John Hegley at Waterside Arts

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
John Hegley. Photo by Suzi Corker
John Hegley. Photo by Suzi Corker.

John Hegley at Waterside, Manchester Until 30 May 2025 Tickets from £8.50 — Book now

Celebrated poet and musician John Hegley is back at Waterside Arts with his latest show, An American In Luton, which contains a good deal of yet-to-be-published material alongside some back catalogue favourites.

Through poems and songs (and most likely pictures), An American In Luton tells a story of family, fantasy, love, loss – here’s more:  “The tall and unannounced Maine man appears in a seemingly ordinary 1960s English living room. He is the high chaperone and bringer of a grandmother who has not seen her stamp-collecting son for decades; her grandchildren, never. His reuniting job done, this curious visitor hands the children each a ten-dollar bill says his goodbyes and is gone – off up the suburban street, into the evening and perhaps a hotel in the town centre on his horse. (A hobby horse, in fact, given him by one of the children.) A Caravaggio and a wry dry stone-waller are also thrown into the mixture.” The show has been devised for adults but is not unsuitable for the odd nine-year-old.

His most recent show Biscuit of Destiny won a Lustrum Award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022 and showcased poems from his pamphlet A Scarcity Of Biscuit, published by Caldew Press in 2021 and inspired by a stint as writer-in-residence at the Keats House in London’s Hampstead in 2012.

John Hegley was born in Newington Green, London, in 1953, and grew up in Luton and Bristol. After attending Bradford University, he returned to London and joined the community arts collective Interaction; he has continued their interactive ethos ever since. During the early 1980s he was a regular performer at London’s Comedy Store and he has been a Perrier Comedy Award nominee. He also recorded with The Popticians, and featured on the BBC’s John Peel sessions in the 1980s. He has worked regularly on radio and television, and has toured nationally and internationally for the past 40 years, blending poetry, comedy and song.

You can also catch John Hegley later in the year at Morecambe Poetry Festival on Friday 12 September.

John Hegley

John Hegley at Waterside, Manchester Until 30 May 2025 Tickets from £8.50 Book now

What's on at Waterside

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Where to go near John Hegley at Waterside Arts

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Bean and Brush Art Café

Bean & Brush is a family art café in Sale which serves simple, tasty food with ingredients sourced from local suppliers. The bonus for parents is the arts and crafts studio which keeps the kids busy being creative while they can join in or relax with a coffee.

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Grosvenor Square

Grosvenor Square is one of the few open spaces along Oxford Road Manchester; on sunny days, students from the nearby Manchester School of Art come out to bask.

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Walkden Gardens

Walkden Gardens in the Manchester suburbs has all the makings of a fairy tale garden. As a venue, it’s hard to imagine a more magical gateway, a wonderful escape only a short(ish) stroll from the Brooklands Metrolink stop..

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Meze & More

An intimate supper club in Sale, South Manchester, with a specialist focus on Middle Eastern and Greek cuisine.

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Longford Park

Longford Park in Stretford was created in the grounds of Longford Hall, the grand entrance steps of which remain.

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Wythenshawe Park

With a 17th Century hall set in 109 acres of open parkland, Wythenshawe Park makes a super day out for all ages. Explore the historic woodlands, lush grasslands and meadows; take a stroll around the many themed gardens and check out the sports and leisure facilities on offer.

What's on: Literature

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