Meet John Sackett, director of The Front Room, which weaves poetry, music, storytelling and even film into intimate experiences.
Q. How did The Front Room come about?
A. A good friend had taken over a local cafe and was struggling with custom on mid-week evenings. She wanted to put on a music open mic night, knowing that there was a lot of creative talent, including poets, keen to present their work and apart from one venue, there was no real outlet for them.
Q. What drew you to being part of Festival of the Sea?
A. Portsmouth is surrounded by the sea and there are so many emotive elements. It’s been an inspiration for poets and film makers since people were able to write and make films!
Q. What’s next?
A. We started off in independent coffee bars and whilst continuing this, we’re now taking The Front Room to other venues such as Southsea Castle, The Spring Arts Centre, and the New Theatre Royal’s StageHouse. This allows us to experiment with bigger, more immersive events as well as attracting bigger names in the poetry scene. We’re also making a digital poetry film trail with an augmented reality which is based on the heritage of Portsea that we are very excited about!
The Front Room presents Octopuses and Other Sea Creatures, as part of New Theatre Royal Festival of the Sea, at The Square Tower, Portsmouth on Friday 1st March, 8.30pm. Click here for more information and tickets.
For more information about The Front Room click here.