Tubthumping at The Constitutional

Tubthumping at The Constitutional, 3 November 2022, from £10.00 - Book now

Promising “poetry as you’ve never seen it before” and some of the UK’s most dynamic spoken word poets both emerging and renowned, Tubthumping at The Constitutional is described as “rip-roaring” – this month features Louise Fazackerley and Jasmine Gardosi.

Taking place in Farsley, between Leeds and Bradford, Tubthumping – meaning “the expression of opinions in a loud or aggressive way” – is presented by Nymphs & Thugs.

Wigan-based performance poet and theatre-maker Louise Fazackerley has a brand-new book, The Pleasure Dome, out with Burning Eye Books, so expect plenty of material from that, and bring your pocket money so you can relieve her of a copy. With work rooted in word-witchery and the working class, Louise tells darkly humorous stories of hope and hurt, and explores the synergy between poetry and movement in a way that makes the ugly beautiful and the mundane fantastical. Winner of BBC Radio 3 New Voices and a European Slam Finalist, she’s also been on tour with John Cooper Clarke.

Jasmine Gardosi is a multiple slam champion, beatboxer, Birmingham Poet Laureate finalist and winner of the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry. Her work exploring identity, LGBTQ issues and mental health has appeared on Button Poetry, at the Tate Modern, at Glastonbury Festival, across BBC Radio, and on Sky Arts’ BAFTA-winning show Life & Rhymes. Her poetry/beatbox/Celtic dubstep show Dancing To Music You Hate explores gender identity and was commissioned by Warwick Arts Centre.

Taking place in Farsley, between Leeds and Bradford, Tubthumping – meaning “the expression of opinions in a loud or aggressive way” – is presented by Nymphs & Thugs and hosted by the spoken word label’s founder Matt Abbott alongside poet and performer Maria Ferguson.

Matt Abbott founded Nymphs & Thugs in 2015 to produce spoken word events around the UK – featured artists include Wigan-based writer and performer Louise Fazackerley, Salena Godden and Luke Wright. Matt’s one-man show Two Little Ducks received rave reviews when it debuted at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, leading to a 22-date UK theatre tour in autumn 2018 and resulting in both a studio album and a debut poetry collection of the same name, which was published by Verve Poetry Press.

Maria Ferguson is a writer, performer and multi-award-winning theatre-maker from Romford. She has been a resident artist for Roundhouse and Battersea Arts Centre and commissioned by Royal Academy of Art, Stylist and BBC Radio 1. Her debut solo show, Fat Girls Don’t Dance, won the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Show and her second show, Essex Girl, was shortlisted for Soho Theatre’s Tony Craze Award and won Show of the Week at VAULT 2019. Her debut poetry collection Alright, Girl? was published by Burning Eye Books in 2020 and was highly commended for the Forward Prize for Poetry, while her poem ‘My Letters’ was highly commended in the Forward Prize 2021.

Tubthumping is part-funded by Leeds Inspired, and organised in partnership with the team behind Trouble At Mill and The Old Woollen.