Poets, rappers, singers, comedians and even interpretative dancers are all welcome to perform at the Spoken Word London open mic night.

The event is held twice a month in VFD nightclub on Stoke Newington Road and is a great space for people to express themselves in an encouraging environment.

Spoken Word London was founded in 2013 by Patrick Cash after he attended an open mic night in Paris and couldn’t find anything like it in London.

VFD was looking to host an arts night at the time and since then, Spoken Word London open mics have been regularly held in the basement venue.

Host for the event, Hannah Gordon said: “We love our venue. I think some of the majesty of Spoken Word London comes from the venue. There’s not much to look at apart from the spotlight and the person performing.”

“It’s a very relaxed environment where people feel like they can express themselves. Come to Spoken Word London because it’s a really safe space. I’ve always felt really included and nurtured by the community.”

For those unfamiliar with how an open mic night works, the whole night is made up of volunteer performers.

Hannah starts the event with a poem and then introduces each performer before they go on stage. The event has three rounds of five acts, who all have five minutes to perform.

Poet Priyanka Moorjani said: “It’s a really inclusive space, nobody laughs at you unless you’re making a joke. I’d recommend it to people because it’s such a great place and it’s very friendly.”

If you’re interested in performing at the next Spoken Word London open mic night, it is being held tomorrow at VFD.

Be sure to get there before 7:30PM as there are a limited number of performing slots on a first come, first served basis. Don’t worry if you’re a bit late though as there is also a reserve list where some extra performers are chosen at random.