Review of Speakeasy, September 3rd 2007

On the inaugural evening of the Hackney Word Festival, the warm and talented Baden Prince Junior presided over a relaxed and candid atmosphere at Speakeasy, a monthly spoken word event held at the Marie Lloyd Bar.

Spoken word gatherings are best when there is no stark division between audience and performer, entertainer and entertained. This particular Speakeasy was an intimate affair in which an eager and attentive crowd welcomed the lexical arrangements of the evening’s participants. The convivial feeling peaked when a woman emerged from the ranks of the audience to belt out a tune of her own invention. Reaching the end of her song, she laughed to herself and dodged off the stage amidst proud applause.

Many punctuated their speech with dashes of melody or humming. Three men from Creative Connections, an organisation run by Speakeasy’s host Baden, did so to great effect during their performance of a collectively composed poem inspired by Nelson Mandela’s final night in prison.

In between introducing the evening’s participants, Baden frequently sifted through a well-worn folder of his own lyrical yields. A veritable jukebox of spoken word, he petitioned the amused audience for requests, “What do you want? Politics? Sex?” More often than not, he revealed deep yet quirky takes on love in a gentle voice devoid of the typical spoken word lilt.

The Inspired Work Collective, led by the spellbinding Janett aka Melted Demerera, are a women’s writing professional development organisation from Lewisham, South London. They took turns at the mic, sharing profoundly personal yet meticulously constructed pieces that had the audience rapt. As Demerera’s songlike timbre drifted amongst the bar’s onlookers I felt myself settle into a willing hypnosis, grateful that the fleeting Hackney Word Festival had introduced me to this fixture of creative life in Hackney, Speakeasy.

Review by Emily Candela