Nathan Penlington
Encyclopedia
Nathan Penlington is a poet, writer, live literature producer and magician. His work has appeared on stage, in print and on the radio.
, Ricky Gervais
and Phill Jupitus
. His performances fuse comedy, storytelling and magic with writing that led Robert Newman to describe him as "a natural performer, witty, inventive, stylish and original", and Time Out to comment that "Nathan Penlington's fusion of wit, storytelling and visuals are garnering critics’ plaudits and attention".
Penlington was co-organiser and resident host of London's weekly spoken word
venue Shortfuse, from April 2000 to September 2007. Shortfuse attained a reputation for presenting an eclectic fusion of stand-up poetry, performance comedy and music, and regularly presenting up-and-coming performers alongside established names such as John Hegley
, Stewart Lee
, Kevin Eldon and Simon Munnery
, as well as forging working links with performers across the US, Canada and Europe. Shortfuse became renowned for creating new formats including Bards in their Eyes, Speed Cabaret, and Poetry Idol. Poetry Idol's tongue in cheek competition format helped to bring wider attention to many up and coming poets and performers including Scroobius Pip, Stephen Howarth
, Suzanne Andrade, Joshua Idehen and Musa Okwanga.
He has been employed to produce and host events for a wide variety of festivals including the Edinburgh International Film Festival
, Brick Lane
Festival, Stoke Newington
Festival and Whitstable
Arts Biennale. He was Festival Director for Write to Ignite - Hackney Word Festival, which took place throughout September 2007.
In 2005, Penlington performed his debut full length solo spoken word show If My Life Hadn't Turned Out Differently at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Pleasance, after previewing the show at Chicago’s Drinking & Writing Festival, and in a variety of venues in New York including the renowned Bowery Poetry Club
. In the following year, he made his 5th consecutive appearance at the festival, teaming up with two other spoken word artists, Rhian Edwards and Suzanne Andrade, to produce a show called Invisible Ink which fused magic, music, poetry and animation to critical acclaim.
Penlington is Poetry Editor for The Fix Magazine - the UK's only monthly comedy magazine, which is distributed free at comedy venues across the country.
His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3's
The Verb, performing a work of 'predictive text poetry - a new creative form using the mobile phone'. He has also appeared on BBC Radio 4's
28 Acts in 28 Minutes
, and he has hosted two series of the surreal spoken word show Parlour Games on Resonance FM
.
2005, of which previous winners include Seamus Heaney
and Andrew Motion
.
Penlington's work has appeared in publications such as Rising, The Fix, Quiet Feather, Litmus, The Delinquent, Aesthetica magazine
, The Rebel magazine
, and X-Magazine.
Career
Nathan Penlington currently performs at venues and festivals across the UK, Europe and the US, and has shared stages with performers such as John Cooper ClarkeJohn Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet"...
, Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
and Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
. His performances fuse comedy, storytelling and magic with writing that led Robert Newman to describe him as "a natural performer, witty, inventive, stylish and original", and Time Out to comment that "Nathan Penlington's fusion of wit, storytelling and visuals are garnering critics’ plaudits and attention".
Penlington was co-organiser and resident host of London's weekly spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
venue Shortfuse, from April 2000 to September 2007. Shortfuse attained a reputation for presenting an eclectic fusion of stand-up poetry, performance comedy and music, and regularly presenting up-and-coming performers alongside established names such as John Hegley
John Hegley
John Richard Hegley is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter.-Early life:He was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up in Luton and Bristol...
, Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
, Kevin Eldon and Simon Munnery
Simon Munnery
Simon Munnery, also known by his stagenames of Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium, is an English comedy writer and experimental standup comedian...
, as well as forging working links with performers across the US, Canada and Europe. Shortfuse became renowned for creating new formats including Bards in their Eyes, Speed Cabaret, and Poetry Idol. Poetry Idol's tongue in cheek competition format helped to bring wider attention to many up and coming poets and performers including Scroobius Pip, Stephen Howarth
Stephen Howarth
Stephen Purbeck Howarth known as S.P. is a poet, Stuckist artist and actor. He was expelled from college for his paintings. He has demonstrated against the Turner prize at the Tate gallery.-Life and work:...
, Suzanne Andrade, Joshua Idehen and Musa Okwanga.
He has been employed to produce and host events for a wide variety of festivals including the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
, Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
Festival, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
Festival and Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
Arts Biennale. He was Festival Director for Write to Ignite - Hackney Word Festival, which took place throughout September 2007.
In 2005, Penlington performed his debut full length solo spoken word show If My Life Hadn't Turned Out Differently at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Pleasance, after previewing the show at Chicago’s Drinking & Writing Festival, and in a variety of venues in New York including the renowned Bowery Poetry Club
Bowery Poetry Club
The Bowery Poetry Club is a New York City poetry performance space founded by Bob Holman in 2002. Located at 308 Bowery, between Bleecker and Houston Streets in Manhattan's East Village, the BPC provides a home base for established and upcoming artists...
. In the following year, he made his 5th consecutive appearance at the festival, teaming up with two other spoken word artists, Rhian Edwards and Suzanne Andrade, to produce a show called Invisible Ink which fused magic, music, poetry and animation to critical acclaim.
Penlington is Poetry Editor for The Fix Magazine - the UK's only monthly comedy magazine, which is distributed free at comedy venues across the country.
His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3's
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
The Verb, performing a work of 'predictive text poetry - a new creative form using the mobile phone'. He has also appeared on BBC Radio 4's
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
28 Acts in 28 Minutes
28 Acts in 28 Minutes
28 Acts in 28 Minutes is a stand-up TV comedy show aired on the UK's BBC Three. It comprises 28 acts, each given a minute to perform. A 3-part series also aired on BBC Radio 4 in June 2006, chaired by John Humphrys.- Show One :- Show Two :...
, and he has hosted two series of the surreal spoken word show Parlour Games on Resonance FM
Resonance FM
Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station run by the London Musicians' Collective .The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and over 300 volunteer technical and production staff.Until September 2007, ResonanceFM...
.
Published works
April 2008 saw the publication of Almost Nearly, a full-length collection of graphic poems in a limited signed and numbered edition. It features some of the poems included in Roadkill on the Digital Highway, which was short-listed for the Eric Gregory AwardEric Gregory Award
The Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
2005, of which previous winners include Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
and Andrew Motion
Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Motion, FRSL is an English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.- Life and career :...
.
Penlington's work has appeared in publications such as Rising, The Fix, Quiet Feather, Litmus, The Delinquent, Aesthetica magazine
Aesthetica magazine
Aesthetica is a British arts and culture magazine. Founded in 2002, Aesthetica Magazine covers literature, visual arts, music, film and theatre. It has 60,000 readers and national and international distribution...
, The Rebel magazine
The Rebel magazine
The Rebel is an independent British art magazine established by artist Harry Pye in 1985. It features interviews, reviews with artists, and parodies of features from other publications. Often the cover of the magazine features an image of a famous rebel from history such as Jesus, Karl Marx,...
, and X-Magazine.