Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.
Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out work from some of the UK's best poets.
Our next event is on Wednesday 22nd of January and this month we're doing something a little different...
THE COUCH OF CONTEMPLATION WITH SPECIAL GUEST MATT CUMMINS!
To kick off 2025, we're sacking off our usual "two features and open mic" format to play The Couch of Contemplation - a game that features a whole lot of open mic!
WHERE DID THE COUCH OF CONTEMPLATION COME FROM?
The game was devised at the beloved London poetry night Forget What You Heard by Rikki Livermore and Matt Cummins... and we're absolutely over the moon that Matt is joining us to co-host this event!
HOW DOES THE COUCH OF CONTEMPLATION WORK?
The hosts kick off each half of the night with a poem. Once they've finished we play a little music while the poets in the room decide if they feel inspired in any way by the piece they just heard, or perhaps have some work of their own they feel they could follow the poem up with, whether the link is a phrase, a line, a theme, a disagreement or even just a feeling deep down inside!
Those who feel they might like to "follow-on" from the poem make their way to the Couch of Contemplation and state their case. Then all of us assembled on the couch have a good old natter and decide who performs next. We do this until we're all so overstuffed with verse and warm feelings that we just can't manage another stanza!
Over the course of the night we'll weave the narrative threads of our poems together into a very cool tapestry.
WHY DO WE PLAY THIS SILLY GAME?
More than any other Open Mic format, the Couch of Contemplation encourages everyone to listen closely to the poems being performed. You won't know what poem you're going to read until your gut tells you that you've got the perfect follow-on from someone else's poem, so keeping a keen ear is key. We think it's a great format that helps us all really take in what others are writing and encourages discussions amongst our community.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR TICKETING?
This month all tickets are general admission - just turn up, listen and see if anthing sparks off your imagination. As long as you have a good range of poems on different subjects, it's pretty likely you'll get to perform.
CAN I PERFORM MORE THAN ONCE?
Yes, as long as you make a compelling case for why you have the perfect poem to continue the thread. We try and make things as fair as possible and will try and give as many people as possible a first go before offering out second slots.
CAN I JUST WATCH?
Absolutely, you can grab a general admission ticket and just kick back and watch. At the Couch of Contemplation we encourage audience members to chat between poems and you have more chance to discuss what you liked about a performance than at a standard open mic. And hey, if the mood takes you, you could always read something (it doesn't have to be your own work).
- Date / time: Weds 22nd January. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00
- Price: All tickets £5
- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE
- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)
- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)