Join Spork! this December for our 7th annual Xmas Show, featuring the usual stockingful of spoken-word talent, some top-notch poets, a brass band, a drag queen, and a partridge in a pear tree!!

Our Christmas Special is a big dollop of poetry, comedy, live music & festive cheer. The perfect poetry show for people who don’t like poetry.

With traditional carols from the gloriously horny Exeter Railway Band. Plus warm & wonderful words from local legends Matt Harvey and Jackie Juno, and a festive turn from our resident drag queen, Rhys Slade-Jones.

All ho-ho-hosted by Chris White.

Matt Harvey is a writer, poet, and enemy of all that’s difficult and upsetting. His way with words has taken him from Totnes to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships via Saturday Live, the Edinburgh Festival and the Work section of the Guardian.

He is host of Radio 4’s Wondermentalist Cabaret, creator of Empath Man, and author of The Hole in the Sum of my Parts, Where Earwigs Dare and Mindless Body Spineless Mind. Described by The Independent as “Very funny…” and by The Guardian as “…not only funny, but tender and true”

Jackie Juno has been lighting up stages for over 30 years as a comedian, poet, and local legend. Her hilarious, heartfelt, and hard-hitting work champions women’s rights, environmental justice, and social change. She’s a multiple Glastonbury Slam winner, a former Bard and Grand Bard of Exeter, and her latest collection, Extra Ordinary Women, pays homage to the quiet heroes among us.

Rhys Slade-Jones (aka Bopa Rhys… aka Mrs Clause) is an award winning interdisciplinary artist, drag queen & Valley Gal, here to spread their legs and some Christmassy cheer. Rhys’ work is stuffed full of fun, silliness & heart, straddling the worlds of cabaret, performance and craft. They’ve performed across the UK, are part of the queer Welsh art collective Cwm Rag, and have made work with National Theatre Wales, Chapter Cardiff, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, & The BBC

‘Words that not only warm, but smoulder burn, ignite, inspire, calm, cool, hush and explode, and most of all, connect… Accompanied by the gentle brassy tones of the Exeter Railway Band, the event was rich with the feel of a festive hug.’ – PRSD (Spork! Xmas Special 2022)

Spork! Poetry is an Exeter based producer, creating spoken-word events that are accessible, engaging and fun. For more visit, www.exetercityofliterature.com/devon-literary-projects/spork

Additional information

Duration: 120 mins

Age guidance: 14+

Content warnings: This is an adult oriented show with some strong language and adult themes.The performances may include loud music or flashing lights. Please feel free to email sporkpoetry@gmail.com for more details about the content of the show, suitability and accessibility.

Venue: Auditorium, Exeter Phoenix

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