Poet in the City Producers, a group of talented young producers in Newcastle, organised their first collaborative event at Cobalt Studios last week. Diverse Femininity aimed to ‘explore femininity and queer identity in the North East’ by showcasing the diverse talents of poets, comedians and musicians from different communities across the region.

The night included exhilarating performances from internationally sought-after stand-up comedian, Lauren Pattison; The Journal Culture Award winning rapper, Kay Greyson; trans poet and author, AJ McKenna; a special ‘Show us Yer Marys’ (a Mary's through history quiz) commission from Tees Women Poets; and British-Bangladeshi Geordie poet and proud mother, Tahmina Ali.



The joyous event was the culmination of a six-month talent development programme by Poet in the City, training seven young people from Newcastle as events producers and giving them paid work experience to ‘ensure young people have a stake in the future of live-poetry in the North-East.’ The Producers went on to programme and host this own live event in partnership with professional North-East poetry platform – Born Lippy, raising £263.00 for Tyneside Women’s Health who have supported the project from its creation.

Jessica Henderson - one of the young event producers - said, “The highlight was most definitely coming together on the evening of the event and seeing all the work be put out into the community, there was a real sense of achievement and a tangible outcome.”

Over two-thirds of audience members said they felt more pride in their city following the event.



Tyneside Women’s Health is a charity and was set up in 1985 to provide mental health support to women in the North East. Tyneside Women's Health operates from two centres one in Gateshead and one in Newcastle. Our vision to have a society that is free from mental health stigma, in which all women and girls feel included and empowered. Our aim is to help women and girls to improve their mental health and emotional well-being. https://www.tynesidewomenshealth.org.uk/

Born Lippy is your monthly celebration of all things wordy including Poetry, Hip-Hop & Comedy. Monthly events showcasing the best in the country. Slams & workshops providing opportunities to local spoken word artists in the North-East. @BornLippyNE

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Image credits: Maria Maza