Zoetrope on Tyne

Zoetrope is a sporadic open mic night I've produced and hosted in Newcastle upon Tyne, celebrating the best spoken word, poetry and storytelling from the North East and beyond.

In Spring 2023 the idea first came about to host a spoken word event in the then-closed Tyneside Coffee Rooms, a popular and historic art-deco space located in the independent Tyneside Cinema.

At the time, the cinema was promoting its own fundraising campaign in order to combat a worsening financial situation, and so the idea became to host a special open mic night in the Coffee Rooms, with all proceeds from ticket and refreshment sales to go towards keeping the cinema's doors open for future generations of Geordie cinephiles.

And so, on 23 May, I hosted Zoetrope at Tyneside Cinema. The night was a modest success, taking place in lovely surroundings, and I was particularly overjoyed that for a few people who read their work on the open mic, it was their first ever time performing live.

And though Zoetrope had been intended as a one-off, feedback was so positive that in October 2023 we brought the night back to the cinema, sporting a soft rebrand and now called Zoetrope on Tyne.

And this time round, the night was undeniably a roaring success – filling out the Coffee Rooms and leaving me struggling to fit in everyone who wanted to perform. We raised a commendable sum for the cinema, and it seemed like a good time was had by all who attended.

Thanks to the setting, the night became vaguely cinema-themed, but overall the focus stayed firmly on creating a laid-back and fun atmosphere where the community could come together and celebrate creativity at its best, no matter the themes of anyone's own writing.

And in May 2024 I hosted Zoetrope number three, taking place this time at the excellent Prohibition Cabaret Bar. Time will tell if the night will return, but I've been very happy to be able to offer a unique, if irregular, event to celebrate a raft of talented spoken word performers.