The New Year, Et Al

Event information

2013 is just around the corner! We've survived torrential rain, at least a couple of near-apocalyptic instances, overzealous family members around the Christmas dinner table and a slew of events that will shake their fists as we sail past into the new year. Well done!

Now here at Annexe HQ we are really quite excited about the next year. We've got a multitude of projects, events and books to give you that we are so proud to be working on. To celebrate what promises to be a whirlwind year, we're kicking of with a bit of a spoken word party! On Friday 18th January we will fill the space that formerly held the BBC London offices with performances from some incredible poets, writers and musicians. Expect poetry with live soundtrack, animated stories that are illustrated as they are performed, short films, the whole nine yards.

We are incredibly privileged to bring you the astounding Inua Ellams.
Poet, playwright, performer, artist and designer. Inua is one of hardest working poets in the capital and 2012 was a whirlwind year with his show Black T-shirt Collection receiving critical acclaim. He'll be closing our first show of the new year with his unique and captivating poetic styles.

Amber Massie-Blomfield is an Annexe favourite. Her short stories have featured on our site and in our events on a number of occasions. For this show, we have been working together to create something really special. Amber has combined her stellar prose with our in-house illustration and animation team to form an animated illustration that will accompany her performance.

Eley Williams, a first-class writer and Interrobang performer, has been in the Annexe studios too. We formed a similar starting point to Amber, but the result has become an entirely different animal. Tapping into sound as a descriptive vehicle, Eley will be pushing forward on an auditory journey through story and soundscape.

Talia Randall is a poet with considerable lexical skill. Her recent EP 3 Mile Radius proves this and more. We're really delighted to have Talia performing some of her work for us, and that's not all. She will be performing with musicians from 3 Mile Radius providing a live soundtrack.

The creative engine that is Phil Mann is returning with his brilliant show, Phil Mann's Full Mind. If you're not familiar with it, well, you should be because it is a must-see event! Phil has embarked on the task of finding the answer to all and every question put to him. In his fast-paced style, he unveils these answers as short talks. Entertaining and fulfilling all in one.

A songwriter renowned across the country for his charged performances and powerful songs, Joe Wilkes is a champion of the folk world. His last album charts the life of Spanish poet Lorca through birth, life, death and rediscovery. We're pretty excited to have him on stage.