Ledbury Poetry Festival 2025
Tickets are only available from ledburypoetry.org.uk, by phoning 01531-636232,
or in person from: The Poetry House in the Barratt Browning Institute, Bye Street HR8 2AA.
They are not available from the Theatre box office or phone.
Saturday 28th June
The Cradley Singers - Just add Music 7.30pm to 9:30pm £15
Over forty singers make up The Cradley Singers: they perform three concerts a year in and around Malvern and Herefordshire. Originating in Cradley, its members now come from many villages and market towns in the area. They sing a wide variety of music, ranging from serious, classical choral works such as Haydn’s Creation and Mozart’s Requiem to light-hearted jazz and contemporary pieces.
For this year’s Poetry Festival they present a programme that which includes the setting of poetry, by such figures as John Masefield, John Clare, Shakespeare and Robert Bridges, to music by Finzi, Moeran, Britten and Rutter, amongst others. Solo baritone, Paul Mocroft and violinist Tim Sidford will join conductor Kate Cheetham and the choir for an eclectic, summery sound of music and poetry.
Tuesday 1st July
Film Double Bill 7:30pm to 10pm £15
NB: Date and time TBC
Pelé Cox’s highly acclaimed short films were made to commemorate the bicentenary of the Romantic poets. Keats and Shelley both died in Italy in their twenties within a year of each other. The films chart Keats and Shelley’s final weeks. They are scripted using only the poetry and letters of the time, taking the poets off the page to highlight the ways in which they are poets for our time. Nicholas Rowe, Christian Roe, Robert Portal and Damian Lewis star.
Lift Me Up I Am Dying was made on a shoestring in 2021: it featured in the Financial Times, Guardian and Oldie.
Dreamboat: The Tragedy of Percy Bysshe Shelley was filmed in Venice, London and Ludlow.
There will be a 20 minute interval between the two films.
Sorry - Film Club membership discount does not apply to these films.
Friday 4th July
Diversion - featuring Maria Ferguson plus Ceri Baker and Lily Redwood. 7pm to 9:30pm £10
Maria Ferguson was a finalist of the Montreal International Poetry Prize 2024: her début collection Alright, Girl? was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes. On the stage, her one-woman show Fat Girls Don’t Dance won the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Show.
Ferguson is a poet for the people, washing her dirty poems in public and holding your eye as she does so. We need more voices like hers, democratic and challenging. Clever, funny, frank and uncompromising. A warrior - Joelle Taylor
Ceri Baker and Lily Redwood perform an extract from their shared collaboration - Ceri and Lily both like to challenge life’s taboos. Join them as they approach the awkward edges of life with honesty, tenderness and a smattering of playfulness.
There is an open mic. session to kick the night off. Sign up on the door, or by email
Saturday 5th July
Ledbury Poetry Slam! 7:30pm £15
It’s Ledbury’s premier knockout night as poets take the page onto the stage to compete for points that lead to prizes! In this ever-popular contest, brave bards present their poems in a bid to reach the hearts and hearing parts of the public.
Judges rate the quality of writing, performance and warmth of the applaudience, so who will become Ledbury's Poetry Slam Champion 2025?
Your heavenly hosts Elvis McGonagall and Sara-Jane Arbury preside in style over an evening of good verbal vibrations, so come and lend your support for those aiming to stanza and deliver.
To enter the Slam as a competitor, please contact Sara-Jane on 07814 830031 or by email
Be warned! The Slam may contain adult language and subject matter.
Tickets are only available from ledburypoetry.org.uk, by phoning 01531-636232,
or in person from: The Poetry House in the Barratt Browning Institute, Bye Street HR8 2AA.
They are not available from the Theatre box office or phone.