FESTIVAL OF ARTS – SlammED! and a Vast Laugh

Poetry, music and spoken-word theatre are combined in a night of adults-only entertainment in the show A Vast Laugh at the MECC on Sunday, July 17.

The night features two of Australia’s masters of poetry Ghostboy and Pascalle Burton and highly talented musician Richard Grantham.\

Festival and Events producer David Gerrand said it will be a night of adventurous alliteration.

“It is certainly something different but wildly funny and at times risqué,” he said.

Pascalle is the only Queensland poet to have won two major Slam titles, collecting the Queensland Poetry Festival and Woodford Folk Festival Slams in 2006.

Ghostboy – the alter ego of David Stavanger – has been a smash hit at some of Australia’s top Writers Festivals, including the Brisbane Writers, Sydney Writers and Nightwords at the Sydney Opera House.

Both poets will also conduct a youth poetry workshop earlier in the day as part of the Whitsunday Voices Literature Festival.

Mr Gerrand said the two-hour event is open to any youngster between 12 and 18.

That will be followed by a 90-minute Slam Poetry competition at 5.30pm to find the region’s best local poets and crown Mackay’s inaugural Slam Poet!

SlammED > The competition will be judged entirely by selected members of the audience, with great prizes on offer.

The trio of events is funded by the Regional Arts Development Fund – an Arts Queensland and Mackay Regional Council partnership in conjunction with Whitsunday Voices.Mr Gerrand said it should be an entertaining and highly amusing afternoon and evening of poetry and comedy.

Tickets now on sale at the MECC box office or online at www.festivalmackay.org.au.

Contact: Mackay Regional Council

Phone: 1300 MACKAY (1300 622 529)