Spoken word poetry is at the heart of what we do, and as well as producing UK tours, we host regular #LIVEwire nights between Leeds and London as well as at music festivals and venues around the country.
Our first UK tour took place in May 2017 to support the release of Salena Godden‘s ‘LIVEwire’ album. We were also co-producers on Matt Abbott’s 22-date UK theatre tour of ‘Two Little Ducks’ in autumn 2018. Our second UK ‘LIVEwire’ tour began in September 2019 and had to be completed online due to COVID-19.
As well as our ‘LIVEwire’ events, w also produce bi-monthly events ‘Chelping’ at The Leeds Library and ‘Tubthumping’ at Old Woollen in Farsley.
From May 2020, we hosted a total of 50 weekly Insta sessions featuring guests from all over the world. These relaxed 30-minute sessions blended performance with insightful conversations from leading and emerging poets.
Chelping No.24 at The Leeds Library | 16.11.23
our final Chelping event of 2023 stars Bryony Littlefair and Andy Craven-Griffiths, plus open mic! tickets are available here for £5.
Tubthumping No.8 at Old Woollen, Farsley | 23.11.23
we’re rounding off our November hat trick and seeing out 2023 with a sensational double-bill for Tubthumping at the Old Woollen, Farsley on Thursday 23 November! join us for Khadijah Ibrahiim and Toby Campion, plus the showcase section hosted by Maria Ferguson and Matt Abbott.
tickets are available here for £12 plus £1.50 booking fee.
LIVEwire x Lockdown première event | 10.12.20
Since the end of September, we’ve been working fervently behind the scenes on our ‘LIVEwire x Lockdown‘ project. This saw four new artists sign to the label. As part of this online première event, they shared their brand-new commissioned pieces which are the culmination of this project.
Watch it back on Facebook. You don’t need a Facebook account to tune in!
LIVEwire Manchester media
20 September saw our first #LIVEwire regional event take place in Manchester, with a packed audience enjoying sets from Luke Wright, Louise Fazackerley and Kirsty Taylor, hosted by Toria Garbutt. Photos by Derren Lee Poole.
LIVEwire Leeds No.1 media
2 October saw our first ‘LIVEwire’ Leeds residency night at Hyde Park Book Club, with storming sets from Salena Godden and Nafeesa Hamid, plus open mic hosted by Matt Abbott. Photos also by Idle Work Factory.
LIVEwire Bristol media
Our second regional event saw us partner with Raise The Bar at Arnolfini in Bristol, with Salena Godden, Jess Green and Kevin P. Gilday performing to a buzzing room on a stormy Wednesday night. Thanks to Alex Sheppard for the photos.
LIVEwire Leeds No.2 media
Our final event of the 2010s saw Joelle Taylor and Ollie O’Neill perform to another packed room in Leeds, as well as some more brilliant open mic acts. Thanks again to Idle Work Factory for the media.
LIVEwire Leeds No.3 media
Our first event of the new decade was the third in our LIVEwire Leeds series, with feature slots from Louise Fazackerley and Matt Abbott on Wednesday 5 February. The photos and video were by Idle Work Factory.
LIVEwire Birmingham media
LIVEwire Birmingham took place on Saturday 22 February as part of Verve Poetry & Spoken Word Festival. We had sets from Salena Godden, oakley, Toria Garbutt and Saili Katebe, and the video was filmed and edited by Verse First.
We also have these awesome pics from Thom Bartley.
5th birthday party gig
April marked five years since Nymphs & Thugs was formed. So to celebrate, we hosted an online gig which saw all of our acts on the same bill for the first time ever! You can watch the gig back in its entirety on YouTube (above), or on Facebook or IGTV.
LIVEwire Colchester video
Originally scheduled for 29 April at Colchester Arts Centre, our final regional LIVEwire event took place online on Thursday 23 July and is available to stream back in full above, as well as on our IGTV channel and Facebook page. Luke Wright, Molly Naylor and Maria Ferguson were all on top form as per.
During the event, we encouraged donations to Colchester Arts Centre’s COVID-19 fund, which you can still donate to here. Huge thanks to everybody that tuned in live!
LIVEwire Leeds No.4 video
Originally scheduled for 1 April at Hyde Park Book Club, our final LIVEwire Leeds residency event took place online on Thursday 30 July and is available to stream back in full above, as well as on our IGTV channel and Facebook page. Kevin P. Gilday, Toria Garbutt and the open mic acts were all on top form as per.
During the event, we encouraged donations to HPBC’s COVID-19 fund, which you can still donate to here. Huge thanks to everybody that tuned in live!
Facebook Live with Tongue Fu video
A special one-off Facebook Live gig with Tongue Fu, featuring performances from Amyra León and Chris Redmond, as well as the world première of the ‘Birds‘ video.
LIVEwire Class of 2019
Huge thanks to all of the poets that graced one of our stages during 2019. You can get brief bios and video links for all of these poets here. If you’re interested in programming a LIVEwire event for 2020, please get in touch using the contact form.
Please note that we don’t act as a booking agent for our individual artists. We act as a go-between for our artists, and also work with a vast network of poets around the UK.
LIVEwire Class of 2018
Nymphs & Thugs 