No Explosion, No End

CLICK HERE TO READ "No Explosion, No end" - a flash fiction piece I performed in the Brighton Fringe Flash Fiction Story Slam

Double Slam in the Brighton Fringe

Hendrick's Horseless Carriage of Curiosities parked up in Jubilee Square last Friday and is leaving on Monday, so there's still a chance to get a free shot of gin. And if you write a very short story or a short poem you'll get a free gin cocktail in the bar, but you have to read it out to the barmen and barmaids!

Last weekend I took part in two slams in the above mentioned carriage as part of Brighton Fringe Festival. On the Saturday Damian Barr hosted a flash fiction slam, and me and 13 other people entered the stage to read or perform a story in less than three minutes. Not everyone agreed with the judges (Stuart Evers, Vanessa Gebbie & Niven Govinden) but it was good fun, even though the theme was somewhat depressing: "The End." My story was about a woman who wanted a divorce from her doormat husband, but the divorce couldn't go through unless the doormat exploded, and therefore my story had no end ... (Thanks to everyone on Facebook who took part in the debate whether such an expression as "exploding doormat" exists or not ...)

On the Sunday Chris Parkinson hosted a lively poetry slam. The poets had five minutes to convince the judges (Damian Barr, James Burt & Kate Shields)that their poem or poems were the best. Alison Brunette (?) became the champion after having performed a parody of the "When I'm an old woman I shall wear purple"- poem and another one about preferring sex to chocolate. At other poetry slams I've been to the audience are often asked to be the judges, so it was a bit different to have a panel of judges that kept their scores secret. I did my poem dedicated to an ex-landlord which went down well. I'm happy with both my performances and really enjoyed being on stage in Hendrick's Horseless Carriage of Curiosities!

The Cosmos, The Cosmetics

The reason I went to see The Cosmos, The Cosmetics show in the Brighton Fringe was that the subtitle said "a spoken word play". I'm always interested in seeing how poetry can be used to create a narrative, and have my own secret (or now not so secret) dreams of one day putting together a one-woman-show, using my poems and other writings. In a way I've done a bit of that when I do author talks at schools and libraries, but I haven't created something that feels like a finished shape or a whole piece.

Through poetic language Nick Field told his coming-of-age story, drifting from one subculture to another, and eventually coming out and finding himself for real. I loved how the very simple stage set worked ... With the help of different tubs of cosmetics Nick illustrated his experience of being a raver and being a goth. From fluorescent lips to black lips ...

A couple of times I got a bit lost or confused when Nick jumped in time and between different episodes in his life, but he always managed to capture me again with his very calm but catchy way of speaking. I was trying to work out if there were any "complete poems" in his play ... I'm not sure and it doesn't matter anyway. The narrative flowed without any awkward pauses.

Most of the time it felt like Nick was speaking to me personally. So many things I could relate to ... The difficulty to fit in within a certain scene (he was too chatty and positive for the goths, I've always found myself being too "rock 'n' roll" for the goths*) and the worry about spots (Nick found that covering his face in thick foundation (?) or powder (?) helped and I used rouge (!) to conceal my spots as a teenager ...) I found it particularly funny the way Nick had to sneak out of his house to avoid being seen in his various outfits and hair-dos by his parents ... I remember times when I ran out of the house before my mum noticed that I was wearing my Dr Martens with a neat dress for a school graduation ... Not to mention the small-town mentality, and all the neighbours knowing what you're up to ...

There were also some very touching moments in the show when Nick spoke about bike accidents he had and how his skin was damaged and he got this "skin paste" to use to cover up the scars, but in the end chose to leave them be. I hope to see/hear more of Nick Field's stuff in the future!

Here's a quote that kind of summarises the show: "There were so many stitch and dye initiations. So many cut and rip, fix together, plagiarise and innovate, mix and match, daub and dab paint rituals."


