Hidden Door
Ron Butlin

5 Spoken Word Highlights

Hidden Door Electric City get’s it’s name from…
Monday 30th May 

The Electric City of Heck, by Ron Butlin, who is a former Edinburgh Makar (poet laureate).  Internationally renowned, with his work having been translated in to dozens of languages, Ron Butlin is an established name in the poetry world.  Performing on Monday expect humour, terse and serious subject matter and a collaboration with the Tinderbox Orchestra which will be a highlight of the festival!

“Hidden Door is a hidden gem with Edinburgh, and I’m really delighted to be taking part. It is one of the most vibrant festivals I know. A truly rich presentation of all the arts, pulsing with life and energy.”


From established names to experimental delivery…

Tuesday 31st May 2016

From poet laureate to up and coming artist, Dominic Sacarnie explores the relationship between the voice and effects, distorting traditional spoken word and poetry and creating an abstract beauty open to interpretation and sound scapes that both enhance and detract from the delivery.

“I like thinking about new ways of delivering poems. What effect technology could have on the kinds of poems you make – when for example you can interrupt a voice – loop a voice – or have many voices speaking at once.”

Expect instruments of all types…
Tuesday 31st May 2016

Electric auto-harp, grand and toy piano, harmonium and dulcitone are all tools in which Kirsten Norrie, aka MacGillivray, uses to deliver performances.  With a penchant to err on the avant garde, her impressive CV includes collaborations with Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth, The Fall and writer Alan Moore.  Flirting with haunting melody and melancholly, MacGillivray should not be missed.

“I tend to ignore the small collection of demons on the shoulder, ranging from elderly nerds to indifferent harbingers of cool that try to set me off course. If you think doubt is a sacred art then you can use that as counterpoise but I usually try and banish it as ego and keep my eye on the road, otherwise it’s a series of kaleidoscopes.”

Spoken word at Hidden Door will feature animation…
Monday 30th May 2016

The Dead Stations is the collaboration between Charlotte Hathaway and Mike Vass.  Featuring music, sound design, recorded voices and animations, The Dead Stations is a fully fledged audio drama where the soundtrack almost outdoes the dialogue.  A full sensory experience different to all the live acts, you can see Charlotte and Mike’s work in the cinema of Hidden Door.

“For ‘The Dead Stations’ we also wanted to work with animators, which brought its own challenges. The story is intended first and foremost to be listened to, and the plot relies on not actually seeing the story played out in front of you. The animators were briefed with creating abstract animations which wouldn’t give the story away.  The project grew arms and legs when we started working with them! We’d never envisaged live performances when we first started making the piece.”

Jenny Lindsay presents…
Wednesday 1st June 2016

One half of the poetry duo Rally and Broad, who are sadly going their separate ways to concentrate on individual endeavours, Jenny Lindsay is a very important poet at this year’s Hidden Door.  Championing some excellent Glasgow talent, including Iona Lee, the current Scottish Slam Champion, Louie and the Lochbacks (featuring Hector Bizerk), McGuire, Marc Rooney and Be Charlotte, Jenny’s line up promises to be an outstanding end to spoke word at this years festival.

“To me, saying you don’t like spoken word is like saying you don’t like ‘music.’  It’s a massive, broad church of different sytles.  Best thing to do is come see for yerself!”

Alastair Chivers

From 27 May – 4 June 2016 Hidden Door will return to the amazing disused street lighting depot behind Kings Stables Road in Edinburgh. Click here for ticket info