
Julia Pattison, Theatre Correspondent
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage And LYR At York Theatre Royal
![(R-L)Simon Armitage, Richard Walters, Patrick Pearson.
Photo: Katie Silvester]()
(R-L)Simon Armitage, Richard Walters, Patrick Pearson.
Photo: Katie Silvester
A unique evening of poetry and music featuring poet laureate Simon Armitage and LYR, the band he writes for and performs with, filled York Theatre Royal's beautiful auditorium to the rafters.
I would agree with Simon when he said in an interview some years ago that poetry is important because it’s considered thought and considered language. When asked if he thought poetry had had its day, he replied, “Definitely not; it’s more valuable and necessary than ever,” and he proved that point in his memorable performances of his poems in his one-night-only evening at York Theatre Royal.
This was a night of two very different halves. The evening began with laid-back, unassuming poetry readings by Simon, who was obviously struggling with a tickly cough but coped admirably and used it as a running joke in the second half. I’ll never look at Jakemans cough sweets in the same light again!
Simon had got deadpan off to an art, with particular highlights being his rendition of
Zodiac T Shirt and his wonderfully wacky poem
Poundland, which mixed everyday life with a mythical world and was highly entertaining.
The second half offered a completely different experience. The band LYR, which includes Simon, singer-songwriter Richard Walters, multi-instrumentalist and producer Patrick Pearson, along with a talented bassist/guitarist and drummer, performed live.
They all produced a moving soundscape of soaring vocal melodies (Richard proved to be a superb singer as well as guitarist) and ambient harmonies in the form of beautifully crafted songs.
It was evident that Simon was living the dream, as he told us he’d always been fascinated by song lyrics and album sleeves as a teenager, and he was most at home delivering his own lyrics with confidence and zeal in a cool-looking military-style coat, at the hub of the band, totally relaxed on stage. The band’s close camaraderie clearly showed as the evening progressed.
The soundscape worked really well on the whole, creating a driving backbeat to Simon’s considered words, but at times, unfortunately, the music drowned out the words, which was a shame; I’m sure that can be easily resolved for future performances.
Never Good With Horses was a “banger,” to quote the man himself, and I really enjoyed Simon’s
National Trust Project song featuring Blossom and Wassails and the encore song proposal, featuring himself, Richard on acoustic guitar, and Patrick on keyboards, then the fabulous
Theodolite finale piece.
The audience responded enthusiastically to the wonderful variety of material, demonstrating their appreciation at the end of the evening.
The long line to purchase his poetry books and meet this talented, modest, punk poetry performer was a testament to his popularity.