Poetry / misfits theatre company
Theatre and social group Misfits host Harbourside walking tour for Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival
Running for over 20 years, Misfits Theatre Company is a local group run by and for people with learning disabilities.
They are dedicated to raising visibility of adults with learning disabilities in order to challenge and change the cultural attitudes of the mainstream.
Offering weekly dance, drama, poetry and wellbeing sessions, they also host a monthly ‘Rhythm of the Night’ disco.
is needed now More than ever
As part of Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival 2023, Misfits’ poetry group have been invited to host a walking tour on April 22, inspired by their favourite places around Bristol harbour.
The group is supported by Anita Karla Kelly (Loud-Word) and Frank Spencer (Redweather Productions).
They were set up five years ago, and have since had exhibitions all over Bristol, taken over the Bear Pit, cleaned up a tunnel and put up posters bridging the homeless and learning disabled community.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpnMS8RM8eR/
Members of the poetry group have also performed their work in multiple venues, including mainstream open mics across the city. Some of their poems were recently featured as part ‘In the Dark’ at The Wardrobe Theatre.
They regularly undertake trips – Wake the Tiger, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and the M Shed amongst them – writing poems about their responses to each place.
The poetry walk, beginning at the ‘Mirror Ball’ outside We The Curious and ending at the M Shed, will feature site specific poetry created by the group, who have been influenced by the history of the harbour, and the feelings of sanctuary that waterside strolling can engender.
Following the in-person walking experience, participants with headphones will be able to access the guided audio walk (by poetry group member Rob Traill) for free and at their leisure, via the app.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpno3SeINgx/
My shoes
My shoes, they take me to places both near and far.
Without them I am still.
They take me to people,
places and objects
they are MY shoes.
I have seen, I have heard
I have felt because of my shoes.
I have met people who are people,
my shoes have led me to them.
So what do I see what do I choose?
These well worn shoes.
By Rob Traill
INTERTWINED
Another universe is beginning an impossible
underwater world. Heart in the body beats
underneath we are connected. DNA twists
puzzles that fit together.
Family are cells that multiply
connected arteries, veins
heart-trees, genes. How are you
put together?
Dad tall, me tall
Mum big-boned, glasses – like me
family tree
a puzzle that fits.
Bus maps, bus stops, tickets, bells
connect us.
When you know, you know.
By the Misfits Poetry Group
Misfits On the Move is on April 22 at 11.30am, beginning at the Mirror Ball by We the Curious. It lasts approximately 30-45 minutes and will include some steps and cobbles. For more information about the company, visit www.misfitstheatre.com.
For more information and ticket links to all events at Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival 2023, visit www.lyrafest.com.
Main photo: Misfits Theatre Company
Read more: Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival announces lineup for 2023
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