Legendary live poetry night Raise the Bar celebrates its 10th anniversary by throwing the biggest poetry event the South West has ever seen.
Featuring a night full of headliners including Ted Hughes award winner and online sensation Hollie McNish, renowned Guyanese poet and playwright John Agard, former Bristol City Poet and UK Poetry Slam Champion Vanessa Kisuule, writer, performer and one half of chart-topping duo Rizzle Kicks Jordan Stephens, T. S. Eliot Prize and Griffin Prize winning poet Alice Oswald, and international poet, and cultural producer and TEDx speaker Muneera Pilgrim.
There will be live music from legendary Bristol-born rapper, poet and raconteur Dizraeli, as well as world class pianist and composer Karim Kamar. Plus tunes from DJ Ngaio.
An unmissable event showcasing the very best in contemporary UK poetry and spoken word. Raucous, energetic, poignant, life-affirming, Raise the Bar is a poetry night like you’ve never seen before. Expect poets, storytellers, lyricists, and wordsmiths of all kinds.
Hosted by poet, rapper and Raise the Bar founder Danny Carlo Pandolfi.
Presented by Bristol Beacon and Raise The Bar
Format: Reserved seating
Age: 16+ (Under 18s to be accompanied by an adult)
Doors: 18.30
Start: 19.00
Finish: 21.30
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Hollie McNish
Hollie is an award-winning poet, writer and performer. She is the Sunday Times bestselling author of ‘Slug’ and won the Ted Hughes award for new work in poetry with her poetry & parenting memoir ‘Nobody Told Me’.
She has two further poetry collections, ‘Plum’ and ‘Cherry Pie’, one modern adaptation of the ancient Greek tragedy ‘Antigone’ and, alongside fellow poet Sabrina Mahfouz, co-wrote ‘Offside’, a play relating the history of UK women’s football. She loves writing and her live readings are not to be missed.
Dizraeli
Poet, producer, songwriter-MC, and multi instrumentalist Dizraeli is a genre of his own. From building a frenzied underground following with his first band Bad Science, through to his debut solo album ‘Engurland’, then touring the world and collaborating with artists including Kae Tempest, Jam Baxter and Eliza Carthy along the way.
His unswerving devotion to pushing the boundaries of lyricism and musical form have earned him a bona fide cult status, as well as critical acclaim – most recently for his solo effort ‘The Unmaster’, which was nominated for Album of the Year by Gilles Peterson in the 2020 Worldwide Awards.
Vanessa Kisuule
Vanessa Kisuule is a writer and performer based in Bristol. She has won over ten slam titles including The Roundhouse Slam 2014 and Hammer and Tongue National Slam 2014, featured on BBC iPlayer, Radio 1, Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Blue Peter, TEDx, and appeared at an array of literary and music festivals and was even Glastonbury Festival’s Resident Poet in 2019.
She has two poetry collections published by Burning Eye Books and has written for publications including The Guardian, NME and Lonely Planet. She is currently working on an essay collection and her debut novel.
John Agard
John Agard is a poet, playwright and short story writer who grew up in Guyana, well-known for his playful style and charismatic performances. Over his long career he has won many prizes, including the Smarties Book Prize, the 2012 Queen’s Gold Medal, the Paul Hamlyn Award, and the prestigious BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 for an outstanding contribution to children’s literature. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His poems Half Caste and Checking Out Me History have been on the GCSE curriculum since 2002.
His published poetry includes ‘Man to Pan‘ (1982), ‘Limbo Dancer in Dark Glasses‘ (1983), ‘Mangoes and Bullets: Selected and New Poems 1972-84‘ (1985) and ‘Weblines‘ (2000). His collections for young readers include ‘Windrush Child‘, ‘The Young Inferno‘, ‘Einstein‘, ‘The Girl Who Hated Maths‘ and ‘Hello H20‘, both illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura.
Jordan Stephens
Jordan Stephens is a writer and performer, best known as one half of the chart-topping duo Rizzle Kicks, who sold over 600,000 copies of their debut album Stereo Typical in the UK and went on to sell over a million records. Having been publicly open with his own struggles surrounding mental health, Jordan has been very active in creating awareness around the stigma. His mental health campaign #IAMWHOLE reached over 120 million people online and was mentioned in the Houses of Parliament. His children’s book ‘The Missing Piece‘ was recently shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Prize. His new book ‘Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs‘ releases in August 2024.
Alice Oswald
Alice Oswald is a gardener and poet, and was named BBC Radio 4’s second Poet-in-Residence. She is the first female Professor of Poetry at Oxford. Her books include Dart – a documentary poem about a river – which won the T. S. Eliot Prize, and Memorial – a war poem drawn from the Iliad. She studied Classics and then Horticulture, and has particular interest in poetry as an oral tradition. Alice Oswald lived and worked for many years at Dartington in Devon.
About Beacon Hall
Our new flagship venue at Bristol Beacon
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View Beacon Hall
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Seating plans
Seating plans
Beacon Hall has three levels that can be used in a seated or standing format. View seating plans, auditorium entrances and exits and accessible viewing areas.
Venue information
Venue information
Take a closer look at our beautifully restored venue, see what’s on and view detailed information about the performance space.
The venue
Beacon Hall
at Bristol Beacon
Getting to the venue
Location: Beacon Hall is located within Bristol Beacon. Head to Level 1 and follow signs to find the auditorium.
Address: Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR
Bicycle
Bicycle racks can be found in front of the main entrance on Trenchard Street, Colston Street, and on the city centre promenade. Find your nearest cycle routes using Cycle Planner.
Car parking
Trenchard Street multi-storey car park is 200m away, directly behind Bristol Beacon.
Bristol Clean Air Zone
Bristol Beacon is inside the Bristol Clean Air Zone. Check if your vehicle will be charged and how much you’ll have to pay.
Bus
Most bus services stop in and around the city centre promenade, 250m from Bristol Beacon.
Access
Mobility
Spaces for wheelchair users are in:
- row S in the centre of the rear Stalls (10 spaces)
- row Z in the left and right wings at the back of Lower Tier (4 spaces, 2 on each side),
- rows G/H on the left only at the back of Upper Tier (2 spaces)
Assistance Dogs
Assistance dogs and emotional support animals are allowed in the performance space. Seats in row F are most suitable. If you prefer, you can leave your animal with a member of staff during the performance.
Hearing Facility
A Sennheiser MobileConnect assistive listening system is installed in the venue. Download the free App and use your own mobile device and headphones to listen to the performance. (Devices are available on request.)
Eat & Drink
Eat & Drink
We’ve got plenty of places for you to relax and refill. From coffee and cake, to delicious sharing boards, to full menus.
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