Inua Ellams' hosts a special edition of his Rhythm And Poetry/Prose Party at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, as part of their For the Culture: Celebrations of Blackness Festival.
Founded by award-winning poet and playwright (The Barbershop Chronicles, The Actual, Doctor Who) Inua Ellams, The Rhythm And Poetry/Prose Party is a no-clutter no-fuss night of live literature and moving music. The format is super simple: 10 writers share a piece of work and after each, the DJ will play two songs of their choosing linked to the text.
This special Black Defiance edition invites audiences and writers to respond to songs that speak to breaking systems, perceptions, and rules, and highlighting the staying power of Black British voices in music.
Our line up includes: Caleb Femi, Courtney Conrad, Femi Tiwo, Inua Ellams, Obioma Ugoala, Racheal Ofori, Takunda Muzondiwa, Thembe Mvula and Zakariye Abdillahi [with one more to be confirmed]. Expect live literature, moving music, and an unforgettable night out.
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Inua Ellams
Host
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Courtney Conrad
Courtney Conrad
Courtney Conrad is a Jamaican poet based in England. Her debut pamphlet I Am Evidence is published by Bloodaxe Books. She is a winner of the Eric Gregory Award, Michael Marks Award, Bridport Prize Young Writers Award and Mslexia Women’s Pamphlet Prize. Shortlisted for The White Review Poet’s Prize, the Manchester Poetry Prize, the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition, the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award’s Poetry Prize and the Bridport Poetry Prize. She is a Cave Canem fellow and a Tin House Summer Workshop Retreat participant. Her poems have been published by Oxford American, Prairie Schooner, The White Review, Poetry Magazine, Mslexia, Poetry London, Poetry Review, Magma Poetry, Callaloo, Poetry Wales and more.
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Femi Tiwo
Femi Tiwo
Femi Tiwo is an artist of many skills, who has gone by many names. This era of work is a small offering of tiny glimpses into their imagination, their dreams, and terrifyingly (for them), their heart. With work spanning across film, tv, theatre, radio and movement, the Nigerian/Togolese filmmaker, artist and poet’s work continues to explore the fragmented links between family, love, memory and history, with some musical sprinklings, if you’re lucky.
**Does not need to be read aloud. Thank you:
Credits include, writing: Cab Ride (dir. Femi Tiwo & Ola Jones), Rights For Whom, Exactly? (Fly The Flag/Young Vic), Before Them, We (Flipped Eye Publishing) directing: Sound of The Underground (Royal Court Theatre) performance: Galatea (Wild Works Theatre) Green Thumb (Pentabus Theatre), Losing Joy (dir. Juliana Kasumu), Head Over Wheels (Open Sky); Little Miss Burden (Bunker); Parakeet (Roundabout); And The Rest of Me Floats (Bush Theatre); Ackee and Saltfish (BBC3); Faces (dir. Joseph Adesunloye); We Love Moses (dir. Dionne Edwards); The Ting (Channel 4 Random Acts)
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Obioma Ugoala
Obioma Ugoala
Obioma Ugoala is an actor, author and workshop facilitator.
Having originated roles in London West End productions of Hamilton, Frozen and Motown: The Musical as well working extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, story telling is at the heart of his work as both a creative and community organiser.
It was this curiosity around stories and the narratives we tell each other about masculinity, race and sexuality that led him to write his first book The Making of a Man (and why We’re So Afraid to Talk about It) published by Simon & Schuster.
He is currently writing his second book.
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Racheal Ofori
Racheal Ofori
Racheal Ofori is a writer and performer, whose work spans across television, film and theatre. Racheal’s stage work includes critically acclaimed Skeleton Crew at the Donmar Warehouse, The Southbury Child at The Bridge Theatre, written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Nicholas Hytner.
In TV and film she has appeared in Michelle de Swarte’s BBC comedy drama Spent, featured in Jason Lei Howden’s Guns Akimbo where she played opposite Daniel Radcliffe, as well as Eddie Sternberg’s I Used to be Famous an Independent film for Netflix.
