Lemn Sissay News

New Artistic Director Nancy Medina has announced her inaugural season at Bristol Old Vic will be joyful celebration of the culture that is all of us. Learn more about the full lineup here!

Now in its 8th year, SPINE Festival transforms libraries into creative hubs, introducing children aged 5 – 11 to the joys of their local library, to different art forms and to all the wonderful ways that words can be used. 16 London boroughs will be hosting their own programmes of free workshops and performances supported by leading spoken word poetry organisation Apples and Snakes and a team of 16 Artists in Residence.

Full tour dates have been announced for Frantic Assembly’s new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, a collaboration between internationally celebrated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE and Frantic Assembly’s Artistic Director Scott Graham (Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout).  

Factory International has announced the 2023 edition of Manchester International Festival (MIF) from 29 June to 16 July. Working with partners regionally and across the globe, the wide-ranging programme of original new work by an array of international artists will take place in venues and spaces around the city and at Factory International's much-anticipated new home, which opens its doors for the first time for the Festival, in advance of its official opening in October. 

Leading poetry and spoken word organisation Apples and Snakes has announced Amerah Saleh as Chair of the Board, succeeding Chris Elwell.

The Audio Publishers Association has announced finalists for the 2023 Audie Awards®, the premier awards program recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. Winners across 26 competitive categories will be revealed at the Audie Awards Gala on March 28. The ceremony will be streamed to the public from Chelsea Piers’ Pier Sixty in NYC. 

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has announced Its Autumn/Winter 2023-24 season. Learn more about the full lineup here!

Vicky Featherstone has announced she will step down later this year when the search for a new Artistic Director is complete and once they have taken up post. 

Frantic Assembly will collaborate with internationally celebrated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE on a new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s shocking tale of cruelty and kindness.  Metamorphosis is a visceral and vital depiction of humans struggling within a system that crushes them under its heel.  

The Genesis Foundation has announced the second of their Genesis Conversations will take place in partnership with Bristol Old Vic at the theatre's historic venue this November.

This evening, at an event held at Battersea Arts Centre, The Royal Society of Literature (RSL), the charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, announced 60 new appointments including the first induction of writers elected to Fellowship through the Bicentenary RSL Open Initiative. 

Chester Literature Festival returns to Storyhouse this autumn and the first names taking part in this year's event have now been revealed. 

From the heart of Kent, Gulbenkian Arts Centre present their eclectic 2022/23 season with some of the performing arts industries biggest names including Pussy Riot, The Foreign Office, 1927 and Improbable.

The Minnesota Orchestra today unveiled plans for 2022-23, a wide-ranging season that pairs the music of Beethoven, Brahms and Mendelssohn alongside newer compositions by Alberga, Mazzoli and Montgomery; spotlights masterpieces of the piano repertoire, and more.

Cardboard Citizens has announced plans for the inaugural season from Artistic Director and joint CEO, Chris Sonnex.

The summer festival programme features an exciting line up of artists-in-residence, world premieres and legendary performers. Audiences will explore one of the most beautiful areas in the UK as they move from venue to venue, from idyllic small village churches to stunning country houses and stately homes.

The full line-up of the inaugural For The Culture – Celebrations of Blackness Festival is released today with a series of free events added to a packed festival programme.

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is excited to announce international prize-winning writer Lemn Sissay, drag diva Le Gateau Chocolat, the 90s Baby Show podcast and platinum-selling artist Shingai as the headline acts of the inaugural For the Culture – Celebrations of Blackness Festival from Friday 28 January to Sunday 30 January 2022.

Award-winning performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah has been revealed as Storyhouse's artist in residence for 2021/22.

On Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 8:00pm, composer Eric Nathan will make his Boston orchestral conducting debut leading the New England Philharmonic in their season opening concert at All Saints Parish.