All events and workshops
Poetry Workshop on Spaces of Significance
Join us from the comfort of your home for this unique online workshop exploring the themes from Off The Chest's debut anthology, 'Spaces of Significance'. To attend this workshop, you will either need to have purchased the anthology, or Pay What You Can for the workshop. All proceeds go back into helping Off The Chest continue running events and workshops.
You'll be guided through a series of writing exercises by poets Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif (Off The Chest founders, and curators of the anthology). We'll be taking inspiration from the poems in the anthology, so we encourage purchasing a copy beforehand. However, we will also be sharing the poems on the screen. Just make sure you bring along something to write with, and your imagination!
Spaces of Significance includes poems from 36 acclaimed UK poets, including award-winning writers Laurie Bolger, Molly Naylor, Dean Atta, and many more.
"This dazzling anthology presents an impressive and diverse choir of speakers, each expertly grappling with the divine mess of truths emerging from chrysalides. Although richly varied in voice and style, they are united by a breathtaking intimacy that reminds us what poetry can do, why we do it, and how it binds us: a fitting tribute to the community that Off The Chest have built." - Amy Acre (author of Bloomsbury's Mothersong)
If you would like to purchase the anthology ahead of the event, go here. Please fill in this form to attend.
Brighton Bards @ Komedia
In association with Words By The Water, Off The Chest make their return to Brighton this fringe season for an unforgettable evening of poetry. Taking place at one of Brighton’s most renowned venues – KOMEDIA!
This electrifying event will include a headline feature from a highly acclaimed poet, plus special guest appearances from Words by the Water, as well as Off The Chest’s signature open mic, which invites poets from all backgrounds to take to the stage – from first-timers to seasoned pros. Just sign up to join the open mic on the night.
The night will be hosted by acclaimed poets and performers Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif, along with Words By The Water host and poet, Brighton’s own Ella Sadie Guthrie.
Poetry @ Omnibus
You don’t want to miss our anticipated return to Omnibus this summer!
After three smash-hit events at South London’s Omnibus, we will be back and bigger than ever, with two highly celebrated features, who have been doing impressive laps of the UK poetry scene. All to be announced very soon!
As always, we will be hosting our renowned open mic, which invites poets from all backgrounds to take to the mic – yes, that means you could perform your writing on the same stage as some of the UK’s most highly celebrated poets. You can sign up to perform as part of the open mic on the night.
As always, the night will be hosted by acclaimed poets and performers Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif.
Keep an eye on our Instagram page for updates. Book your ticket now via the link below.
Spaces of Signifcance Anthology Launch
We are returning to Rich Mix this September for the official launch of our very first anthology, Spaces of Significance!
Expect readings from some of the poets published within the anthology, as well as feature sets from internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning poet and best-selling author, Anthony Anaxagorou FRSL plus BBC and World Poetry Slam Champion, Kat François.
After the event, there will be space to socialise, listen to music and buy the anthology. Please come along for this explosive event of poetry, filled with performances from the most cutting-edge new, emerging and established poets the UK has to offer.
This anthology is published in association with Broken Sleep Books and Bad Betty Press. The poetry in this anthology is an exploration of space – spanning from the girls’ toilets to the ocean floor. Edited by Aaron Kent of Broken Sleep Books and Jack Wild Hall of Bad Betty Press, the anthology includes poetry from award-winning poets Dean Atta, Laurie Bolger, Molly Naylor, Francis-Xavier Mukiibi, James McDermott, Maddy Accalia, plus Off The Chest founders Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Larif, plus many, many more. You can purchase the anthology at a discounted price when buying a ticket to the event, or you can also pre-order the anthology via our shop, here.
Poets in the Neighbourhood at All Points East
Ella and Ifti are whipping their hi-vis capes back on and landing back in Victoria Park on 20th August for PART 2 of POETS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. After the success of last year’s event, we cannot wait to bring our writing workshops and explosive poetry open mic back to All Points East’s In the Neighborhood.
