Rowan McCabe

A show about community and the kindness of strangers

Rowan McCabe is the world’s first Door-to-Door Poet. Knocking on strangers’ doors, he writes poems for them, for free, on any subject of their choosing. It’s a bit like the Avon lady, except with rhymes.

In March 2019, Rowan set out to visit 12 locations across England, one every month. Through this bold and arguably stupid act, he was trying to find out what matters to people, what is the state of our nation and if strangers are really as scary as they’re made out to be. But as March 2020 approached, world events pushed the project in a very different direction…

A show about trust, class and community, this funny and thought-provoking mix of theatre and spoken word tells the story of what happened to Rowan on his final outing as a Door-to-Door Poet. In a post-pandemic world, it asks what lessons we’ve learned and suggests a bold rethinking of our relationship with those around us.

POETRY WORKSHOP WITH ROWAN MCCABE

Can poetry change the world? Is it only ‘for’ certain people? Does anything actually rhyme with orange? Rowan McCabe is the world’s first Door-to-Door Poet. He has been commissioned by Channel 4, BBC Radio 3 and has performed across the UK at festivals, protests, raves, an American-style diner and the Royal Albert Hall. Come and join him for a fun and friendly writing workshop where you will unpick everyday experiences and transform them into poems to win hearts and minds. All are welcome and no previous knowledge is needed.

Book here

‘Ingenious’
BBC Radio Scotland

‘Highly recommended show‘
FringeReview

‘Absolutely riveting‘
Attila the Stockbroker

TICKET OFFERS

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Explore more of our theatre and performance programme, and enjoy money off your tickets! Save £2 on each ticket when you book for three or more shows from our performance programme at the same time. Book any three theatre or dance shows and your discount will be automatically applied at checkout. Not valid on £5 Student/Under 25 tickets.  

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Rowan McCabe is a poet and theatre maker from Newcastle upon Tyne. He has written for Channel 4, Radio 3’s ‘The Verb’ and his work has been featured in the Guardian and on BBC Breakfast. In 2022, the National Trust published a collection of his poetry in honour of William Wordsworth’s 250th birthday. Rowan has performed on stages around the UK, including Glastonbury Festival and the Royal Albert Hall. In 2014 his one person show North East Rising sold-out at Northern Stage and was given 4 stars from the Journal. In 2019 he took Door-to-Door Poetry, his first show about the beginnings of the project, on a 12 date tour. This included performances at Canada Water Theatre in London, the Cheltenham Poetry Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe, Lauzerte in France and the Tubingen Book Festival in Germany.

www.rowanthepoet.co.uk

VENUE: STUDIO 1 , EXETER PHOENIX

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>