Mixtape is your sonic CV. The gumbo of humanity that we are – shows we like, music we like, conversations with friends. Our experiences wide and deep.” – Roger Robinson
Rising stars of poetry Nick Makoha and Roger Robinson present a unique new show of poetry
With enduring friendship at its centre, hear poems which leap back and forth in time, giving voice to the universal struggle to carve out personal and political identities. Poems about music, poems about love, poems of protest and of exile, monologues and duet poems … all tied together through an unforgettable soundtrack of songs, from Afrobeats to hip-hop, from reggae to soul. Through a heartfelt, humorous and honest exploration of two individual lives, Mixtape will inspire audiences to compile the definitive track list of their own experiences.
Video: Roger & Nick in conversation
Watch Roger and Nick discussing the concept for the Mixtape Tour with Johny Pitts.
Mixtape Tour
Roger and Nick performed Mixtape at venues and literary festivals around the UK through 2018, finishing with a show at BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. In Spring 2019 they were invited to visit Norway where they spent a week performing to audiences in Oslo and Haugesund.
Full tour dates
3 February 2018 – Speaky Spokey, Brighton
3 April 2018 – Beyond Words, London
12 May 2018 – Words in the City Festival, Carriageworks, Leeds ¦ 4pm ¦ Tickets £7/£5
25 May 2018 – Writing on the Wall Festival, Studio 2, Liverpool ¦ 7.30pm ¦ Tickets £12/£6
2 June 2018 – Mixtape Sessions at Stoke Newington Literary Festival with Theresa Lola & Momtaza Mheri
17 June 2018 – Windrush Day at Keats House, London ¦ 3.30pm ¦ Free but ticket must be booked
23 June 2018 – The Last Word Festival at The Albany, London ¦ 7.30pm ¦ Tickets £10/£8
30 June 2018 – The Last Word Festival at the Roundhouse, London ¦ 7pm ¦ Tickets £10
2 July 2018 – Ledbury Poetry Festival, Ledbury
October 2018 – Ted Hughes Festival, Mexborough
20 October 2018 – Dis Othering – Beyond Afropolitan and Other Labels, Brussels, Belgium
16 March – MelaHus – Oslo, Norway
18-22 March 2019 – various – Haugesund, Norway
Contact
For more information about Mixtape or to enquire about booking a performance, contact Nick: nicholas.chapman@speaking-volumes.org.uk
About Nick Makoha & Roger Robinson
Nick Makoha and Roger Robinson (photos by Benji Reid)
Nick Makoha is a Cave Canem Graduate Fellow who represented Uganda at Poetry Parnassus as part of the Cultural Olympiad held in London. A former Writer in Residence for Newham Libraries, his 1-man-Show My Father & Other Superheroes debuted to sold-out performances at 2013 London Literature Festival and is currently on tour. He has been a panelist at both the inaugural Being a Man Festival (Fatherhood: Past, Present & Future) and Women of the World Festival,(Bringing Up Boys). In 2005 award-winning publisher Flippedeye launched its pamphlet series with his debut The Lost Collection of an Invisible Man. Part of his soon to be published 1st full collection The Kingdom Of Gravity is in the anthology Seven New Generation African Poets (Slapering Hol Press). He is the 2016 winner of the Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize for his manuscript Resurrection Man, to be published by Jai-Alai Books in spring 2017. He won the 2015 Brunel International African Poetry prize and has poems that appear in the The Poetry Review, Rialto, The Triquarterly Review, Boston Review, Callaloo, and Wasafiri. Find him at www.nickmakoha.com | @NickMakoha
Roger Robinson was born in Trinidad and has lived in the UK for over 20 years. Decibel named him as one of 50 writers influencing the Black British writing canon. His commissions include The National Trust, The National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Roger’s books include the fiction Adventures in 3D and poetry collections Suitcase, Suckle – Winner of the Peoples Book Prize – and The Butterfly Hotel, from which the poem ‘Trinidad Gothic’ was Highly Commended by the Forward Prize and shortlisted for the OCM Bocas Poetry Prize. He is a co-founder of Spoke Lab and the writing collective Malika’s Kitchen. He released a solo album, Illclectica, and is lead vocalist for King Midas Sound, whose debut album, Waiting for You (Hyperdub Records), was critically acclaimed. www.rogerrobinsononline.com | Twitter @rrobinson72