This event is FREE entry. There will be a special feature performance from an acclaimed poet, plus from hosts and poets Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif. Find us in the heart of Victoria Park, one of London’s most iconic green spaces, just a fifteen-minute walk from Mile End Station.
LINE-UP OF EVENTS:
6pm - 7pm: Poetry Workshop
7pm - 9pm: Poetry Open Mic + Feature (TBA soon)
No tickets needed, just stroll right in. Keep an eye on our Instagram for directions to our tent! We’ll see you In the Neighbourhood.
Poets in the Lounge
Boom! London, after a brief stint out the capital we are back and ready to bring the poetic bars to Deptford Lounge. Join us on the 13th June for another explosive night of poetry, both from yourselves as part of our renowned open mic but also from two special feature poets who will bless us with full sets.
If you missed us at Deptford Lounge back in October for our 4th birthday event, then you must come down this time around to join us in a beautiful, intimate setting in South East London. We cannot wait to get back on stage and hear all those incredible poems.
Brighton Bards at Komedia
We’re thrilled to be making our Brighton premiere at KOMEDIA on 7th May at 8pm (doors 7.30pm). After many sell-out shows across London, our celebrated poetry night comes to the south coast for the very first time.
Headlining this exciting event will be the award-winning poet Sanah Ahsan (winner of the Outspoken Poetry Performance Prize), with features from Brighton's razor-sharp wordsmith and free-style rapper, Gramski, plus former Canterbury Laurette, Dan Simpson.
This eclectic night also boasts our renowned open mic, which offers the opportunity to poets of all backgrounds and stages to take to the mic. You can sign-up for this on the night, from 7.30pm.
Hosted by poets Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif, you don’t want to miss OFF THE CHEST at the award-winning Komedia, one of Brighton’s most acclaimed live performance venues, right in the heart of Brighton’s renowned North Laines, during the world-renowned Brighton Fringe Festival
"An exhilarating declaration of love and an invocation to bare the soul.” - The Guardian on Sanah Ahsan
Free Workshop: Poetry and Performance
Join us for another one of our renowned free online workshops aimed at helping poets of all backgrounds and stages develop their skills under the guidance of a professional poet ✨✨
In this special one-off workshop, Off The Chest hosts Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif will be delving into writing poems for performance, and exploring performance styles and techniques. At the end of this workshop, participants will get the chance to share their work with the rest of the group if they choose.
This free workshop is taking place on 28th April, 11am. Spaces are given on a first come first serve basis; with all our workshops this year filling up at record speed, book now to avoid missing out!
Each of our workshops will be facilitated by a different poet so that you receive a variety of different insights and exercises into how to take your poetry to the next level. This workshop will be over Zoom. We welcome poets and writers of all skill levels. So whether you've never written a poem before or are a seasoned artist, there will be something in this for everyone. Best of all, it's completely *FREE*
➡️Get your ticket booked to join us for some fun. Friendly and inclusive vibes, as ever.
Off The Chest at Omnibus Theatre
After two smash-hit events at Omnibus Theatre, one of South London’s most acclaimed live performance venues, we will make our anticipated return on 22nd February, for our first event of 2024! Tickets are now on sale.
This event includes all the hallmarks of an Off The Chest night: our acclaimed open mic, two renowned feature poets, and hosts bringing the most: Ella Dorman-Gajic and Iftikhar Latif.
Their open mic segment offers the opportunity to poets of all backgrounds, stages and ages to take to the stage. You will be able to sign up for the open mic on the night, with a limited number of spots up for grabs. Names will be pulled out of a hat.
The names of our two acclaimed poets will be announced very soon, so keep an eye on this webpage for more!
Funded by Arts Council England, Off The Chest was founded in 2019, and has since produced multiple poetry nights to sell-out audiences, across London and further afield. Don’t miss our third return to Omnibus Theatre.
Poetry from Home | For Disability History Month
Join us on 26th November for our FREE Zoom Poetry event, hosted in celebration of UK Disability History Month.
