Enclosed! John Clare, Poet - Trio Literati

Harriet Beach writes:

I didn’t know a lot about John Clare before Trio Literati’s Enclosed! John Clare, Poet. While scanning through the LitFest 2016 programme I noticed the event, and was intrigued by how Maggie Mash, Jane Oakshott and Richard Rastall would incorporate poetry, storytelling and music into a homogenous performance. I can’t have been the only one to ask myself that question, as audience members were arriving before the doors had even opened. Just 10 minutes before the performance began the dedicated LitFest team found themselves setting out additional rows of chairs!

Opening scene                         Photos Richard Wilcocks

Richard Rastall

Jane Oakshott

Jonathan Drummond, Eleanor Rastall

Trio Literati, plus musical counterparts, sang their way on to the stage. Their arrival was so animated that I was surprised when they brandished what looked to be scripts. Initially I wasn’t sure what to think but, reminding myself that poetry reading was a key part of the evening, put the thought aside. As the words of Clare’s poetry crept in, however, the books became props rather than prompts to my eyes. Leafing through pages gave the air of storytelling, and this, combined with the intimate venue, took me back to the comforting feeling of being read to as a child.

And like a child with a good book, I became engrossed in the life of our protagonist. Trio Literati used the tale of John Clare’s life as a framework for his poetry, providing plenty of information but without ever growing didactic. On the contrary, humorous elements kept the audience on side throughout. Particularly well-received were an anecdote about Clare’s mother, who was called upon to recover the original copies of Clare’s manuscripts from would-be-exploitative publishers via no less than a fist to the face, and references to Clare’s appreciation of the “intellectual challenge” offered by the bars and brothels of 19^th century London.

Music, too, contributed to a varied pace. I glimpsed some audience comments, and soprano Eleanor Rastall, accompanied by Jonathan Drummond, delighted watchers with characterised performances of contemporary music. Her final piece, ‘Here we meet, too soon to part’ (with words by Clare and music by Rossini) was particularly evocative, and moved the audience in showing the anguish Clare faced at the end of his life.

John Clare’s voice came alive not just through his poetry, but via readings from a journal he wrote upon his trek home to Northamptonshire, post-escape from High Beach Asylum (Essex), where he had been taken into care. Following the performance, Maggie Mash commented that the journal had been a fantastic source to work with. Using Clare’s own words, the Trio described the exhaustion he felt whilst walking, but his reluctance to go into an inn because he had no money, or even to sleep in the barn nearby because revellers were still awake and might notice him. Such an image felt painfully close to the reality of many who live without shelter today.

Later, in the same journal, he added that he continued walking despite his pain, for “being ashamed to sit down in the street”. Again, careful selection of excerpts humanised Clare and showed how such terrible circumstances can swallow up even those we now consider great. Similarly, a turbulent rendition of ‘The Flood’ at the end of the first half reminded the audience that we share some of Clare’s own experiences. “On roars the flood - all restless to be free / Like trouble wandering to eternity” evoked unbridled floodwaters, a poignant reminder of last December’s events.

The performance gathered emotional pace throughout, climaxing with John Clare’s distress as he suffered in the grip of mental illness. Audience members wondered aloud whether he might not have lived a happier life had he been born today. That, we will never know. What is certain, though, is that many people, myself included, will have left wanting to know even more about the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet and his work.

Mouse's Nest by John Clare

I found a ball of grass among the hay
And progged it as I passed and went away;
And when I looked I fancied something stirred,
And turned again and hoped to catch the bird —
When out an old mouse bolted in the wheats
With all her young ones hanging at her teats;
She looked so odd and so grotesque to me,
I ran and wondered what the thing could be,
And pushed the knapweed bunches where I stood;
Then the mouse hurried from the craking brood.
The young ones squeaked, and as I went away
She found her nest again among the hay.
The water o'er the pebbles scarce could run
And broad old cesspools glittered in the sun. 

