Spoken word house parties take Scotland by storm

A SCOTTISH spoken word promoter has taken the country by storm this week with its ‘spoken word house parties’ held at Drygate in Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Gilded Balloon. 

Sonnet Youth creators, Cat Hepburn and Kevin P Gilday, started the joint venture back in 2016, after seeing each other perform poetry at a pop-up event hosted by Drygate.

Now three years in, the pair host three nights a month in Scotland, two in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh, where poets, playwrights, comedians and singers can come together and share their work – the more bizarre the better.

Kevin, a writer and spoken word artist himself, describes Sonnet Youth as: “A spoken word house party, a literary rave, a poetic p*** up – bringing together a wide range of artists for a night of no holds barred performances.”

After funding the first year of events themselves, the organisation is now financially supported by Creative Scotland.

Cat explained: “The reason we have been able to grow over the past few years is partly to do with word of mouth, partly to do with the fact that we have improved in the way we do our job, but hugely because of the funding we receive from Creative Scotland.”

Sonnet Youth events have indeed grown in popularity, with artists travelling from as far as Ireland to take part in this week’s shows.

One performer, Stuart Kenny, a poet and co-writer of the wonderfully weird show Space Gecko Project said: “I was so excited to take part in this event because it’s so eclectic – you honestly never know what kind of thing you’re going to see at Sonnet Youth.

“The atmosphere is always so welcoming and you are guaranteed to see new artists coming up with completely original ideas.”

As well as their monthly gatherings, Sonnet Youth have held events at multiple festivals, including Hidden Door Festival and BBC 6 Music Festival.

They will also be hosting a Tron Theatre Takeover in Glasgow this February.

“The Tron Theatre will be the venue for our Big Weekender event, the last day of which will be a special showcase of some of the best acts from throughout our three years of shows,” Kevin added.

If you would like to see what a ‘literary rave’ looks like, or think you have what it takes to be part of their next line up click here.