[Please note that this blog post was archived in November' 23 to reflect on this September '23 event]
What a fabulous debut to have! I had never heard of Wanstead Fringe until about a month ago and as I love all things art, performance art, all things poetry and Fringe, I just had to find out more. More so, my eagerness to participate was due to the circumstance of being offered a headlining show at Lagos Fringe (in Nigeria) this November, but as the arrangements were becoming far too complex, that booking could not suffice. Therefore I needed to make other plans, and ideally with other Fringe festivals, and here we are.
I'm so glad that I came across this one as it was in an area that I was unfamiliar with, and with Poets that I had not heard of thus everything was new. Moreover, everyone from the Event Organisers (the lovely Chloe) to the audience members and fellow performers, could not have been more welcoming. A cohesive, friendly attitude is not the norm people! Least of all in the world of performing arts/entertainment let me tell you! So this rarity was much valued and enjoyed by the likes of myself and no doubt by everyone else involved.
The venue was nice and quaint, between the cafe area and the performance area. The performance area was perfect for a poetry event. It was an intimate but plentiful setting at the same time, as there was a great turn out. It felt very 'community' like and considering that small Fringe festivals typically target local communities to showcase local talent, to entertain local audiences, my guess is that the locals here are proper patrons of this venue and are in true support of this event. It's beautiful to see, as I have seen in a few other places.
The background, vibe and layout of the tables and chairs reminded me greatly of the music venue 'The Bluebird Cafe' as seen in Nashville (the TV show about the country music industry). The Bluebird in the series was the iconic music bar, frequented by unknown turned famous Musicians to showcase their work. If you know then you know and I know what I'm saying ;-)
Other than the obvious, the only stand out thing that made this venue feel different from Nashville's Bluebird, was the eye-catching painting of Cillian Murphy. Murphy is the Actor who features in the TV series Peaky Blinders (which I still haven't seen but wish that I caught the theatre production last year though). I know him more from Red Eye and Batman: The Dark Knight.
I absolutely love art, thus naturally gravitate towards various artworks but my word this was magnetic! The likeness was so brilliant, as in real life Murphy does have a striking face and interestingly enough I was debating the other day about him having a pretty face, weird face or menacing face. I'd say he's all of the above really however, as a Filmmaker I stood and stand by the statement of saying that he is perfectly cast in villainous roles. Subsequently, his face, expressions and the painting itself is menacing, yet intriguing and "pretty enough" to raise a smile. It pleasantly distracted me throughout the night. Although I did not get a clear picture of the portrait, hopefully you can spot the painting in the far corner of the background?
This may not mean anything to anyone but as a foodie, one who has a great soft spot for M&S (although like every other major retailer they have been slacking A LITTLE the past seven odd years), it pleased my evening and overall comfort greatly to discover a new fruit pack of theirs, that made sure I was sorted (my attitude and stomach) for the night, along with my other snacks. I'll describe that "foodgasmic" moment further on my food blog Deevah's Cravings, but "have ,mercy" did that fruit combo calm my commuting stress nerves and put me in a great mood upon arrival. Food, drinks, seating and toilet use/accessibility all matter a great deal for performers and it is often taken for granted by Promoters or Venue Managers in the gig world, just saying.
Anyway, appetite aside there was a night of extremely diverse, great, eclectic and unforeseen poetry. Very engaging and soothing indeed. I loved all of the variety that we (the entire line-up) had to offer and it seemed like the audience did too.
The poems that left very dear lasting impressions on me were the ones about a Carer's relationship with their patients, that the Poet added a little more theatrical flair to. The one's about their mothers, in specific regard to a Poet sharing his feelings of gratitude for his mother that passed away. Another Poet expressing her respect for her mother's strength in raising her and her sister under their difficult circumstances. The hilariously bold poem by a very charismatic Poet about a love and hate relationship he has towards his home town of Isle of Wight, which left much of the audience embarrassed to laugh at some of the shocking lines given.
I also appreciated the range of ages between us as well as our topics, since the line-up was not of a specific demographic age-wise. Therefore, different ages of the audience had more to appreciate in turn. Actually, the crowd was mainly middle-aged, mature/senior, with few young people and fewer teenagers, enthusiastically soaking in the poetry at this Fringe event.
The teenagers and questionably 'tween-agers' that being typically of 12-14yrs old, made me very concerned about the poems that I decided to perform. I was concerned for the mere fact that more than one of my poems were of adult content with some sexual references and I did not want to disturb their minds nor vex their parents. However, their mothers were present and permissively encouraged me to share what I wanted to share with their green-lit enthusiasm. And so I did.
Being that I finally edited the final draft of my poem My King, which is to add to my long-awaited special edition of I'm All In. My word (no pun intended yet again), this was my 6th edit people! Good grief, editing is getting harder and painstakingly longer as the years go on, whereas I thought that aging would make me more decisive...but apparently not at least where my art is concerned.
Alas, I was very proud of what I did with this performance as it was cleverly and coincidentally linked in with Alice in Wonderland Day (yes it's a real thing in UK 4th July) when I completed an earlier draft of My King. Since the overall visionary theme of the book is adopted from Alice in Wonderland and is a spin-off of the initial collection's My Queen poem from the Love chapter, which is followed by Heaven...Wonderland in the Lust chapter. I collated all three poems for this event to make for a story, for the audience to take in, connect the symbolism of among themselves and so on. It was a fun, semi-interactive experience. Another one that I wish was officially recorded, although I saw a couple of individuals record some parts with their phones.
What was also really nice is that there was one lady who seemed to be at the event by the force of her mother, and was just there to oblige as opposed to really enjoying herself, but once I began to perform after having given my introduction, her face lit up and she was enjoying the show. Audience connections like that are priceless. The young lady later came up to me, confirming my thoughts and told me how happy she was that I came.
What always completes a performance is not just the applause but the adoring feedback and personal messages direct or indirectly that you get from the audience. The people that come up to you shyly, bashfully (depending on what they want to say) or excitedly to tell you how much they enjoyed your set and want to know where they can find out more about your work; via your products if any or your online presence. Although it can be overwhelming at times, it's fabulous! The Host who had never heard my poetry before and probably didn't know what to expect, was particularly happy and impressed with what she saw and heard from me, so much so that she repeated her thoughts on camera, as seen on my Instagram.
By the end of the night my feet were F'IN KILLING ME, for the worst time in a long time! Not just due to past surgeries for those who know my health history, but due to the debut use of the overdue exhibition of my unused, few birthdays old b'day present being gorgeous, blush pink aka salmon, suede platform stiletto, awfully pointed but well presented, not for walking, just for posing, matches my corset shirt dress, SHOES....yeah. Girly and to some silly, but I simply LOVE beautiful shoes like Cruella DeVil loves real fur, SO THERE! I say with my childish tone. To repeat my word of the day, I looked FABULOUS.
Until My Next Post,
Lauren
