Just after 19:30pm on Saturday 24th February 2024 ,Bohdan Piasecki came onto Birmingham’s Hippodrome stage. Originally from Poland, he has been living in the UK for 18 years and started with a poem called “Cloud Dandruff”. Piasecki then followed that up with a piece written and performed in his mother tongue. “cisza” Polish for “silence”, was a thrilling and brave poem to deliver, he only gave us the title translation as a starting reference, the rest was for us to use our imagination. Fast paced, the rhythm was the complete opposite of silent. My imagination interpreted the poem as a narrator’s struggling to find silence anywhere amongst chaos. The poem was oddly my favourite of his set. Piasecki then completed his mini set with a poem about the IVF he and his wife had, then a tribute to his grandmother who died in the Warsaw Uprising. Piasecki’s stage presence was gentle and measured, as he delivered his poetry beautifully with care to the audience; who listened just as carefully, as was the impact of his words.
Then it was time for the main event. If I am honest. I didn’t know much about Luke Wright, other than he existed. So when he appeared on stage to his own theme tune that wouldn’t be out of place on a Buzzcocks album, I thought; how is he even old enough to be celebrating a silver jubilee?! A young looking man with slick back hair, an earring in his left ear and a gold chain. I would have actually said he looks early 30’s ( he is actually 41). Then he spoke; his geezer voice so Danny Dyer-like, that he could play the part of pub landlord at the Queen Vic on Eastenders. Unlike his supporting act, he didn’t have a mic with a stand, he chose the mini mic clipped to his shirt route. His experience shone through, as all his words just rolled off his tongue so naturally it was almost as if his routine wasn’t rehearsed. Even joking with the audience that it’s his “job to talk, your job to listen, laugh and clap”.
Mixed with storytelling and comedic poetry, Wright’s set was also a wonderful exploration of the psyche of an adopted child in adulthood. Mentioning the Primal Wound theory, his adoption has clearly played a huge part in his identity, therefore it did seem fitting it should play a role in a special event all about him. His courage to be vulnerable in front of an audience, is not only a testament to him, but also the supportive environment his adopted family brought him up in. Two poems to mention from this subject matter were the poem “7 births”; a poem that told the same story in 7 different styles, including the styles “Daily Mail”, “Star Wars” and “Jonathan Pie”. The other being “Later Life Letter”; a tribute to social workers. He wrote this not only because as he confessed : “the first person who ever cared for me in my life was a social worker” but also because his wife is one. Then I just have to mention his more comedic stuff, especially the content about his two ginger cats. One named Bagel by his kids, and the other “Sir John Benjamin” named by Wright himself (despite protests from his kids). But I have to agree with Wright that I bet it was worth it just to hear his wife say phrases like “Sir John Betjemen has been sick on the carpet”. He blended the emotional with being funny so perfectly.
The only criticism I have, I personally felt there were a couple poems that could have been omitted and the set would have been just as good. One of them being “Ode to the Nightingale estate”, a superb poem that for me, felt a little too bleak for the show. This is of course just personal opinion, so please feel free to disagree. Despite this, it was an overall great performance to watch online and I bet it was even better live in person. I can see why he has lasted the test of time; 25 years performing! An incredible achievement, congratulations Luke. I’m now a fan; better late than never.
© Megan Layley
Megan Layley 
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