*My Swedish debut novel "Punk industrial hard rocker with attitude" is all about not being able to fit into a particular box

Lil' Red Ridin' Hoodie & The Big Bad Wolf

A very unusual take on the traditional tale of the Little Red Riding Hood ... Pyratrix Circus treated Brighton to a free multimedia fire show at the Level (as part of the Fringe Festival) a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed the performance as I think there's something magical about both fire and things that are performed outdoors.

However waiting for over an hour in the chilly May air didn't help. It was also a shame that there were technical difficulties and the spoken words got lost in the wind ... But hey it was FREE and it was a good atmosphere. I just wished that I wasn't a vegetarian that night. The fluorescent vodka jelly shots that were going for a pound were very tempting!

Checking Pyratrix Circus Facebook page it says "Our main character Lil Red is a keen young dynamic activist who wants to rescue her beloved grandma from the big bad wolf. Grandma is a representation of the earth, dying due to the corporate greed of the big bad wolf." And I pretty much got this message despite the sound being crap ... I loved the political messages scattered around the "stage" such as a sign in the McDonald's colours saying "Mc Junk". Proud to be veggie after all!

Pyratrix is touring other festival in the UK and Europe this summer so check them out!

P.S. The fire display in the picture says FEAR MAKES THE WOLF LOOK BIGGER

And the Birds Fell from the Sky

I'm exhausted (on the brink of seeing clowns!) after weeks of going to Brighton Fringe & Brighton Festival events. I hope to blog about them all at some point. At least I should have the time this week as I'm broke until payday ... Usually when the festival programmes first come out I feel a bit overwhelmed. There's too much on, and it's hard to pick what shows are worth seeing, and it still feels like I've missed stuff ...

One of the very first events I went to was "And the Birds Fell from the Sky" and that's definitely a show to check out. (There are tickets left for next weekend.)

"An immersive video goggle performance for two people, combining cinema and instruction based theatre to cast the audience as main character in a wild journey to the world of the Faruk Clown. Anarchic, dreamy and dangerous, ‘And The Birds Fell From the Sky’ takes you on a joyride inside your head all the way to the edge of civilisation."

I pretty much agree with the above statement. I went to the show with my friend Kristen and afterwards she asked what I thought was the point of the performance/event/show. And I couldn't really give her an answer ...I told her I felt sick in a good way, which is true. It felt like being inside one of James Burt's clown stories. Basically you get physically kidnapped by clowns ... and somewhere along the journey I got reminded of life: there's no real point, at least not one that we know of ... The only thing negative thing I have to say is that the show felt a bit short - just like life itself.

Grit Lit

The streets of Brighton were gritted enough for a bunch of writers and their hangers-on to make it out last night. It was time for Grit Lit - a live lit event hosted by Amy Riley and Tim Lay. Their show won the award for the best literature event in the Brighton Fringe Festival 2009. Even though some writers were so cold they had to read with their coats on, the atmosphere in the Red Roaster was heated.


I'm reading my short story Suicidal Girlfriends, inspired by a guy who once told me that I looked like his ex-girlfriend who had committed suicide ...


Amy Riley reads from her latest novel which is set in both Brighton and the States.


John O'Donoghue shares an extract from his autobiography Sectioned - a life interrupted.


I didn't manage to get a photo of Tim Lay ... But above is a picture of his short story collection Nibs. The story he read last night was about the rave scene and a particular drug called Fubar.


The audience was treated to a story about vintage underwear when Erinna Mettler took the stage.


Poet and prose-writer Akila captured everyone when she read rhythmical flash fiction stories about experiences of people with mixed heritage from a hardcore/hidden aspect.


A writer who both opened and closed the night by reading about Batman and meditation was Rob Paraman. I'd not seen Rob for years (we used to hang out at the same writing groups) so it was really nice to hear him read, making me laugh more than once.

Another author, Dan Holloway was supposed to be on the bill as well, but was the only one who couldn't make it because of that damn snow that was gone by the time I walked home, warmed up by rum and good company. Thanks to the few friends that made it out!