Mark Grist and Tim Clare Inglorious Bardsters in Bristol - review at The Lantern
Posted on: 2015-08-23
Our rating:
From a rap about computer games, through a poem extoling the virtues of those with red hair, this was an absolutely fabulous fun-filled evening. Highly recommended!
Award-winning spoken word artists Mark Grist and Tim Clare came to The Lantern at Bristol’s Colston Hall on Friday 21st August 2015 promising an evening showcasing some very bad poetry, and in the nicest possible way they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Their Inglorious Bardsters show is based on the premise that in poetry the surest way to succeed is to be really, really bad. Using the works of notably awful poets William McGonagall and John Skelton as a starting point and a source of infinite inspiration they vowed to take the audience on a journey into the realms of terrible verse, giving an insight into the workings of the creative mind and pointing out some truly horrendous crimes against the English language.
Keynsham born battle rapper Mark, the ‘Rogue Teacher’ who found fame after his rap battle against MC Blizzard notched up millions of views on YouTube and Portishead’s own stand-up poet Tim who performs internationally as a solo act and as part of celebrated poetry collective Aisle16 have together created a brilliant show and thoroughly entertained the crowd with a selection of hysterical, intelligent and thought-provoking poems about life and ultimately the immeasurable skill involved in creating a really bad piece of writing. Given the subject matter covered ranged from pug dogs to the romanticised view of the poet as a ‘chick magnet’, this was no mean feat!
This was a collection of new material from both artists, showcasing their strengths and very individual styles. Tim’s work being very much ‘out there’ and delivered by a man seemingly brimming with confidence, while Mark’s more self-effacing delivery lent itself perfectly to the slightly more quirky material he shared. Both are obviously very intelligent, talented men, with a distinct way with words, unique outlook on life and the type of winning personalities that makes the audience immediately warm to them.
The show took the form of a travelogue; leading the audience on a journey with the poets as they travelled the UK searching for the graves of well-known bards from Ted Hughes to Rabbie Burns and finding inspiration at every turn. Throughout Mark and Tim did their best to draw the crowd in; encouraging banter and asking the crowd for ideas to allow them to write poems on the go. Special mention must go to Mark for managing to write an ode in just 15 minutes incorporating the audience generated words Swansea, Ikea monkey and bacon sandwich!
From a rap about computer games, through a poem extolling the virtues of those with red hair all the way to a provocative, if tongue in cheek, piece dealing with serious world issues and the solution to mans’ problems this was an absolutely fabulous, fun-filled evening which left the audience laughing out loud and greatly anticipating their next chance to witness the brilliance of these performers.
5/5
Reviewed by Sarah-Jane Howard for Bristol's leading events and entertainment website.
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