Audience Comments

A delight to see a performance of such professionalism - the poems came alive, every word lingered over. Such beautiful words and images. The voices, spoken and sung, worked together so harmoniously, and really evoked the life and times of Clare. It was so energetic too in terms of performance, the poems acted out.

I very much enjoyed the performance. It was a great insight into the life of John Clare and his poetry, and I also enjoyed the poetry - I also enjoyed the singing and the music -the show was entertaining and engaging.

Unfamiliar with the poetry of John Clare though visited his cottage in Helpston. Will certainly read more of his work after this very entertaining event.

I loved hearing the poems read so well. I enjoyed the lovely singing and playing. A pleasant and informative evening. I learnt a lot and had lots of responses to the poetry.

A lovely evening's entertainment. I enjoyed the readings and particularly the singing. My admiration to the singer's fast changes!

Such a lovely evening I really enjoyed the variety - the singing, music and poetry. The stories of the countryside reminded me of my childhood in Berkshire - picking berries and leaves from hedgerows

Lovely! Such a mixture of poems, Songs and narrative - never boring, often moving

Love the combination of poetry and biography. Very dynamic, full of energy. Fantastic performers, they clearly love the material. Lovely flowing style. Quite funny as well.

Educational and entertaining, it introduced me to Clare's poetry in a dramatic and fun way. Enjoyed the songs and the snippets about John Clare's life.

A delightful evening. A great introduction and celebration of John Clare's life and work. It has inspired me to re-read his poems.

Delightful. Thoughtful. Well put together and high standard. A thoroughly enjoyable event.

A very thought-provoking insight into a poet I was not very familiar with but now am enthused to research. Expressive and emotive readings of his work and interesting musical contributions.

Very well researched. The selected verse was poignant and well read. Emphasises what extraordinary genius Clare 'the peasant poet' possessed. The music worked well to illustrate Clare's extraordinary journey.

A welcome glimpse into a relatively unknown yet original figure whose writings are vividly informed by first hand and, at times, loving observation. Presented with great sympathy, immediacy and humour.

A very lively and accomplished performance. The singing and piano accompaniment enhanced the evening too.

Taught me a huge amount about John Clare. The poems were well read and presented. Bravo!

Enjoyable evening of Clare's poetry, beautifully narrated by Trio Literati tracing John Clare's life, ably supported by charming folk songs, sung by Eleanor Rastall.

Splendid evening. Trio Literati brought John Clare's poetry to life and the musical interludes enhanced the rustic nature of the poetry. An exhilarating experience.

Entertaining, informative and engaging - well chosen material delivered with poise and enthusiasm. Each performer brought his/her own distinctive style to a cohesive whole - masterly performance.

Extraordinarily good. Trio Lit has caught the very essence of John Clare.

An entertaining and moving experience. The actors and musicians wove together a lovely evening. Thank you.

The production was very professional and well rehearsed. Articulate and animated speakers. Vocalist (soprano) enjoyable. Content of production thought-provoking, moving ???? describe Clare's life in detail.

A very pleasant evening, enjoyed the music in particular.

Excellent music and poems - I will start to read his stuff now. Thanks.

Hadn't seen Trio Literati before - but was interested in the subject. An enjoyable event.

A revelation! Thank you.

Excellent! Very informative!

The King's Bed - Don Jordan

Megan Amelia Smith writes:

Don Jordan’s intriguing talk on Charles II’s private life (if it can be called private given that Charles’s conquests were the celebrity gossip of the day) was filled with plenty of scandalous detail to keep the audience hooked. From his youth spent in exile as a king without a kingdom, to his eventual death probably from a stroke, Don explained how many of Charles actions throughout his life were driven by his voracious sexual appetite.

He connected the amount of influence Charles’s many mistresses had over him with England’s economic problems. The financial struggles faced by the country as a result of the King giving them so much money eventually lead to covert deals with the King of France, who gave money to Charles in exchange for military aid and on the condition that he become a Catholic.

