Nottingham-native Henry Normal comes home with a new poetry tour, stopping off at Metronome on Tuesday 16 November. His brand new live show The Escape Plan draws on over forty years of work, featuring stories, jokes and poems from the BBC Radio 4 series and his ten poetry books, including the two latest collections. This is no normal poetry show...
Key Nottingham venue Metronome is back with gusto, showcasing an eclectic post-lockdown line-up featuring a wide variety of music, live comedy, video game tournaments, and poetry – and there’s no bigger name in Nottingham poetry than Henry Normal. During an illustrious career he’s been behind some of the nation’s favourite programmes including The Royle Family, Gavin and Stacey, Alan Partidge, The Mighty Boosh, and Oscar-nominated film Philomena via the Baby Cow Productions imprint he co-founded with Steve Coogan.
Born in Nottingham in 1956, Henry started off his poetic career in Notts and has never cut ties with his beloved hometown - he’s a regular contributor to Radio Nottingham and a co-creator of Nottingham Poetry Festival, which often finds itself at Metronome. Henry has become a household name in Nottingham and beyond, recognised with an honorary doctorate of letters from Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham, and Nottingham City Transport even named one of their buses after him.
Henry’s return to poetry has humbly been inspired by his experiences of bringing up his autistic son Johnny, something that is central to his live show. The Escape Plan will include work from his ten poetry books, including his two latest collections: The Beauty With Shadow and Distance Between Clouds. Both his latest books are moving pieces, reflecting on Henry’s uncannily accurate experiences of life, love, and family during lockdown through his light hearted and distinctive humour.
Ahead of the live tour in the Autumn, Henry is also hosting weekly online poetry sessions via his New Poetry Society. Each week Henry is joined by a guest poet for lively conversation and poetry. Two poets, one hour, every week - all live over Zoom and free of charge. These events are hosted by the Inspire library programme and the poetry festival in Henry’s native Nottingham, but can of course be joined from anywhere around the globe.
Along with work from his acclaimed BBC Radio 4 Series A Normal, exploring different themes from A Normal Life to A Normal Nature. His latest episode A Normal Life has been recently nominated for an ARIA Award and his upcoming episode A Normal Ageing will air this autumn on 11 November.
It is no surprise that Normal’s new show has received critical praise and outstanding reviews, and if his previous work is anything to go by it promises to be a night of witty poetry that is relatable and effortlessly delivered by a grounded Nottingham treasure.
All show and online poetry session tickets can be purchased through Metronome. Grab your tickets at the Metronome website…
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