Rhythm & Muse, The Rose Theatre


Rhythm & Muse, Teddington’s regular poetry and music night, crossed the river last week to stage a one-off event at the Rose Theatre Studio, as part of the Think in Kingston festival. Much thinking was done, but with much laughter and entertainment thrown in.

International performance poet Francesca Beard was first up and had the audience voting on how they would like to die (eaten by a lion, eaten by a crocodile etc) and mesmorised the Studio with her wordplay. She was followed by the eccentric AF Harrold, with his madcap tales of midnight feasts and equally challenging questions to the floor. He lived up to his trademark beard for quirkiness and surpassed even his previous performance at Rhythm & Muse (cornerHOUSE, March 2009). And what of the Rhythm? Fresh from Kingston University, Tim Fulker gave an excellent demonstration of his acoustic guitar skills, while Nomi Ruth and the Points, newly formed for Rhythm & Muse, lent a spirit of summer festivals to the late March evening.

Open mic spots were of an equally high standard: music from singer-songwriter Sue Wheeler and poetry from Caroline Cadenza and James Priestman, all regulars at R&M. The evening was hosted with a flourish by Nick Poole.

For April the event returns to its regular venue, The Lion pub, but watch out for more R&M forays into Kingston! Full details at www.rhythmandmuse.org


David Hobbs