WHERE THE LIGHT BEGINS FESTIVAL

17:00 - 18:00

Spend time  with a master of the spoken word,  seven years a chancellor,  official poet of the London Olympics,  Honorary fellow of Oxford and Cambridge colleges, winner of  2024 Hay festival medal for poetry,  and a three times Sunday Times best seller.

Lemn Sissay is a poet, playwright, memoirist and broadcaster. He has performed throughout the world from The Library of Congress in The United States to  the national Theatre of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa to London Palladium in England.  His television documentaries have been nominated for Grierson BAFTA and RTS awards. His work in radio has been nominated for Sony and Palm D’Ors.

Book Purchasing and Book Signing Available 

Reserve your seat: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/where-the-light-begins-tickets-1999932025525 

16:30 - 17:00

The best stories make us feel deeply and in the 15 years she has been writing and performing, Hannah has become an exceptional storyteller. Her music is shaped by human connections, with family, in all its chaos and glory, sitting at the heart of her work. Her lyrics are powerful and poignant, and her voice feels strangely familiar, though you can’t quite put your finger on why. Her writing may be deeply personal but her music has a universal appeal that goes beyond the melodies you catch yourself humming in the days after listening to her songs. 

15:00 - 15.30

Malaika Kegode is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre-maker based in Bristol.

She creates work across poetry, theatre, music and radio, with live performance credits

including Southbank Centre, Lyric Hammersmith and WOMAD. Her work explores

unexpected rural stories, celebrating overlooked communities through cross-disciplinary

collaboration.

Book Purchasing and Book Signing Available

14.30 - 15:00 

Our Young Writers from Dartford Library and The Orchard West Theatre share their Poetry. 

Sven Stears (they/them) is an award-winning performance poet, filmmaker - and one of the UK’s leading voices in spoken word. They are a National Grand Slam Champion and World All-Star Slam Champion. They have represented England on multiple international stages, and their work has taken them across the UK, Europe, and beyond—winning and headlining major events worldwide.

They hold an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kent, where their dissertation combined a first-hand account and critical exploration of a decade within UK slam culture - graduating with distinction.

Sven’s poetry explores personal loss, addiction, and societal pressure with a grounded, unflinching honesty—and more importantly, hope. Their work has been broadcast on national radio and featured by the BBC.

14:00 - 14:30

Will Rendle has spent the last 14 years touring the world as the lead singer and ringleader of wild cult rockers, Will and The People. An effortlessly prolific songwriter, who swings about commenting in his unique manner on the world as he sees it. This band have been to hell and back with their artistic and creative struggles, somehow they have done it willingly. 

This shows in the beautiful effervescence of songs like "Gigantic" and new upcoming single "Falling Down" ... With Will ...there's always a sense of hope and joy surrounding him, woven together with an air of light hearted humour and at times fragility that becomes endearing Will can work a crowd and when he's on his own the dynamics are different to that of Will and The People. Yet he still retains that ability to charm and surprise. 

13.15 -  14.00

Stone St Mary's CofE Primary School Students share their poems of Hope. 

Henry Madd Performs 

Henry is a multi award winning poet and theatre maker who has won almost

every major slam in England. For the last 10 years he has been making audiences laugh

and cry across the globe, headlining shows from San Diego to Tallinn. His work has been

featured on BBC Radio, The Guardian and The Stage and he was a Film 4 sponsored

artist. Madd is dedicated to helping others find ways to express their unique voice and

regularly runs creative writing workshops. He is available for birthdays, but no one has

taken him up on this yet.

13:00 - 13.15 

Daisy is a singer from Bexleyheath, performing in and around London, and we’re so pleased she’ll be joining us for an afternoon of live music, poetry, storytelling and performance.

There is something very special about hearing live music outdoors, and Daisy will be bringing her voice to the festival alongside an incredible programme of artists from near and far.

She is also looking forward to meeting people afterwards, so come and listen, stay for a chat, and be part of the day.
 

12.45 - 13:00 

Michael is a deaf poet from Ramsgate whose work explores grief, resilience, hidden disability and lived experience. He began writing poetry in 2019 following the death of his mum, Lesley, and has since become a passionate advocate for greater awareness of hidden disabilities through his work.

He has won multiple poetry slams, was runner-up in the 2024 Kent Poetry Slam Grand Final at Dreamland, and is also the editor of Seen, an anthology of poetry exploring hidden disabilities and conditions.
 

12.30 - 12.45 

Alice Gretton is an award-winning spoken word artist and theatre maker, touring

their work across the UK to celebrate queer identities and mental health. Alice’s

achievements include winning the United Kingdom’s Young Artist award 2018, being BBC

Radio Kent’s poet for National Poetry Day 2019, and appearing on Southeast Today, BBC

Radio 4 and BBC Arts. Alice’s debut poetry collection, Fruit Salad and Rocket Ships

published by Llais Newydd is out now. Alice also produces UniSlam, the UK's National

Poetry Slam and Summit, and their own company Sunrose Arts CIC, championing

creativity and development in Canterbury and beyond.

12.15 - 12.30 

Audience Participation 

Come and sing with us!

You don’t need to be a confident singer. You don’t need to know the songs. And you definitely don’t need to worry about getting anything “right”.

Singing Mamas is a growing grassroots movement bringing women together to sing for joy, connection and wellbeing.

Singing together can have a powerful effect on how we feel. It can help reduce stress, support breathing, lift mood, release tension and create a sense of connection and belonging. There is something wonderfully grounding about breathing together, finding a shared rhythm and hearing your voice become part of something bigger.
 

12.00 - 12.15 

Danny is a writer and mental health advocate whose work draws on lived experience, using words as a way to explore some of the things that matter most: mental health, hope, resilience and what it means to keep moving forward.

There is something powerful about hearing someone put into words the experiences and feelings that can so often be difficult to express. Danny brings honesty, openness and humanity to his work, and we’re really looking forward to welcoming him to our stage.