The enormity of power and influence that the Merry Monarch’s mistresses had over him show indeed that the women who had power over the King in bed also had power to impact the public and political affairs of the country.

Don decided that the King redeemed himself towards the end of his life, through refusing to divorce his wife despite her inability to bear him children, meaning that he died without a legitimate heir. But does this truly redeem his actions throughout his hedonistic reign? Don left it to the audience to make up our own minds.

It was fascinating to find that many of today’s royals descend from Charles’s many illegitimate children, so that when William ascends to the throne after his father he will become the first King to have blood from Charles II, through his mother Diana. As Don said, without the King’s sexually driven actions English public life would not be the same, which shows that Charles, and indeed his many mistresses, have influence on the country even today.

Sally Bavage writes:

The King's Bed was a hotbed of intrigues, quite literally, according to Don Jordan in his highly entertaining talk over the tea and homemade cakes in the New Headingley Club. Charles II he would become, but as a fatherless youth who was exiled in France and lived with his mother, he became rather directionless and dissolute.

His first sexual experiences as a boy were with his .. wetnurse. And it didn't really get any less salacious after that. His time as a 'king over the water' did not turn his mind to statecraft or politics, more to a playboy's life, a love of roistering with friends and satisfying the more earthly pursuits, including sailing and gambling. He was eventually invited back to England to become king after the failure of the Cromwellian regimes, and spent two decades steadily asset-stripping the Treasury, the Navy and Louis XIV of France to supply his many, many mistresses with jewels. And titles. And palaces. £150,000 in one year went to the first major mistress Barbara Palmer – today's equivalent is many millions.

As our jaws dropped, Don treated us to not just the (lengthy) list of his conquests – Nell Gwynn was just one of so many, though he did seem to have a great affection for her erotic skills – but also to the disastrous results of his inattention to the affairs of state and his close attention to his affairs. Poor Queen Catherine, his Portuguese bride brought in to secure the succession, was unable to deliver a full-term baby and it may well be that the special treatment of royal pregnancies with quinine was to blame as it is now known as an abortifacient.

When he finally died, probably of a stroke – with his lifestyle, no surprise; he was with two of his mistresses the night before - he asked for the last rites as a Catholic, left the throne to his avowedly Catholic brother James and left more problems than solutions.

His many illegitimate children – most of whom he happily acknowledged – are now represented in today's high-born notables. When Charles III finally accedes to the throne, he will find his wife Camilla has a far more direct link, coming as she does from the line descended from Charles II's French mistress Louise. Ironic. It is when William finally gets to sit on the royal seat, he does have royal blood from Charles II through his mother Diana Spencer (descended from both the French mistress Louise and the first mistress Barbara whose families have intermarried). As Don said, “The King is dead, long live his genes.”

Don was talking about the book he co-authored, The King's Bed: Sex, Power and the Court of Charles II

Audience Comments

Very fascinating, make me want to know more and more. “I like a bit of gossip.”

Great talk, very entertaining and highly informative. Made history accessibe and fun! Wel done to all especially Don!

Excellent. Witty and informative. Riveting narrative history.

Very entertaining

Very interesting. Learned lots of new things. Thank you for an engaging talk.

Excellent talk!

A very successful resume of the times

Very interesting

Very enjoyable and informative.

Excellent lecture

Some delay owing to techno probems. A fascinating talk on Charles II by the co-author of an amazing account of royal depravity and quite loathsome behaviour towards women and the welfare of the English nation

Cabaret Thirty in the Heart Centre

Richard Wilcocks writes:
It worked! Under-thirties from our local area and far beyond came together on Friday, united for one wonderful evening of singing, music, storytelling and poetry - most of it created by themselves.  With one or two exceptions, most were current or recent students of one type or another, which is absolutely fine and logical, given that Headingley's population is inclined that way by about fifty percent. I devised the programme without knowing much about the timing of each piece, so inspired guesswork had to play a part. There was no opportunity for a rehearsal, of course. I had thought that two forty-five minute halves would be about right, but as it turned out the show ran for nearly twice that amount of time - and no-one seemed to mind all that much that the predictions were out.

