Tower Block Tales dives into the dark underbelly of a run down housing estate. It’s the everyday stories of the have nots who struggle to survive on the dark side of town …
May 24th 2025 at 7.30pm at their new premises, Studio Beyond, first floor 63 Wood St, Liverpool L1 4AL Doors open at 6.45pm
Trigger Warnings: Strong language, violence and sexual themes
Age Guidance: 16+
“Join Studio Beyond for an evening of monologues and sketches. No issues… Just a whole lot of laughs.”
May 3rd 2025 at 7.30pm at their new premises, Studio Beyond, first floor 63 Wood St, Liverpool L1 4AL Doors open at 7.00pm
Trigger Warnings: Excess laughter
Age Guidance: 12+/Parental Guidance
Making a welcome return to WoWFEST, Dr John Cooper Clarke one of the most iconic poets of our time, whose seminal works, including Evidently Chickentown and (I Married a) Monster from Outer Space are as relevant and vibrant today as when they were first written.
If he hadn’t achieved enough already, the status of the ‘Godfather of Punk Poetry,’ is now writ large as Dr John Cooper Clarke became the first-ever poet to headline an arena here in the UK, with a sell-out performance at The Co-op arena in Manchester. You will not want miss this unique evening of conversation and performance that promises to be full of his trademark sardonic wit, biting satirical verse and hilarious ponderings on modern life.
His work bridges literature, music and performance, the self-confessed nosy parker is hot off the back of his arena tour and the paperback release of his best-selling poetry collection, WHAT.
Any Other Business + two shorts. A feature play with two short plays in a night of drama, comedy and the unusual brought to you by 4th Wall Productions.
Any Other Business – A life – and a committee – in disarray. Will Gerard be able to reconcile looking after his sick mum with his role as treasurer, or will it all come tumbling down?
The Interview and Starting Out are two 10 minute shorts that will make you think and make you smile.
April 11th 2025 at 7.30pm at their new premises, Studio Beyond, first floor 63 Wood St, Liverpool L1 4AL Doors open at 6.45pm
Trigger Warnings: References and portrayals of dementia. Some swearing.
Age Guidance: 12+/Parental Guidance
Whether you’re a performer looking to add a new skill to your toolbox, a singer who would like to make moves on the Burlesque scene or a newbie looking to have fun and learn a new skill, this is for you!
Taught by Tilly Mint- Spare Rib co-producer, burlesque performer and singing host. Tilly has been lucky enough to have a varied performance career and draws upon her time working on contracts abroad, singing and comparing on the hotel circuits and 10yrs+ singing for Burlesque and Cabaret shows.
They will look at song choices, how to adapt to the style and examine the possibilities of sing and fling!
Accessibility: The Arts Bar is accessed by a stair case. Once inside the studios can be reached by an internal lift or stairs. If you have specific access needs or concerns please do not hesitate to contact them at thesparerib@outlook.com
They realise times are hard and, reflecting this, they have a limited number of pay as you can tickets available.
Eleanor Rees reads live from her new Portent and Portals: New and Selected Poems, a book which gathers a body of work written over three decades exploring post-industrial edgelands, cityscapes, parks and gardens, estuaries and shorelines, margins and peripheries, real and otherworlds.
Drawing from five collections, out-of-print pamphlets and presenting new poems written with the Wirral peninsula, the selection also includes many collaborations, commissioned and participatory poems emerging from her ongoing practice as a local poet responding to place and communities with vivid imagination and poetic craft. Rees will be joined by Luke Thompson, editor, writer and publisher from Guillemot Press, Cornwall who will give an insight into small press publishing and creative book design followed by a Q&A hosted by Dr Pauline Rowe to explore the significance of Selected poems in a writing life of a poet, the editorial process and the broader themes alive in Rees’s poetry.
About Eleanor Rees and Luke Thompson:
Luke Thompson is a writer and editor from Cornwall. As a writer, recent books include Domadomadoma-Blumblumblum: Conversations with Other Animals (Ortac Press, 2024), Treasures of Cornwall (Macmillan, 2023), and A Guillemot Guide to Very Small Press Publishing (Guillemot, 2022). As an editor, Luke has worked with publishers of all shapes and sizes, from the micro to the Big Five, across poetry, fiction and non-fiction. He is the founding co-editor of the award-winning Guillemot Press.
Eleanor Rees‘s New & Selected Poems gathers together a body of work spanning three decades, five collections and several pamphlets, along with a new sequence Five Breaths. It follows Tam Lin of the Winter Park (Guillemot, 2022),The Well at Winter Solstice (Salt, 2019), Blood Child (Pavilion, 2015), Eliza and the Bear (Salt, 2009), and Andraste’s Hair (Salt, 2007), which was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Selections of her poems have been translated into Lithuanian, Slovak, French, German, Romanian and Spanish (Versopolis, 2016, 2019, 2024). Eleanor is the recipient of an Eric Gregory Award and a Northern Writers’ Award, and she is a senior lecturer in creative writing at Liverpool Hope University.
Image: Potents and Portals, fragment of the book cover
Yeeee bunch of haaaaws! We cum in peace and this time it’s personal!
Join The Secret Circus for a cowboys and aliens themed cabaret in a church! BYOB, in house bar, merch, stalls, stilt walking freebies and more!
Details to come in 2025..
HOSTS:
The Queen of Heartbreak
Naffrodite
Beija Flo
LINE UP:
Cake Boi
Emma Lippitt
Socratena
Paddy Clarke
Athena Barbital
Ida Sanguine
Doors open at 7pm
Wheelchair Accessible
18+
Limited bar, BYOB welcome
Tickets £20 on the door
Kunst Kabaret Spring / Summer Season ist here! Wednesdays are for wonder at Albert’s Schloss.
Join them for a flamboyant and fabulous, opulent and alluring live show. Each week unique featuring a carefully curated array of stars from the cabaret underground, drag, burlesque, circus, modern vaudeville and more! This is the new cabaret resurgence!
They can’t wait to see you there for a night filled with art, laughter, and endless surprises.
Welcome to Out of the Shadows Presents: Queer Verses – A Night of Poetry & Spoken Word! Join them at Lovelocks Coffee Shop for an evening filled with powerful performances by talented Trans, Non Binary and Queer poets and spoken word artists.
Get ready to be moved, inspired, and entertained by the diverse voices and stories shared on stage. Whether you’re a poetry enthusiast or just looking for a unique night out, this event promises to be a memorable experience. Come support their gorgeous LGBTQ+ community and celebrate the art of self-expression through poetry and spoken word. From 6 – 8pm at Lovelocks Coffee Shop, and tickets are FREE!
Please try to arrive 10-15 before start time so you have chance to get yourself refreshments and get seated.
In 2021 Richard Herring went to his GP to find out why his right ball seemed to be growing bigger. It turned out that he had testicular cancer and one month later he was lying in hospital waiting to have his murderous gonad removed. Would he survive? (No spoilers!).
For a comedian who had done a whole show on male genitalia, and written a book about toxic masculinity, this felt like some cruel trick of fate.
With extra dates added in 2025 for his much-anticipated return to stand-up after six years, Richard talks b*llocks and answers the question on everyone’s lips: Is a severed gonad in a jar a fitting prize to bring in for Taskmaster?