Joelle Taylor: The Night Alphabet

A woman walks into a tattoo parlour. But this is no ordinary woman, and this is Hackney in 2233. Jones’ body is covered in tattoos but she wants to add one final inking to her gallery – a thin line of ink mixed with blood that connects her body art together, creating a unique map.

As the two artists set to work, Jones tells them the story behind each tattoo. As Jones is no ordinary woman, these are no ordinary stories: each one represents a doorway to a life Jones fell into, a ‘remembering’. Some of these lives were in the past, others in the future, some are sideways, but each of them connects Jones to the two tattoo artists in some way, though they are unaware of it.

We visit the dystopian cities of the Quiet Men, the coal mines of 19th century Lancashire, join a gang of vigilante sex workers, enter the world of an INCEL murderer, haunt the old Maryville gay bar, and uncover plans to genetically modify female children. Each of the stories brings us closer to Jones’ truth, and how her life is intricately interwoven with that of the women tattooing her body.

Set across geographies and timespans,The Night Alphabet is a dazzlingly bold and original work, a deep investigation into human nature and violence against women.

 Joelle will be reading  from The Night Alphabet and in conversion with Roger Hill, freelance director, performer, writer, lecturer and broadcaster. 

Joelle Taylor is a T.S Eliot Prize 2022 Prize winner for C+NTO & Othered Poems, Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry and a novel. C+NTO is currently being adapted for theatre with a view to touring. A former UK SLAM Champion she founded the national youth poetry slams SLAMbassadors through the Poetry Society in 2001, remaining its Artistic Director until 2018. She is a co-curator and host of Out-Spoken Live, resident at the Southbank Centre, and an editor at Out-Spoken Press. Joelle is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year.   

Roger Hill has presented the nation’s longest running alternative music programme on BBC Radio Merseyside for nearly 40 years. He played a prominent and active part in the development of Youth Theatre in the U.K, and worldwide beginning in the 1980’s with chairing the National Association of Youth Theatres (NAYT). From his roots at Liverpool Everyman Theatre to freelance ventures and lecturing, Hill’s journey has evolved, most recently delving into Live Art performance and storytelling courses, alongside his own creative projects and autobiographical performance works. 

Thursday 30th May, 8pm 

Philharmonic Music Room, Sugnall St, Liverpool L1 9BP 

£11

Tickets for this event include a £1 venue restoration levy, included in the ticket price. This fee supports building investment at the Grade II-listed Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

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