Award-winning performance poet brings new show to Saltburn

What could be better than sitting in the summer evening with a cocktail or a cake, listening to first-class poetry and music, reveling in a bit of café culture? On 18 July you could be doing just that at the delicious Sitting Room in the heart of Saltburn, as we get an exclusive pre-Edinburgh Festival performance of the new spoken word show by award-winner Lucy Ayrton.



The past couple of years have been stunning for Lucy. Her debut show, Lullabies to Make Your Children Cry, played the Edinburgh festival fringe in 2012 and won Best Newcomer on the PBH Spoken Word Free Fringe before touring to critical acclaim and being published as a poetry pamphlet. So naturally, she’s now about to do it all again.

Her brand-new show, The Splitting Of The Mermaid, is a darkly feminist update of the Little Mermaid fable, set in post-industrial Hull and telling the story of May, a mermaid who longs for a baby. Described as “brilliantly subversive”, the story-poetry is woven through with music and a little bit of magic.

Saltburn residents succeed in creating a place for poetry

The event is brought to you by Apples and Snakes, working together with a dedicated band of female poets from the wider Teesside area, including Saltburn residents Cathie Sprague and Carmen Thompson. The evening will feature a collective performance of poems inspired by the sea from the Tees Women Poets, and music from folk singer-songwriter Sara Dennis.

Enjoy all this plus a cocktail, mocktail or speciality tea of your choice for only £8 – tickets available via Eventbrite.



The Splitting Of The Mermaid by Lucy Ayrton

Support from Tees Women Poets, music from Sara Dennis

When: ​Friday 18 July, 7.00pm – 10.00pm

Where:​The Sitting Room, 3 Station Buildings, Saltburn TS12 1AQ

Tickets:​£8 including cocktail