Jawdance is London’s biggest poetry night featuring some of the best names from the Spoken Word scene. Taking place every third Wednesday of the month at Rich Mix, it’s a monthly highlight for many poetry and Spoken Word enthusiasts.
Our next Jawdance evening takes place us on Wednesday 20 November and we’d love to see you there! This month will be hosted by Kat Francois, who will be joined by Zakariye Abdillahi, Theresa Lola and Amyra León.
Every Jawdance has the opportunity for you to take the Open Mic. Pop your name in the hat at the beginning of the evening and if you’re lucky, then your name could be drawn at random to perform. Everyone is welcome to add their name to the hat and we highly recommend you give it a go.
Jawdance is a supportive environment and welcomes first-timers and those who are well-seasoned. Where spoken word meets the open mic, come along to the warmest poetry gig in London.
Kat Francois – Host
Kat François is a Performance and Movement based Artist, Writer and Educator, Writing and Performance Coach and BBC TV and World Poetry Slam Champion.
Kat has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Saturday Live and Woman’s Hour, as well as BBC TV & Sky, and featured on BBC television’s Paul Whitehouse: Our Troubled Rivers.
Kat François has written and performed two solo plays and three solo comedy shows. She recently won a short story competition, and her piece, INDIGO WATERS, is featured in HIDDEN REALMS, SHORT STORIES, published by Flame Tree Publishing.
RAISING LAZARUS, her play about Caribbean soldiers in the First World War, has also just been published (TSL Publications.)
Theresa Lola
Theresa Lola is an award winning poet, writer, and brand consultant. She was featured in the ‘Forces for Change’ issue of British Vogue as a next generation talent. In 2022 her poem Equilibrium from her first poetry collection was added to OCR’s GCSE English Literature syllabus. Her second poetry book Ceremony for the Nameless will be published by Penguin Press on November 7th 2024.
In 2018 Lola was awarded the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, and the following year was the Young People’s Laureate for London. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing from University of Oxford, earning a distinction.
Lola has led poetry workshops across schools, projects, and organisations, including for Dulwich Picture Gallery, The Poetry School, and Outspoken. She has read her work across the UK and internationally in Brazil, Singapore, Romania, and more.
Amyra León
Amyra is a musician, author, director and Harlem native, seamlessly transcending genre and medium. She believes the art of listening and honest conversation are the primary tools for lasting change. Her aim is to empower communities to believe in the significance of their individual stories.
Poetry has allowed Amyra to summon her own reality time and time again as she faced the intricate violence of being raised in New York City’s Foster Care System. Her work, often autobiographical, tends to generational trauma, Black liberation and communal healing. In honouring the wonder and terror of her own history, she invites us to reckon with our own.
Zakariye
Zakariye is a poet, performer, playwright and filmmaker from Birmingham. His work often explores masculinity, faith and identity. His short poetry film ‘Cages’ has been broadcast on BBC 4 and BBC iPlayer. Last year saw him reach the finals at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam where he won the audience vote.
He is currently a Roundhouse resident artist working on a one-man stage play.
Follow Zakariye’s work:
Insta I YouTube