If I was forced to choose a performance that was really star-quality, I would go for the violin-playing Owen Spafford, who is in Year 9 at Lawnswood School, a bow-brandishing maestro before his time, and I suspect from the clapping and the thumbs-up signals that all present would have agreed. My only criticism of his masterful treatment of mainly Irish traditional material is that he did not linger in his glory for more than a second or two, disappearing through the audience sat at tables at full speed. Of course, there were plenty of other impressive and memorable contributions, and some surprises. I was charmed by Kari Medalla's song to her Japanese friend in the audience , which was in Japanese, liked Samantha Crossfield's very well-read story about a woman on the London Tube who notices a baby smiling at her, felt that John Darley should turn up at more poetry readings on our home turf, laughed at Lewis King, who will make a solid career as a stand-up comedian, wished that Mabh Savage could have given us more of her poems on the Seasons, was taken aback by Kirsten Savage's (yes, they are sisters) spirited songs with bouzouki (maybe she should have brought her band as well), thought that Sophie Joelle's extract from her new story for 'young adults' showed that she will soon be up there with the best of them, tapped along to the singing of Billy Humphreys, was moved by Jenny Rutten's sad song about a love affair and a little upset that Ethan Lowe did not have time to give us more of his repertoire. Time hurried on, I'm afraid.

Thanks are due to all who helped to make the whole thing possible - particularly to Hannah Stone from Leeds Trinity University.

The running order was as follows - Kari Medalla (songs with guitar), Becky Leeming (poetry), John Darley (poetry), Lewis King (comic flash fiction), Samantha Crossfield (short story, Sophie Joelle (short story), Billy Humphreys (song with guitar), Mabh Savage (poetry), Owen Spafford (violin),  Ethan Lowe (short story),   Kirsten Savage (song with bouzouki), Jenny Rutten (song with guitar)

Megan Di Luzio writes:

Cabaret Thirty is running for its ninth year and it has to be recognised as a wonderful, unique opportunity that allows new talent to burst forth from the community of Headingley, Leeds. With a pastel blue guitar and a wistful look in her eye, Kari Medalla opened the evening with a rendition of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman and captivated the crowd with her beautiful voice. ‘I had a feeling I could be someone’ was a lovely emphasised line by Kari that reflected the aim of the evening, to allow young people to confidently presented their own creative pieces, establishing their own individual talent in the community! After Kari the musical acts in the room continued to amaze with Billy Humphrey giving a heartfelt show after having not performed for two years, Jenny Rutten who performed two songs of Brazilian, then Dutch origin and Kirsten Savage played the unique Bouzouki, performing her own songs that filled the room. However, the stand out musician of the evening was thirteen year-old Owen Spafford who played pieces of fourteenth century folk on his violin. Owen’s playing brought a genuine smile to my face and was received exceptionally by the audience and this modest young man didn’t even bow! The atmosphere was brilliant as the audience stamped their feet in time to the music as if about to stand up and dance like at a medieval, folk festival… perhaps next year Headingley?

Yet, the creativity isn’t limited to only musical compositions, Headingley Lit Fest presented a variety of poets and writers with lovely developing talent and as someone without a creative bone in her body I was extremely impressed. There was prose: Ethan Lowe read out two short stories of which Wooden Night made the audience chuckle with its hilarious dad-joke ending, Sophie Joelle read the first chapter of her novel in writing ‘Love always wins’ and Samantha Crossfield read her short story. I particularly enjoyed Samantha’s performance, not only due to her brilliant projection and embodiment of character, but because the stream of consciousness of this woman on a the underground truly reflected these moments of deep, absent thought that run through your mind as you sit on the tube in busy central London.

