Reverb was delighted to hold a special event as part of Edge Hill University's annual Festival of Ideas. We unexpectedly took an alfresco turn, moving from the Rose Theatre to the garden - a nice treat for us and huge relief from the sweltering Sunday evening heat! Admittedly this was due to a bar faux-pas, nonetheless, after a quick stop at the University shop, everyone was drink in hand & raring to go. 

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Nathan Walker was unable to attend - however he sent us an audio recording of some new work, which was mesmerising to hear as it filled the whole of the Rose Theatre. With everyone's focus solely on his voice, it was hard to imagine that this was not the way Nathan had intended this piece to be received as the musicality of his language could have been lost on the page. 

Next up was Lenni Sanders, who had everyone giggling at her flarf poems, and with great command she moved the audience gently with her considered ekphrastic pieces. For the performance of a co-written piece called 'We Like to Fight' she was joined by Manchester writer/performer James Varney. The piece was dynamic, and stretched effortlessly between humour and consideration about bodily harm and aggression.

Matthew Carbery got everyone pumped through the command of his meticulous use of language and the power of his voice, as he punctuated the grisly state of politics and police brutality - then had us all howling as he doned a accent fit for an ol'scally for some new material he had been working on. 
​
Last by not least, Kate Feld bewitched the audience with an immersive performance around the garden with a piece which situated around the seasons. With the audience nestled in the palm of her hand, she took them on a journey through the contents of her hand-bag and the role women have to play in public. 

Open mic performances from: John Wilmington, Paul Le Marinel & Stella Connor. 

Thanks as always to all who came, all who have supported and to all who make this series possible. Big shout-outs to Cathy Butterworth, Amy Warburton, Robert Edge, Jessica Tillings, Bill Bulloch, the tech & catering team at The Arts Centre.

We will be back in October 2018 - stay tuned! 

Photography by Ben Warburton & Robert Edge.

Photography by Robert Edge.

With a pumping soundtrack and dynamic generators to match Reverb 5 was our biggest event yet! Each generator was so wonderfully diverse, yet complemented each performance. 

We had poet Zayneb Allak weave intricate, provocative webbings of language around our captivated audience, Billy Cowan pulsing out punchy and dangerously witty stories about male sexuality & human pups, then David Gaffney had us all holding our sides with his considered and hilariously honest graphic novel The Three Rooms in Valerie's Head. 

The open mic was densely populated by new & familiar Reverb faces. Tanvir Ratul, Luke Thurogood, Torkel Tennberg, John Wilmington, Hilary Walker, Harriet Hirshman, Robert Carlisle & Fiona McMullen - offering up an eclectic range of heart pumping short fiction, absurd scripts from films that are intended to never be made and delicate & thoughtful poetry as well as some surreal and witty verse. 

There was no pamphlet for this event - as the majority of our generators had new work out - which was on sale on the night and positively received. However,  E C H O  will be back in a couple of weeks featuring the work of our amazing open mic performers. 

Next Reverb we will be in the Red Bar - & our generators will be announced very soon! So keep 16.04.2018 free - this will be our last Reverb before the Summer and we intend to make it a big one! Also stay tuned for some special announcements. 

​A big thank you to all who came, all who have supported and to all who make this series possible. Big shout-outs to Cathy Butterworth, Robert Edge, Jessica Tillings, Bill Bulloch, the tech & catering team at The Arts Centre.

Our second Reverb of 2018 saw us scale back a bit due to the bitter weather -
                                              !PSYCH!

The minus temperatures only made the performances from featured Generators Cathy Butterworth & Joey Frances burn that much brighter. Both serving us up some interdisciplinary treats with visuals, video & jazz - there was something for everyone. Joey delivered some jazz vibes along with his precise, rhythmic language - setting us up for Cathy's potent & beautiful performance of work which intersected with her previous art exhibitions. 
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The open mic, populated by our wonderful regulars saw John Wilmington creatively respond to January's generator Amy McCauley & take on his own rendition of the Oedipus myth, with accompanying balled up paper. Michael Ainscough has us all in bits, as per usual, with his cheeky - no holds barred performance, our own Jessica Tillings debuted a new scathing poem about Harvey Weinstein and second year Creative Writing student Robert Carlisle broke his Reverb virginity with his political cut-ups. We ended with a considered poem, which tackled the human psyche by our fabulous compare Robert Edge. 

We launched the fourth pamphlet, which features exclusive writing from both of our exceptional Generators. 
                            
                                                          (Buy Volume Four Here)

We decided to give E C H O a month break so that we can come back with a packed Issue 4 in March. 

A big thank you to all who came, all who have supported and to all who make this series possible. Big shout-outs to Cathy Butterworth, Robert Edge, Jessica Tillings, Bill Bulloch, the tech & catering team at The Arts Centre.

