LicKitySpit: A new evening of poetry in an ancient setting

Between 2018 and 2020 Henry co-produced and hosted LicKitySpit, the Marlowe Theatre's monthly poetry slam. Each month a host of local artists would compete in a competitive but supportive slam event at The Marlowe's sister venue and heritage site The Kit. Here they'd take turns to read their 3-minute poems on that nights chosen theme. Winners were decided in a beautifully chaotic and unpredictable way by the audience. The winner would receive a cash prize and be invited to do a longer feature set the following month.

The nights were powered along by local DJ Jimmy Rahman spinning everything from house to classic disco between each act and during the interval. Rotating exhibitions of local artists provided the decor to transform the ancient venue, bringing artists of different disciplines to share the night together.

After the poetry slam portion of the night wrapped up, the event would be headlined by an internationally renowned poet. These inlcluded: Chris Redmond, Anthony Anaxagorou, Safiya Kinshasa, Rebecca Tantony, Inua Ellams, Hannah Silva, Caroline Bird, Maggie Akintayo, Zena Edwards, Tom Gill, Miriam San Marco, Kojo Stein.