Armagh Theatre Group - Open Mic Night With Spoken Word Poet & Performer Extraordinaire, Colin Hassard
Friday 1st August 2025 - Abbey Lane Theatre
Event: Armagh Theatre Group - Open Mic Night
Date: Friday 1st August 2025
Time: Door's open 8.00pm and we kick off asap thereafter!
Location: Abbey Lane Theatre - Abbey Lane Armagh, BT61 7DW
Price: £5.00 (pay at door) … oh and BYOB!
ATG ‘July 2025’ Open Mic Night On FRIDAY 1st AUGUST!!
LAST Open Mic for this season with special guest Colin Hassard
COLIN HASSARD is a poet from Banbridge, Co. Down. He was Runner-Up in the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing in 2018 and shortlisted for the Aurivo North West Words Poetry Competition in 2019.
As a spoken word poet, Colin has twice been Ulster Poetry Slam Champion, was joint winner of the Cursed Murphy Spoken Word Award in 2020 as well as a former winner of poetry slams at the Belfast Book Festival and Belly Laughs Comedy Festival.
Colin has performed his work on Sky One and has written commissioned poems for BBC television and national adver-tisements. He was Writer-in-Residence for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival 2015, Poet-in-Residence for all three series of BBC Radio Ulster show Science & Stuff and has an ongoing creative residency with the Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts, Belfast.
Sample Poems From Colin’s ‘Age of The Microwave Dinner’
Close To The Water
On a bright Sunday morning, with winter’s
white skin sticking to places that should be green,
we meet by the canal as almost strangers;
to build biographies around our names.There is a purpose for all of this: the clomp of boots
on the narrow towpath, the surge of water like static
on a radio, how she twists the gold ring on her finger
as if striving to find a familiar frequency. We stop
by the lock and observe the flow. She asks if I’m lonely.In a child’s drawing, we would be stick-figures speaking
in thought bubbles, and the water would be blue;
the colour of serenity, loyalty, sincerity. But we know
that beneath us are murky hues of olive and black.Yet the water could still cleanse us. A finger to assess
the coldness. A hand. An arm. Persevere deeper until
each shivering cell in our bodies is focused solely on survival.
Only then can we rise from the trench determined
to find purpose in the enduring flood of sadness.
You're There Now
You’re there now sitting on your old sofa
with the knitted rug & matching cushions
surrounded by jazz records & ideas
& on the wall are postcards & a map
of New York City & a calendar& the coal bucket overflows with news
& the tea is brewed strong & the teapot
sits on a chopping-board & the room smells
of vanilla & sometimes cheese & the
book on the meaning of dreams is missing& beside the door is a bicycle
& the door is open to let the breeze
circle the room & carry the off-key
notes out into summer & on Fridayyou’ll relax in a warm bath of seaweed
carried in a sack from Connemara
& no-one cares about any of this
except those who remember what love is.
Open Mic
Singers, musicians, poets, writers, storytellers, comedians, etc. - young and not so - all welcome!
Performance slots (5 mins) available on the night.
Doors open 7.45pm / £5.00 / BYOB
Super Prize Raffle
⭐ We now take a break from the monthly sessions to revitalise our energies and plan ahead… watch this space!!!
Open Mic nights in Abbey Lane have provided a platform for local artists to perform to a live audience in relaxed, friendly surroundings for ten years.
Over that time, hundreds of beginners and established musicians, poets, writers, singers and storytellers have gained the confidence to forge ahead with their dreams. From acorns grows the giant oak.
ATG are delighted to offer this service to the community and urge young talent to take to the stage for our next Open Mic Night. Doors open 8.00pm -performance slots available on the night. £5.00 cash entry - BYOB - Super raffle. ALL WELCOME!
‘Armagh Theatre Group providing a stage for local talents’
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