Biography - Nathan Penlington - nathanpenlington

Biography - Nathan Penlington

Nathan Penlington – UK stand-up poet and magician
Biography:
Anglo-Welsh Nathan Penlington spent his early years as a temporary Bingo caller and boy magician in a Welsh seaside town before moving to London just after his 18^th birthday.
His background as a magician, which includes winning the North Wales Magic Circle Young Magician of the Year Award,
has led to him gaining a reputation as an original and inventive performer across the UK by skilfully shattering the myths that surround poets and poetry. Seamlessly fusing comedy, storytelling, audience participation, magic and award winning magic with writing that is intelligent, accessible and entertaining he creates a unique form of literary cabaret.

Nathan Penlington has the only Masters Degree in Performance Poetry in the UK, from London Guildhall. His collection of graphic poems, Roadkill on the Digital Highway, was short-listed for the Eric Gregory Award 2005, of which previous winners include Seamus Heaney and the poet laureate Andrew Motion. A selection of these poems are to be published in the Journal of Experimental Literature and 'Unpredictive' - a poem written in predictive text - was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Nathan also co-organises and is the resident host of London's weekly spokenword venue SHORTFUSE, will celebrate its 7th birthday in April 2007. SHORTFUSE has attained a reputation for presenting an eclectic fusion of stand-up poetry, performance comedy and music and regularly presents up and coming performers alongside established names such as Rob Newman, John Hegley, Stewart Lee, Kevin Eldon and Simon Munnery, new bands such as Jesus Licks and Spinmaster Plantpot, as well as forging working links with performers across the USA, Canada and Europe. SHORTFUSE’s reputation for producing varied and entertaining events has led Nathan to be employed to produce and host events for a wide variety of festivals including the Brick Lane Festival, Stoke Newington Festival and Whitsable Arts Biennale, with audiences ranging up to 350+.

In 2005 Nathan performed his debut full length solo spokenword show If My Life Hadn't Turned Out Differently at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with The Pleasance, after previewing the show at Chicago’s Drinking & Writing Festival, and in a variety of venues in New York. Last summer Nathan made his 5th consecutive appearance at the festival, teaming up with two of the UK's other most innovative spokenword artists to produce a unique show called ‘Invisible Ink’ which fused magic, music, poetry and animation to critical acclaim: (‘Three masters of the spoken word are indulging audiences with poetry, music and scientific magic throughout this year's fringe festival. Invisible Ink combine perfectly pronounced poem recitals, rhythmic pros and tales of dreams and nightmares, which not only pay tribute to the English language, but expertly demonstrate what can be done with it’. **** Three Weeks).
Nathan is also Poetry Editor of The Fix - a brand new national comedy glossy print magazine. For full information about stockists visit: www.thefixonline.com
Quotes:
‘A natural performer, witty, inventive, stylish and original’ - Robert Newman
'The best qualified performance poet in the country' - BBC Radio 3, The Verb

‘Consistently original and accessible’ - Chortle
'A young turn of promise' - John Hegley

'Sensation' - The Guardian

'Nathan Penlington's fusion of wit, storytelling and visuals are garnering critics' plaudits and attention' - Time Out

'Fans of Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker and Simon Armitage will recognise Nathan Penlingtons whimsical poetic evocations from the North of the Watford gap. He points out hes not a comedian, but theres humour which touches the same place, and he has the talent with words to successfully open his horizons in future' - The List

‘Combining stand up comedy, performance, poetry and magic, Penlington builds a genuine rapport with the audience, encouraging participation and amusement’. Hairline

'...has little in common with Eminem or Murray Lachlan Young' – Metro
'England's brightest stand-up poet' - NewYorkCool.com

‘Set to put poetry right on the cutting edge’ - Hackney Gazette

Performances:

Recent performances have included a wide range of venues in New York (including the renowned Bowery Poetry Club), Copenhagen (Ord Pa Hjul), Chicago (Drinking and Writing Festival), five consecutive shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2002-2006, The Latitude Festival, The Brick Lane Festival, Shortfuse, Express Excess, 2ManyPoets, The Soho Theatre, BBC Radio 3 - The Verb, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio London Live, The 5065 Lift, Stoke Newington Festival, Red Rose Comedy Club, Aisle16, The Aquarium Gallery and Bookshop, New Blood, Resonance FM, The Poetry Café, RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), The Royal College of Art, Cardiff Castle, WDR 3 (German radio), Marlborough Theatre Brighton, All Roots North Tour (various venues across the UK), Traverse Theatre Cardiff, Whitstable Biennial, Word About Town Festival Hastings, The Dylan Thomas Centre Swansea, Cafe Royal, and at many private and public events across the UK.
For further information, or to book Nathan Penlington to perform at your event either as a magician, poet or both, please contact:

Nathan Penlington
Email: info@shortfuse.co.uk
Web: www.myspace.com/nathanpenlington
         www.20six.co.uk/shortfuse

20.1.04 12:08

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(20.1.04 12:28)
Looking forward to seeing some of your work.