Flying Donkeys
at Newcastle Castle
Saturday 28th July
Doors open 6.30pm, performances start at 7pm
Tickets: £10 / £7 concessions
There is a place where donkeys fly, clowns pratfall and escapists shake off their chains.
First Draft performers will bring to life the unusual and amazing histories of Newcastle Castle through music, comedy, poetry and performance.
Expect an evening of unforgettable performance and unexpected histories in one of Newcastle’s unique buildings.
This is First Draft’s first event in Newcastle. The popular Manchester night is dedicated to programming exciting artists to explore museum collections and heritage spaces.
Line up of performers
FAHAD AL-AMOUDI
This spoken word poet combines striking and powerful writing with a performance style that draws you in to listen closely. He has performed throughout the UK and with The Poetry Experiment he collides his poetry with music. We cannot wait for him to perform at the castle.
RUTH AWOLOLA
Ruth is an award winning poet based in London who’s work has been published in Rising Stars: New Young Voices in Poetry. She is a talented writer who has performed all over the country. We are really excited to have her beautiful and thoughtful poetry at First Draft.
ZOE MURTAGH
Zoe is a performance maker, spoken word artist and one half of electro punk band GirlHogg. Her work is vibrant and interactive, creating playful disruptions to everyday life. Inspired by music that makes you tingle, science lessons and Kate Bush’s dancing, she creates performances that are fun, insightful and may even put a little bit of fire in your belly. She has recently created work for GIFT Festival, Curious Festival and New Writing North. She is an Associate Artist of ARC Stockton and is the current recipient of Northern Stage’s ‘Title Pending Award for New Theatre’
ALI MATTHEWS
This awesome artist creates stark and playful worlds through their performance. Ali has made wonderful work in venues spanning the Anolfini in Bristol to Ausland in Berlin and co-created the touring performance The Best of Both Worlds: A Busker’s Opera. Ali is not to be missed.
CHRIS STEWART
Expect the unusual and the brilliant. Not only a charismatic and playful poet but also an experimenter who explores video, sound and documentary. He has performed with Bang Said the Gun!, Apples and Snakes and at Cheltenham Literary Festival. Who knows what we’ll get!
LAUREN STONE
Lauren is a favourite of ours in the Newcastle comedy scene and hosts/ produces A Comedy Night That Passes The Bechdel Test at Alphabetti Theatre. Whether she’s performing to 200 people at The Stand or doing more intimate gigs, her well-crafted and surreal comedy is too funny to communicate in a little bio like this.
NAOMI SUMNER
Naomi is an exciting playwright, poet and theatre maker and we are really excited to have coaxed her up from Manchester to share her work. As an experienced and talented theatre maker, she leads Brush Stroke Order and this year performed at Bare Lit Festival.
Digital commissions
If you can’t make it to Newcastle, don’t despair! We’ve got a very special digital commission lined up from musician Jez Hewes. Watch this space – we’ll be sharing very soon…
First Draft 