Tickets from http://htcfeb22.eventbrite.co.uk for Zoom and from https://junction.co.uk/hammer-tongue-february for in-person at Cambridge Junction.Time for the next open round of the Cambridge Hammer & Tongue 2021-22 season... Spoken word artistry and competitive fervour. What more could you want?
This is your chance to become part of the spoken word slam brilliance that has graced this here fair city since 2009, in the warm and wonderful surroundings of fabulous venue Cambridge Junction (and at home via Zoom and livestreaming). Sign up as one of the eight to compete for a place in the Regional Final next September, become a judge, or just dive in and soak up the atmosphere and talent on display.
The event will be entirely hybrid - performers will be appearing both in person and online (yes, the online performers will be appearing on stage in Cambridge Junction as well as the other way around).
Hannah Jane Walker is a poet, broadcaster and playwright from Essex. Her work is concerned with the difficult uplifting moments we face in the process of being a person, things we overlook within ourselves that might be potential resource.
She is currently an artist in residence at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, collaborating with scientists and artist Anna Brownsted on outdoor poetic visual art installations. A similar project included a collaboration with female residents at a maximum security prison to create a large scale text installation on the side of Durham Library.
She makes theatre that uses poetry as a way of talking.
With playwright Chris Thorpe she has written, performed and toured around the world The Oh Fuck Moment and I Wish I Was Lonely. As a performance poet, she has gigged in theatres, bars, boats, festivals. As a creative writing workshop leader, she has worked in favelas in Rio, at shiny national venues and children in psychiatric care. Most recently she has begun working in broadcasting, with BBC Radio 4 and now with her own theatre poetry podcast Human Resources.
Her poetry is published in magazines and periodicals. In book solo and anthology form by Nasty Little Press and Nine Arches Press, Forest Fringe and Penned in the Margins.
To find out more, visit http://www.hannahjanewalker.co.uk
Cal Wensley writes on the death of their father with all of the intensity of someone who doesn't want to admit that their father is dead. To some it might sound like they treat death as a joke and they're right. Cal tackles sensitive issues with a lack of sensitivity and a whole lot of humanity. Cal's poetry might make you cry but just remember that it's their dad that's dead so try not to be more upset than them. https://www.facebook.com/CallumThePoet/
Hosted by Fay Roberts, a Cambridge-based poet, musician, and unrepentant geek.
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Fancy Slamming?
The rules for H&T slams are as follows:
Slammers are chosen at random from the sign-up list to perform – spoken word only, no music, no props. Each competitor has 3 minutes from the time they start talking on the mic. After 10 seconds’ grace period, they start losing points (1 point for every 10 seconds!). At the end, they’re given points out of 10 by 5 judges chosen from the audience, while the top and bottom scores are removed to ensure fairness. The slammer gets a score out of 30, and the competition moves on.
The winner of that evening’s competition goes through to the Regional Final (the Cambridge one tends to be held in September), and the winner (and runner-up) of the Regional Final goes through to the National Final. The winner of the National Final gets crowned H&T National Slam Champion.
Event Venue
Cambridge Junction, Cambridge Leisure park, Clifton Way, Cambridge, United Kingdom