Racheal’s writing work includes episode contributions for BBC’s Boarders as well as the incredibly well received BBC comedy Black Ops.
Her poetry has always been a part of her practice, and has evolved into playwriting and music. From her solo show So Many Reasons to songs What am I Doing?, and Dissonance, using rhythm and rhyme to follow the story wherever and however it manifests.
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Takunda Muzondiwa
Takunda Muzondiwa
Takunda is a poet, actor, and notorious film rewatcher who is based in London and was born in Zimbabwe. Moving between the personal and the political, her work is interested in the often complicated ways we love, belong and make meaning of one another, and in the distances people travel to find language for what they already know in their bones. Takunda is the winner of the 2026 National Roundhouse Poetry Slam and placed third at the 2023 World Poetry Slam Championship. She has performed at Shakespeare’s Globe and been commissioned to write for giants like Google. Her work has appeared in theatres, on stages, in notebooks, and family group chats. No matter the medium, her work remains committed to the same question: what do we owe the people and places that made us?
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Zakariye Abdillahi
Zakariye Abdillahi
Zakariye is a poet, playwright and filmmaker from Birmingham. His debut poetry pamphlet Pulling Faces (Little Betty, 2025 was long listed for the Jhalak Poetry Prize. In 2022, his short poetry film ‘Cages’ was broadcast on BBC 4 and BBC iPlayer. He later went on to win the audience vote at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam Final and turned ‘Cages’ into a stage play where it had a 3-show run at the Roundhouse. His latest play, Pretend Like It’s Calm, played at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 2026.
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Belinda Zhawi
Belinda Zhawi
Belinda Zhawi (b. Zimbabwe) is a literary & sound artist based in London (UK) & Marseille (FR), author of Small Inheritances (ignitionpress, 2018), & experiments with sound/text performance as MA.MOYO. Her works have been featured on various platforms including NTS, Boiler Room & BBC Radio. Her debut album, a collaboration with Duncan Bellamy (Portico Quartet) was released under the moniker BZDB on AD93 Records (2024). Her debut solo EP is Viva Voce Vol.1 (Accidental Meetings, 2025); she’s currently working on her first full collection of poems.
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BREIS
BREIS
BREIS (pronounced “breeze”), is a British born Nigerian independent rap artist. Known for his wordplay, vivid storytelling, and captivating performances, BREIS’ style blends Hip Hop with Jazz, Soul, and Afrobeat creating a rich, distinctive uplifting sound.
His incredible new album entitled Stranger On Earth explores themes of belonging, grief, and love. He has published 3 books, Brilliant Rappers Educate Intelligent Students, Diary of a Creative Mind and Reflections from a Stranger on Earth and runs rap and poetry workshops in schools worldwide.
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Adisa The Verbalizer
Adisa The Verbalizer
Adisa the Verbalizer is an award-winning performance poet, writer, educator and storyteller whose work turns the power of the spoken word into a catalyst for confidence, creativity and change.
Adisa exploded onto the spoken-word scene in the summer of 1993. His mango-flavoured metaphors, playful wit and lava-fuelled performances soon became legendary on the London performance-poetry circuit. Within a year, he had taken his show on the road and won the Apple & Snakes New Performance Poet of the Year competition. One of the judges was the celebrated poet and writer Benjamin Zephaniah, who described Adisa as “the future” and said, “It’s so good to have something to look forward to.”
More than three decades later, Adisa continues to explore what happens when poetry moves beyond the page and becomes a living, breathing encounter between people.
An internationally experienced performer, Adisa has performed across the UK and in Austria, Belgium, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Atlanta, USA, appearing everywhere from major arts centres and festivals to pubs, community centres and schools. He is a former Poet Laureate of Hackney and has built a reputation as a dynamic performer whose work combines humour, rhythm, storytelling and social commentary with a deep belief in the transformative power of voice.)
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TONE
DJ
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