Poetry, Prose and Pints in Harrogate

I was over in Harrogate yesterday to do an open mic slot at the Poetry, Prose and Pints night at the Tap and Spile which takes place every third Wednesday. The night consists of open mic slots and a featured guest (on this occasion Jem Henderson with a novel extract which worked equally well as a self-contained piece). There was a decent crowd there and some good work was read out. This particular evening was predominantly prose, but I am reliably informed that (as with most open mics) the content varies depending upon who turns up on the night.

Both crowd and hosts were very welcoming and encouraging to all the performers, making it a genuine pleasure do a turn there. £2.50 in (reduced to £2 if you're reading) is decent value for money even though it is in the back room of a pub. The only possible downsides being that the beer is expensive (though this is well beyond the organisers' control and they do real ale) and the performance space is really quite small - not much room to jump around "on stage", if you have a penchant for that sort of thing! - but this does make it a more intimate night.

I am definately hoping to go back at a future date and would recommend it as a good place to watch or perform work. Check out their facebook page here.