There was also a large amount of poetry throughout the evening: Becky Leeming presented us with some content from her working collection which portrayed the themes of nature, loss and mourning ‘hidden in my writing leaves’, as stated in one her poems. John Darley was the complete opposite of Becky, moving away from natural imagery and presenting poems with overlapping ideas, read quite rapidly in order to create a rapid stream of images for the audience. Poet Mabh Savage was also a delight this evening and I particularly enjoyed her soothing voice and poem that personified the seasons of autumn and winter.

The most unique act of the event was Lewis King whose genre was ‘Comic Flash Fiction’. His performance of Journey to the Centre of the Hoover was fabulous because his characterisation of the protagonist was humorous and remained constant throughout his reading. His use of actions and colloquial language made the performance feel relatable and his general wit kept the audience at ease when he was on stage. I highly recommend going to Cabaret Thirty next year (if not before) because this event has such a variety of talent from Headingley that needs to be seen!

*LATEST - click here to read Mabh Savage's blog post about Cabaret Thirty

Audience Comments

Great event, lovely atmosphere, and such a wealth of talent! A real diverse mix, music poetry and stories. Many performers who I will now look up on line to find out more about them. More please!

A sparkling mix, a fascinating evening. A cracking opportunity to dip into a range of performances. A pretty venue, a convivial atmosphere and a compere who put everyone at ease.

A grand evening! I particularly enjoyed: Sophie Joelle - great natural delivery and realistic writing of dialogue; Billy Humphreys - liked the passion and polished performance. Don't apologise to the audience - no need! Owen Spafford - one word - Phenomenal! One more thing - an interval is just civilised - it would have been better to have one and finish slightly later.

Good idea to carry on the young people's night from last year. More ...?... it next year. Felt it would have worked better in two halves. Maybe background music as we came in to establish atmosphere. Important ingredient in the LitFest.

Good night, it was interesting to experience the variety of the performances. Favourite was Samantha's story.

Lovely relaxing evening with some seriously talented and inspiring artists.

Only improvement I can think of is that the artists didn't seem to know what was going on in terms of timing, set length and running order! Thank you!

I like the decor and there was a good mix of things.

Excellent - so many different things! Highlights - my two offspring of course; Kari wonderful Spanish singing; Billy really good summertime music; John Darley amazing and thought-provoking; and of course Owen, absolutely brilliant!

Beautiful music, profound poetry and a terrible pun. Kirsten Savage was the best because she is sat right next to me and I think she has a gun. As an additional note - I like shorts, they're comfy and easy to wear.

Kari rocks!  As does John Darley. And Lewis, He's awesome. And Billy. And Mabh obviously. She’s  the best. And Owen is amazing. Twas great. PS I don't have a gun.

Owen Spafford - totally brilliant young player, with a quiet composure and captivating charm. This lad will go far. Very well constructed set.

I enjoyed the show all the acts were very interesting.

I enjoyed it a lot, though think it would have profited with an interval and a bit more publicity.

Owen flew! Everyone else was lovely too.

Awesome! Enjoyed it all, good range! Billy was SICK!

Good atmosphere and group of talented people.

Ethan was a personal favourite! Good night!

A wonderful evening. Loved it!

The Ten Thousand Hoops - John Spurling

Audience Comments

Most interesting and illuminating – a very different subject.

Very enjoyable – insight into the world of 14C China!

Very intriguing on the process of writing and then a chunk of the creation read by the author – an ideal LitFest experience!

Really enjoyed tonight. John Spurling kept us all hooked, very interesting to listen to his story.

Very interesting account of how his book came to be written and eventually published. Informative too.

An interesting way to write a novel – very 'novel'. The book sounds very insightful and a great way to understand 14C China and art. Looking forward to reading the book!

Interesting talk about the difficult and protracted birth of a novel!