Whore’, showcasing her ability to weave intense rhythms into her spoken word.

Pandolfi introduces her by saying she could ‘make you cry both ways’ and this borne out: her poems could go from light to heavy in just a line before going back again in a way that was not jarring but entirely natural.

To tie in with the recent commemorations of the armistice centenary, she performs a section from her play ‘Raising Lazarus’, which follows her grandfather leaving Grenada to fight in the first world war. Her performance, encompassing both acting and singing, mesmerises. Effortlessly playing with convention, she presents an inclusive and expansive form of spoken word that naturally blends into other forms, including rap when her next piece is performed over a beat.

**"his set culminates in a poem which... uses the ending of the most recent series of Bake-Off as a metaphor for the end of a relationship" **

After the interval, Chris White presents his supporting set with the deadpan relaxed manner of an alternative comedian, his poems scattered on crumpled papers at his feet. But he is no mere gimmick act; his set culminates in a poem which hilariously yet intelligently uses the ending of the most recent series of Bake-Off as a metaphor for the end of a relationship.

Then comes the final headliner of the night, Zena Edwards, whose set tackles topics such as aging and the environment with poems blending spoken word and song, densely packed with lasting lines rich in imagery.

Reiterating her strong belief in climate justice, the joyous highlight of her set was a rousing rendition of the Diane Reeves song ‘Endangered Species’. Adapting the song into a call and response piece that invites the audience to sing along, she powerfully encourages the audience to share in her voice and message.

Her set ends soon after as she hurries to catch a booked taxi back to Temple Meads but ends the night with everybody’s souls raised and feeling enriched from hearing from such a diversity of incredible voices.

Feature image: Unsplash / Joseph Hoehne

Seen any powerful spoken word artists lately? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.

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