Boisterous slam Night of spoken word and music

One Mic Stand brings together Manchester’s spoken word and music scene in a night of competitive performances. Join us for a wordsmith showdown as the North’s top performance poets take the stage, competing for the title, cash prize, and bragging rights. Check out our lineup of past headliners and judges below!

Applying to slam

Applications for our next One Mic Stand are now closed.

If you have applied to slam we will let you know if you’ve been successful in the coming days. There are only 8 slots available for the line-up and we’re often oversubscribed. If you don’t make the final lineup, you could still be placed on our reserve list.

being a headliner

If you’re interested in headlining a One Mic Stand, email us at events@youngidentity.org or have your management reach out with your details.

- Original Work - Each poem must be of the poet’s own creation.
- Three Minutes - Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. If the poet goes over grace time, points will begin to be deducted from the total score.
- No Props - Performers are not allowed to employ the use of props or music during their performance. Just the poet and the stage!
One Mic Stand consists of two rounds. After each poem, the poet receives 2 scores from our three judges. The scores are added together to create their final score, deciding whether or not they will make it to the final round.
- Out of 10 for Content
- Out of 10 for Performance
The slam consists of two rounds. The poets with the highest scores move on to the next round. The Winner will get the chance to close the night with a final performance.
- First Round 8-10 Poets
- Second Round (Final) 3-4 Poets

Previous winners

special guest Artists

past Judges

Elmi Ali Director, Poet, Writer — **Elmi Ali**
Director, Poet, Writer

Berry Blacc Artist, Producer — **Berry Blacc**
Artist, Producer

Kim Barnwell Radio DJ — **Kim Barnwell**
Radio DJ

Trevor Dwyer Lynch Actor, Comedian — **Trevor Dwyer Lynch**
Actor, Comedian

Louise Fazackerkly Interdisciplinary Artist, Poet — **Louise Fazackerkly**
Interdisciplinary Artist, Poet

Ali Gadema Actor, Co-founder, Director, Poet — **Ali Gadema**
Actor, Co-founder, Director, Poet

Courtney Hayles Director, Poet — **Courtney Hayles**
Director, Poet

Roma Havers
Poet, Theatremaker

Isaiah Hull Artist, Poet — **Isaiah Hull**
Artist, Poet

Johnny Jay DJ, Producer — **Johnny Jay**
DJ, Producer

Adam Lowe Author, Performer — **Adam Lowe**
Author, Performer

John McGrath Artistic Director: Factory International — **John McGrath**
Artistic Director: Factory International

Haeisha Mistry Actor — **Haeisha Mistry**
Actor

Lamin Touray Actor — **Lamin Touray**
Actor

Rory Storm Conductor — **Rory Storm**
Conductor

Jardel Rodrigues
Artist, Poet

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