Photography by Jessica Tillings & Robert Edge
For videos from the night - please visit our Facebook Page

We kicked off our first event of 2018 with a roaring sonic boom! 
Conceptual artist and poet, Bill Bulloch gave a tender performance with an electric undercurrent that rippled throughout his reflective works. Award winning poet, Amy McCauley held the room and shook it with her seismic performance, which led us through a powerful regendering of the Oedipus myth. 

Both Generators left the stage reverberating a frequency which was expertly picked up by the debut performances from our Camaradees:

Hilary Walker & Sally Barrett 
Helen Jones & Brendan Quinn
Adam Hampton & Luke Thurogood
Tanvir Ratul (bringing power enough for two)
and a special performance from Bill Bulloch & Brendan Quinn of their poem/poetic collage Heptade (forthcoming in 3:AM Magazine). 

Unfortunately Ascend Silver Poison had to move their performance date to a later Reverb, which will be confirmed very soon. However, we re-opened our open mic segment and were treated to some brilliant pieces from Reverb regulars John Wilmington & Michael Ainscough. PLUS, performances from Adam Hampton, Julia Zeineddine, open-mic first-timer Fiona McMullen & our very own Jessica Tillings.

We launched the third pamphlet, which features exclusive writing and artwork from both of our exceptional headliners. 
                            
                                                          (Buy Volume Three Here)

Details for Reverb 4 will be announced very soon so stay tuned! Until then keep your eyes peeled for Issue 3 of our accompanying Web Zine E C H O, which will feature the Camarade pieces from this event PLUS some extra treaties. 

A big thank you to all who came, all who have supported and to all who make this series possible. Big shout-outs to Cathy Butterworth, Robert Edge, Jessica Tillings, Bill Bulloch, the tech & catering team at The Arts Centre.

Photography by Jessica Tillings

Monday 27th November--The moon entered waxing gibbous, the moon of endings, which seeing as this would be our last event of 2017, was a nice coincidence. 

The second instalment of Reverb was full to the brim with multifarious performers. We had short fiction, poetry, film, music and some excellent dance moves (thanks Luke Thurogood).  

We launched the second pamphlet, which features exclusive writing and artwork from each headliner. 
                            
                                    (Buy Volume Two Here)

Additionally, we announced our January 2018 Reverb Camarade, which will see writers & artists from all disciplines & backgrounds being paired together to create a 3-5 minute performance. Stay tuned for more information, and the chance to sign up! 

A big thank you to all who came, all who have supported and to all who make this series possible. Big shout-outs to Cathy Butterworth, Robert Edge, Jessica Tillings, Bill Bulloch, the tech & catering team at The Arts Centre.

Torkel Tennberg & Luke Thurgood, Michael Ainscough, John Wilmington, Hilary Walker, Tanvir Ratul, Naomi Horne & Robert Edge.

Photography by Jessica Tillings

Thanks to all that made noise on & off the stage. See you all at the next one! ​

The second wave is coming 27.11.17 so clear out your diaries & your ears for what will be an eclectic & electric evening of performance, featuring three dynamic artists TBA this Monday.
If you want to get on stage & do your thing, please sign up for an open mic slot at: http://reverbsw.weebly.com/contact.html
Don't be shy, it's a great opportunity to get yourself out there & heard, so please come & make some noise for us!
Also, next week the first issue of our zine E C H O will be published, which features work from some of our last open mic performers, PLUS exclusive videos of Tom Jenks, Gerry Potter & Jessica Tillings, filmed & edited by Jake Ryan.
Until then, enjoy this video of Gerry Potter's performance from our launch last month.
The Guardian recently wrote an article about Gerry, and his fantastic solo verse-theatre show 'Gerry Potter: Son of Liverpool', which premiered last night at Liverpool's Unity Theatre as part of Homotopia 2017.
Read the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/…/mother-grief-city-docklands-l…
Stay tuned!

Monday 16th October--the day of the red sun phenomenon: particles in the air which caused blue light to scatter, leaving longer-wavelength red light to shine through... OR was it a warning sign for the impending electrifying echo of debris from the stage at the very first Reverb?!
                                     . Both possible .
The night saw an eclectic and talented range of performers generate rhythms which pushed back against the winds of Hurricane Ophelia and created an emotional frequency--ranging between pathos, laughter, rage and joy.

We also launched the publication of our pamphlet, which will be published monthly alongside the reading series, & will feature exclusive writing/artwork/miscellaneous materials from each headliner. (Buy Volume One Here)

Additionally, our online zine ECHO will be published shortly, which will showcase the work of select open mic performers who have left an audible imprint upon us. 
A big thank you to all who came, all who have supported and to all who make this series possible. Big shout-outs to Cathy Butterworth, Robert Edge, Jessica Tillings, Bill Bulloch, the tech & catering team at The Arts Centre.

Coming soon: footage from the night courtesy of Jake Ryan

Jamie Gibson, Hilary Walker, Brendan Quinn, John Wilmington & Luke Thurogood

Photography by Robert Edge