Liverpool poetry legend Roger McGough is set to take to the stage to bring his witty rhymes to Shrewsbury audiences.
Described as the ‘patron saint of poetry’, McGough will be teaming up with performance poets LiTTLe MACHiNe for the 7.30pm show on Thursday, September 15, at Theatre Severn.
He rose to fame when The Mersey Sound was published in 1967, an anthology of poetry by three Liverpudlians: himself, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri. It became one of the bestselling poetry anthologies of all time, selling over half a million copics.
The title of the book was intended to associated them with the music from the city including the Beatles, and McGough later wrote a poem called To Macca’s Trousers about discovering a long-forgotten pair of Paul McCartney’s blue mohair trousers in his attic.
His poem Let Me Die a Youngman’s Death was included in a BBC anthology of the nation’s hundred favourite poems and he now presents the long-running Poetry Please on Radio 4.
His hilarious and surreal work appeals to a wide range of people and many will remember reading his rhymes at school. He was awarded the OBE for services to poetry in 1997 and just last year was given a CBE.
In this show, he will be reading a selection of vintage poetry as well as a couple of new pieces from his latest book It Never Rains.
He will be joined onstage by LiTTLe MACHiNe, who have been together for seven years and combine classic poems with live music.
Theatre Severn spokesman Pip Bayley said: “Theatre Severn has a long history of supporting poetry, from Carol Ann Duffy to Pam Ayres via Elvis McGonagall so Roger will be in good company.
“The addition of LiTTLe MACHiNe to the lineup is a real bonus, their transformation of classic poems into rock ‘n’ roll anthems really is quite something and is the perfect foil to Roger’s work.”
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Roger Mcgough
