Review by Sofie Fowler.

Word Soup is a live literature night that is hosted by The Continental (www.newcontinental.net) and organised by the Lancashire Writing Hub (www.lancashirewritinghub.co.uk). The usual format is readings by writers of prose and poetry, with an open mic slot for those that attend to perform their own work. Having been to a couple of the regular nights, I was really looking forward to attending the stage version of Word Soup. The spacious events room was set out in a comfortably informal style with several round tables. The stage at the end of the room was graced throughout the night with a variety of performers, this time including excerpts from stage plays. In a twist on the usual style, I was enthusiastic about seeing some writing of a different kind and hoping to learn a little from it.

The night started with Adam Shaw on guitar playing a few gentle and melodic songs which set up a lovely warm atmosphere. The first act was an excerpt from The Gentle Plagued by Lee Johnson, a play that was also part of the Preston Tringe festival, a week long selection of comedy, music, theatre and other events hosted by various venues in the city. Based on a novel, The Gentle Plagued tells the story of a fictitious town in the Lake District that has been quarantined due to a plague. The section performed was about a married couple who have been left behind and was an interesting study in male – female relationships. The husband was trying to clean a smudge on the wall whilst his wife berated him. The situation of a strained relationship set against a backdrop of a biological disaster was a good microcosm of the events outside the marriage.

Grace O’Leary’s What Colour Was Her Blood? is the story of a mother and daughter who meet after 20 years apart. The small section I saw was absolutely fantastic, an exceptionally well performed scene of resentment and possible reconciliation. The awkward moments in the script has me shuffling nervously in my seat, almost as if I shouldn’t have been listening in on such an intimate conversation. The scene moved from a very naturalistic discussion between mother and daughter to a monologue of the daughter’s internal thoughts seamlessly, highlighting Grace’s skill as a storyteller. What Colour Was Her Blood? won the Forever Manchester Award at the Not Part of Festival and will be showing at The Continental on October the 14^th.

On to poetry with Max Wallace. In a recent interview with Little Episodes, Max said that he tries to write about “beauty”. This was evident in his first poem Fucking Love, a lyrically beautiful poem that portrays an almost negative view of love. He spoke of the pain of love, the hurt that comes from it, in a style that emphasised his youth. Thinking Infinity, Max’s second poem, was a wonderfully paced poem that flowed deliciously. The words almost ran over each other in their desire to be spoken. The third offering, When I’m Old was a stark view of the effect of ageing on the body, telling of a man who wants the people close to him to remember him as he was, with one special person who keeps him young. A touching and quite morose verse. The final poem was a “journey through ice cream pornography”, Ben and Jerry’s Sex was a fantastic little wordplay comedy.

Ron Scowcroft was up next with his poem Peninsular, a verse that gave a strong sense of travelling through a world of smells, colours and tastes. A lot of imagery here, it very successfully created an imagined world. Walking in Kiev, Ron’s second poem was based on his own experiences visiting areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster. A thought provoking exploration into the mindset of those who live there with little details such as their fear that insects and birds will bring in radiation. A compelling piece. The third poem, Mooncalf, was Ron’s homage to Caliban from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. One of my favourite plays, I loved this poem. It was stylistic, with Shakespearean language, delving into the thoughts of an imprisoned man who imagines his ideal world. Also a touching piece was Heartsong, a verse focused on the role reversal of a man who becomes immobilised through illness. Ron’s final poem A Different Parrot was a fast paced, descriptive montage of many kinds of parrot. Some funny, some quite intimidating, it was a joy to hear.

Next on the bill was the open mic slot. First up was Terry Quinn with Duke’s Theatre, Williamson’s Park, Lancaster, a story of visiting the theatre and being rained off, but connecting with the actors and enjoying the experience despite the night. Combined with another poem about costume designers’ interpretations of a play, Terry’s poems were an interesting insight into the relationship between players and the audience.

Next up was Alex Ashworth with an intriguing poem about time and its ever changing path, a very thought provoking verse. Then Nick Robinson with his press release about the use of the exclamation mark, a comment on the modern use of punctuation. Mark Fell then offered a poem with a good simple rhyme and rhythm about the overuse of mobile phones, and a charming verse about the little man who turns the light on in the fridge, warning us to limit our midnight snacks for fear of waking him.

At this point in the open mic section, it was my slot. I read a section of prose about a little girl who talks to a dead rabbit. I found the audience to be exceptionally welcoming and, although I was a little nervous about reading, I felt completely at ease. The atmosphere was warm and I enjoyed my reading immensely.

After me was Catherine Cable with Not Leaving, a very realistic poem about a woman who plans to leave her family. The description of the completion of mundane tasks, with the tension of a big decision behind it, had a very poignant note to it. Next was Rachel McGladdery’s 10o’clock in July, packed full of beautiful imagery, sliding from the colours of the sky to the sound of animals with wonderful descriptive language.

Back to stage performances with David Reilly’s The Visitor. Originally written for radio, this worked very well on stage despite being set in the dark. In the Prime Minister’s bedroom at 10 Downing Street, a squaddie confronts the Prime Minister about his policy on Iraq. The Visitor successfully portrayed a role reversal in the balance of power, it is the army here that issue the commands to the government. The squaddie threatens the Prime Minister with his army issue gun, commenting on the irony of using what he has been given against the giver. A strong political commentary with a foreboding twist at the end.

The final piece of the night was an excellent piece to end on. Rob Johnston’s The Myth of Escape was a cleverly staged story of two men in adjacent prison cells. The use of music and sound was used effectively to set the scene, leading into an interesting character study. One of the inmates pushing for answers to his questions, the other used to his isolation, the conversation being the only human contact he has received in a long time. Halfway through the piece, the tone changes, with the more resigned of the two beginning to tell his story. A very intelligent play, The Myth of Escape contains fantastic witty dialogue and clever shifts in character.

The July Word Soup was a fantastic chance for a writer like myself to see examples of writing in a different format. The night offered the opportunity to watch performances other than poetry and spoken word, allowing me to learn about the techniques of good play writing. Word Soup acts as a forum for writers to learn from each other in this way and gain vital exposure for their work. Interestingly, the July event also played host to actors and directors, bringing together people from different creative disciplines to enjoy and discuss the the subject of stage performance.

The Continental www.newcontinental.net

Preston Tringe www.tringe.webs.com

Lancashire Writing Hub www.lancashirewritinghub.co.uk

Review by Sofie Fowler www.sofiefowler.com

Editor: RH