The Wolf Returns to St Albans

FOLKIES AND POETS COMBINE FORCES
If you’re looking for some arty entertainment for a Saturday night, try the cabaret evening at the Maltings Arts Theatre for a mix of music, folk songs and some of the best modern poetry around. This joint production by Redbourn Folk Club and Ver Poets brings creative talent from as far away as Amsterdam.
A major attraction is the poet Donald Gardner (latest book The Wolf Inside) – a performer with a rare knack of connecting with the audience and making verse that’s relevant to modern life. Although he has lived in Holland for many years, Donald has a cult following in this country – so when he was persuaded to give a reading in St Albans, Anne-Marie Fyfe the former chair of the national Poetry Society was keen to join the show.
She will be reading from her recent books House of Small Absences and Understudies. Her poems frequently have the flavor of a séance, evoking the spirits that lurk in domestic interiors. She has been a great populariser of modern poetry – and the performances she fronts at the Troubadour Café in Earls Court attract poets high and low to packed houses.
Also taking part in the evening will be her husband Cahal (C L Dallat) who’s a published poet, multi-talented musician and broadcaster. And the stars of the Redbourn Folk club, including Mike Ruff and Malcolm Hobbs who will MC the evening.
If you have a short poem of your own to read – there will be an opportunity at the start of the second half. The theatre has a bar and there will be tables where you can sit with a drink and watch the action.
What’s it all about? Simon Bowden of Ver Poets says: “This is an entirely new venture. It’s about putting together music, songs, old and new poems – and the magic connection that a good audience can provide.
“The programme is designed to break down barriers between different styles. You won’t know quite what’s coming next. We think there are people in St Albans who will love this – and we hope it will be the first of many arts cabaret nights in the Maltings in the years to come.”

Tickets £7.50 (concessions £5) from www.ticketsource.co.uk/ovo or via theatre website: maltingsartstheatre.co.uk or on the door. Doors open at 7 pm.
Redbourn Folk Club meets at the Hollybush Pub on Thursday nights at 8 pm.

For more information visit http://maltingsartstheatre.co.uk/