Sunday afternoons – for some of us they’ve never been the same since Archie McPherson, Glen Michael and Palladin hung up their boots. There’s only so much Bargain Hunt, Songs of Praise and old Bond films you can take, and these days there are more stall holders than punters if you fancy a wander round the Barras. Sunday afternoons have become a weekly dead-zone. We need change!
This Sunday, at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre, Sonnet Youth were in the house to save the day. It was the last event of their Tron Weekender where they had put on various poetry reading, theatre, spoken word events and more over three days. You could have expected that their Sunday Matinee Showcase could have been an excuse for everyone to relax and recover. Not a bit of it.
For those of you who don’t know, Sonnet Youth events are hosted and curated by Cat Hepburn and Kevin P. Gilday, both accomplished performance and published poets in their own right. They describe what they do as a Spoken Word House Party, but that description only scratches the surface.
Sunday’s Showcase was an exemplary summary of what they do. Sonnet Youth are driven by a love of the performing arts and poetry and a desire to share the best of it with like-minded folk. As well as the usual fine readings from our hosts there was a personal, poignant and often funny performance from the excellent poet Angie Strachan, music from the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter/guitarist Heir Of The Cursed (who is surely destined to be huge) before finishing with comedy from Christopher Macarthur-Boyd – fresh from supporting Jason Manford in Manchester.
If you missed it then you missed out as rarely has two hours passed so fast and entertainingly, particularly in the Twilight Zone of Sunday afternoon. Don’t make the same mistake again as Sonnet Youth have got the creation and curation of their events down to a fine art.
You don’t have to wait long as they have a shows at Drygate in Glasgow on 20th Feb, the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh on 21st Feb, as well as being at Phillies of Shawlands on the 2nd Thursday of every month with Sonnet Youth Scratch which allows established artists to try new material and open mic slots for anyone who wants to perform. Listen up as Sonnet Youth deserve your attention – Scotland’s cultural landscape would be far less interesting if they weren’t around.