Our features for this event include the award-winning poet Rebecca Ferrier plus Simon J Keenan. You are welcome to sign up for our renowned open mic, which will give you the chance to share your poetry far and wide, through the power of Zoom. This event proudly champions disabled poets.
How to perform on the open mic: We have limited spaces available and will work on a first come/first serve basis that prioritises poets with disabilities. Please sign up by booking an open mic slot ticket on the ticket page. Performing poets will have 3-4 mins max.
Rebecca Ferrier was the Bridge Award winner for an Emerging Writer in 2020, shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize in 2023 and runner-up for the inaugural Disabled Poets Prize. Her poetry has been published by Poetry Ireland Review, Canthius and Anthropocene, while her prose can be found with Extra Teeth and New Gothic Review. She was a UNESCO City of Literature virtual writer-in-residence at the Melbourne Writers Festival in 2021, hosted by Emerging Writers Festival. Rebecca was also part of the first All Stories development cohort and secured funding from Creative Scotland for her upcoming novel about sickness, the sea and difficult women. She is represented by Alex Cochran at C&W (part of The Curtis Brown Group).
We're proud to be celebrating Disability History Month with this event, which runs 16 Nov - 16 Dec. Find out more about the month via their website: https://ukdhm.org/
Keep a close watch or listen to this webpage for more information on this event, coming very soon...
Off The Chest's 4th Birthday: Everyone’s Invited!
Join us for a special birthday edition of Off The Chest! Celebrating four years of creating spaces of poetry, this month we are at Deptford Lounge for a poetry event doubling up as a birthday party! The run down of the event goes like this…
6 PM: Preceding our open mic event, there will be a special workshop, run by Cia Mangat of Zindabad. This will be a relaxed workshop open to everyone, whether you're a seasoned poet, a beginner to writing or somewhere in between. We'll be creating centos, or patchwork poems, by cutting up and collaging lines of existing poems along with lines we've written together. We recommend booking for this in advanced, as spaces are limited.
7.30 PM: Our open mic event kicks off, including feature poets from four other poetry nights in London: Everything Poetry, Word Soul, Zindabad and Process Productions. Plus, don’t miss the opportunity to perform your own poetry as part of our renowned open mic.
Everyone’s invited! This event is pay what you decide, so don’t let ticket prices get in the way of celebrating poetry with us.
To book your Pay-What-You Decide ticket to the workshop and the main event by clicking HERE
Free Zoom Workshop with Alice Frecknall
Join us for another one of our renowned free online workshops aimed at helping poets of all backgrounds and stages develop their skills under the guidance of a professional poet .
We are excited to announce that this workshop will be with the multi-award-nominated poet Alice Frecknall.
Alice Frecknall is a poet, short fiction writer, and fine artist. Her debut poetry collection, Somewhere Something is Burning, is published by Out-Spoken Press (2021). Her writing has been widely anthologised, including in The London Magazine, The Stinging Fly, berlin lit, And Other Poems, bath magg, fourteen poems, and Butcher’s Dog, and was most recently shortlisted for the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry 2023 and The London Magazine Poetry Prize 2023. Alice has an MA in Creative Writing and is a Roundhouse Poetry Collective alumna. Read more about her by viewing her website.
With our last Zoom workshop totally booking out, we recommend booking for this one in advance to avoid disappointment.
A Night of Poetry
A big one! Don’t miss our return to Rich Mix. Following last summer’s incredible A Night of Poetry event, we are back for round 2, with more poetry and more explosive features!
Poets in the Neighbourhood
Off The Chest is coming to All Points East festival as of ‘In The Neighbourhood’ on the 20th and 21st August! Join us for two workshops and an open mic night featuring the Repeat Beat Poet and Maddy Accalia .
Poetry Event at Omnibus Theatre
Join us for our second event at Omnibus Theatre. Open mic sign up will take place on the night. Feature poets TBA.