Adrian's Biography - CV Info - Adrian's Blogs - Collaborations - testimony
Performance Poet Adrian Spendlow who originally was a psychiatric nurse now travels widely for gigs from his York home entertaining a wide range of audiences. From festivals to community work he can be seen involving the audience in an unforgettable experience.
His specially commissioned ‘Poetry Adventures’ are very popular with children and adults and he works widely in schools, libraries, museums and festivals. Adrian believes that poetry can be taken anywhere. As well as his popularity among children he also works widely with older people creating lively shows in poetry, story and song from their memories, which are all available as books. He is, perhaps, best known for his festival work where as host he writes an introductory poem for each act. He is intriguing solo and his work with music is amazing even if only for its wide range; Adrian has worked with dozens of different combinations of musicians in the past; a selection of these professional acts can be available as part of Adrian’s current touring schedule. Following successful tours for the Persula Foundation Adrian has developed as a storyteller. Bringing his unique approach to creativity to this new career. His weekly stand-up storytelling evenings however have brought in great interest and have lead to several festival appearances and commissions including interactive children’s shows for the York River Festival.
Buying the Rainforest is one of Adrian's pet projects. ''If everyone sent me a bit of money it would add up to enough to buy a plot of rainforest. I then divide that up and sell it for so much a metre with a certificate of ownership that says only indigenous people can benefit from it and it can never be sold to developers. The profits then buy another bit and so on and so on''.
Adrian
‘Melds’
Adrian is a unique poet and storyteller who blends wonderfully with music
and performance. When mixing his spoken word with the work of well respected
singer/songwriters people frequently say, “Adrian – You are a singer!”
Audiences are generally spellbound and thoroughly entertained.
Bands and artists Adrian has worked with - There are many already and the list is being extended all the time.
You can find out even more about Adrian on his new My Space pages, address below
http://www.myspace.com/adrianspendlow
Digital Art - check out these wonderful new images by York artist Dave Johnson View images
New
Project -
Adrian
is currently preparing for a project with Helen Sant. Helen is the creator
behind the Gothic Molly Ghost Stories, (formerly
Phantom Footsteps.)
Helen has been stage acting since 1995, a one-time tour guide at York Dungeon
and a locally published writer. More
Ghost Wars 2 ends in Halloween truce
Adrian
Spendlow is established as a performance poet and storyteller working widely
in education and in the community. He is adept at creating projects to suit
your needs, be it poetry forms, group writng, personal development or mixed
media.
He is described as writer in residence by both the Roman Bath Museum and the
Jorvik Centre, ghost-teller in residence for the Jerry Scott show on Radio
York and is a regular outreach worker for the education office at DIG. As
well as being adept at stimulating quality writing and bringing creativity
out of all, he works on chosen themes and with a wide variety of poetry forms;
providing follow up activities, creating display possibilities and strongly
believes in establishing outcomes.
Placements and commissions include ghosts and Greeks for St Olaves / St Peters
in York, Preston Hall Museum; the Kirklevington Stones, Audio History CDs
through Spendlow's York, Archeology for Holy Trinity church and in the future
with Arts Action York and the Hungate project, Myth in our lives in Chester
Le Street, Shakespeare and George and the Dragon for Halifax Piece Hall, Slavery
with children, where English is a second language, now living in Hull. community
development with the vulnerable housed in Sheffield and York, personal expression
and writing in moderns forms with colleges and creative expression in prisons
and safehouses, reminiscence for performance within residential homes and
with blind and partially sighted people, as well as a wide range of themed
poetry and storytelling commisisons from pirates to haiku.
Using his experiences as a community worker and staff nurse in psychiatry
he works with all groups and levels of ability.
"I don't know what you've been doing in my kid's school today mate, but
you are more popular than Father Christmas!" a parent.
Testimony
Twenty
years of life as a performance poet have seen Adrian develop through the in-your-face
rant, the action poet, the child within, the spiritual, the chant, the vocalist,
the tutor, the myth, the heart-felt as he journeys through life and the inner
being on a path of discovery, and as always the totally unique.
'Original as ever there is no one else quite like this'...
Biography
