42Worcester - July 28th 2026
Advertisement
42Worcester is the Worcestershire 'alternative genre' monthly Spoken Word event covering gothic, horror, sci-fi and fantasy. It is held on the last Tuesday of every month— the online section opens at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start. This is the only Spoken Word night for Gothic Horror, SF, Fantasy, Alternative Genre, Weird Stuff in the UK (possibly in the whole world!)
42Worcester is a hybrid event. Our venue is the wonderful Script Haven, in its fabulous new location at 5 Crown Passage, within the purlieus of an 18th Century coaching inn - a building with its own amazing history of travellers, guests and transience . . . If you can't get there in person, we are also on Zoom, for both audience members and performers.
We are inclusive, diverse and friendly - we have published authors performing, and we also have writers just starting out and building up confidence - everybody is welcome (just respect your fellow performers! ) . . .
The Zoom invitation / link will appear here on the day.
We issue a prompt for most months of the year and whilst pieces that reflect the prompt are preferred, we understand that not everyone will have a piece that ‘fits’. That doesn't matter - we want to hear what you write!
And the theme for July is 'The Notorious Art' - a term that once referred to the secret mysteries of Alchemy and the Occult Arts, and in some circles, it still does . . . But there is art of other sorts out there - unsettling paintings, peculiar sculptures, and craft traditions that probably shouldn't exist. (I still remember the scandal of a high-end London craft show in the 1980s when someone exhibited a pair of earrings made out of something so horrific that I can't really say what it was now without planting a forest of trigger warning - if you know, you know, and that was the 1980s when things were different.) And then there are artists - so many notorious artists who created beautiful work - from 15th Century Florence when Fra Filippo Lippi, a Carmelite monk, had to be locked in his cell to stop him going out and enjoying the secular world, but then he used a rope to escape. (His son was also a brilliant artist). Yet he created some sublime religious paintings . . . . And then there was Leonardo da Vinci - we all know his art and his genius, but he was also a queer vegetarian who kept a chaotic household of human misfits and all sorts of random rescued animals that wandered messily around the studio, and he was accompanied by his younger male partner who he called Salai - the Little Devil. Yes, I think Leonardo would have liked 42 - he feels like one of us . . . And of course there was Caravaggio, who created amazing art but was also a murderer (Derek Jarman made a film about him, but that was the 1980s when things were different) . . . And that's just the Italian Renaissance! . . . There have been so many notorious artists after that, so much notorious art . . . Have fun with the July theme, and enjoy the weirdness . . .
Please respect your fellow readers and remember, the five-minute time limit applies.
Information for readers and performers can be found on this page.
Please email: [email protected] to reserve a five-minute reading slot, or message me on Facebook.
42Worcester is a hybrid event. Our venue is the wonderful Script Haven, in its fabulous new location at 5 Crown Passage, within the purlieus of an 18th Century coaching inn - a building with its own amazing history of travellers, guests and transience . . . If you can't get there in person, we are also on Zoom, for both audience members and performers.
We are inclusive, diverse and friendly - we have published authors performing, and we also have writers just starting out and building up confidence - everybody is welcome (just respect your fellow performers! ) . . .
The Zoom invitation / link will appear here on the day.
We issue a prompt for most months of the year and whilst pieces that reflect the prompt are preferred, we understand that not everyone will have a piece that ‘fits’. That doesn't matter - we want to hear what you write!
And the theme for July is 'The Notorious Art' - a term that once referred to the secret mysteries of Alchemy and the Occult Arts, and in some circles, it still does . . . But there is art of other sorts out there - unsettling paintings, peculiar sculptures, and craft traditions that probably shouldn't exist. (I still remember the scandal of a high-end London craft show in the 1980s when someone exhibited a pair of earrings made out of something so horrific that I can't really say what it was now without planting a forest of trigger warning - if you know, you know, and that was the 1980s when things were different.) And then there are artists - so many notorious artists who created beautiful work - from 15th Century Florence when Fra Filippo Lippi, a Carmelite monk, had to be locked in his cell to stop him going out and enjoying the secular world, but then he used a rope to escape. (His son was also a brilliant artist). Yet he created some sublime religious paintings . . . . And then there was Leonardo da Vinci - we all know his art and his genius, but he was also a queer vegetarian who kept a chaotic household of human misfits and all sorts of random rescued animals that wandered messily around the studio, and he was accompanied by his younger male partner who he called Salai - the Little Devil. Yes, I think Leonardo would have liked 42 - he feels like one of us . . . And of course there was Caravaggio, who created amazing art but was also a murderer (Derek Jarman made a film about him, but that was the 1980s when things were different) . . . And that's just the Italian Renaissance! . . . There have been so many notorious artists after that, so much notorious art . . . Have fun with the July theme, and enjoy the weirdness . . .
Please respect your fellow readers and remember, the five-minute time limit applies.
Information for readers and performers can be found on this page.
Please email: [email protected] to reserve a five-minute reading slot, or message me on Facebook.
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
Script Haven, Boer War Memorial, Worcester, College Yard, Worcester, WR1 2, United Kingdom
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or Publisher42 Worcester
