The Awkward Guide to Friendship

House of Figs

Saturday 30th November 2024 – 7.30pm

• Does the cat get your tongue when you’re meeting new people?
• Does it take a while to get to know you?
• Do you wander lonely as a cloud?
• Are you still trying to believe that you belong, even surrounded by friends?

Then climb aboard…

House of Figs bring you their new work navigating the choppy waters of friendship, from perfectly platonic meet-cutes to courageous conversations… and beyond. Join poet Beth Calverley and musician Beth Roberts on a voyage through deep friendship feelings, safely afloat in an otherworldly choir of spoken and sung voices.

The Awkward Guide to Friendship traces the tale of Beth & Beth’s friendship, interspersing the duo’s own experiences of loneliness and connection with voice notes of other people talking about friendship, original songs and immersive soundscapes. Along the way, they invite their new friends (you!) to help inspire some live improvisations and join in with collective singing – though quiet listening is equally welcomed.

“Best sound experience of the festival” – HowTheLightGetsIn audience member
“The definition of wholesome fun” – Shambala audience member
“Hypnotic… radiates tenderness and awe” – Sabotage Reviews
“One of those truly exciting creative moments where I feel a more complete, more feeling, more alive person for having experienced your thoughts & words.” – Awkward Guide audience member

Awkward Guide: A Poetry & Song Workshop

Awkward Guide: A Poetry & Song Workshop is a writing and singing workshop that’s open to all. Whether you regularly write, only ever sing in the shower, or have never done anything like this before – this is for you! This session is all about having fun, making friends, and shaking off any sense of awkwardness.

Alongside their poetry and music show The Awkward Guide to Friendship, performers and facilitators Beth Roberts and Beth Calverley are bringing this nurturing workshop to East Harptree on moring of 30th November.

Weaving vocal warm-ups with some writing and conversations about friendship, we’ll write a collaborative poem together, interwoven with threads of song. Every part of the workshop will be gently-held and completely optional. So come along by yourself or bring a friend, and make some new ones too.

 House of Figs is a collaboration between Beth Calverley (The Poetry Machine) and Beth Roberts (Hands of the Heron / Hedera / Tryani Collective). Beth and Beth hold parallel roles as Poet and Musician in Residence for their local NHS Trust. From hospitals to festivals, they create a held space wherever they perform, illuminating the value of care for ourselves and others. They have headlined events at Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival and Komedia Bath, and performed at Shambala, HowTheLightGetsIn, Green Man, WOMAD, Good Grief and Bristol Harbour Festival.

In 2023, the duo shared their multifaceted, ADHD-fuelled work-in-progress and (to their relief), found that it deeply resonated with audiences in the moment of performance and long after the show. Since then, the duo have honed their tangle of tangents into a powerful gig theatre piece, with a mission that no-one will ever again think: “everyone finds friendship easier than I do.”