Working with the INN CROWD, Dan Simpson will take up a unique summer poetry residency at the community owned and run Low House pub in Laxfield, Suffolk.
In a scheme designed to bring theatre and literature performances into rural pubs the INN CROWD had to call a halt to its usual programme of live events during the COVID-19 lockdown. In this summer residency, writer, performer, producer and educator, Dan Simpson will be working virtually in the community: He will be crowdsourcing a communal poem, facilitating workshops, creating new work for the pub, and displaying verse on banners outside – to truly celebrate the pub as the heart of the village.
This work may culminate, as pubs start to open again, with a performance at the end of the project.
Otherwise known as The King’s Head, the Low House is an independent free house with a rich history; its most recent development being when the community purchased the pub in May 2018. Standing unaltered for over 400 years, this fine old sixteenth century thatched building has no bar but serves the beer straight from the casks in the Tap Room.
INN CROWD works with some of the UK’s top spoken word and live literature artists and performers to provide rural pubs with professional, high-quality and exciting live entertainment.
John Longden, Chief Executive for Pub is The Hub commented: “The work inspired by INN CROWD helps pubs to attract new customers, widen the experience for their regulars, and reinforces the pub as a central, vibrant part of community life. This unique idea is a great way to reach out to a community and draw it together in these very unusual times.”