Performance poet Francesca Beard guides us through the Post-Truth Apocalypse at The Spring Arts Centre in Havant

Francesca's show mixes storytelling, verse, spoken word, audience interaction and a game of Whose Lie Is It Anyway, leading the audience on a journey to explore lies in all their forms and what it means to be human.

Supporting Francesca will be Portsmouth and Havant-based spoken word presenters The Front Room with a clutch of Hampshire's finest performance poets, Stewart Taylor, Duncan Green and Brandon Prince presenting on the topic of fake news.

Post-Truth Apocalypse explores our place in a fake news world that's had enough of experts, but not enough of Donald Trump. It asks: '˜What is the global cost of make- believe?', '˜Are all humans liars?' and '˜Can the truth set us free?'

Francesca, called '˜The Queen of British performance poetry' by Metro, is one of the most successful spoken word artists in the UK, and has developed innovative work such as Chinese Whispers and Animal Olympics. 

She says: '˜Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by the blurred lines between imagination and reality. It's the realisation of a dream, to make a show that explores the exhilarating risks and responsibilities of our most incredible super-power: story-telling.

'˜It feels vital to tour it at this surreal time, where our leaders spin fantasies of fear from fictional facts and the man with the hugest nuclear button lives in a cloudy consensus reality where climate change is a myth.

'˜Spoken word is us, standing up and representing our truths, bearing witness to other, different realities. I hope that audiences leave this show feeling clarity about uncertainty and empowered to share the stories that make our world a kinder, stronger place'

FRANCESCA BEARD'S POST-TRUTH APOCALYPSE

The Spring, Havant

Saturday, November 17

thespring.co.uk