"Feed words to Inua Ellams for this one-of-a-kind collaborative experiment! Audience prompts stir his archival broth, sparking improvisational reflections and associative responses. Witness emergent lattices of wit and structural play, followed by a discussion where you can probe and explore his thinking up close…"
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A event held at Arnolfini on Sunday 19th April. The event starts at 13:00.
Date: Sunday 19th April 2026
Venue: Arnolfini (Theatre)
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Tickets: £8 (£10 solidarity, £5 concessions)
✅ All Lyra Fest venues are wheelchair accessible. Access Information Pack available at www.lyrafest.com.
Inua Ellams: Search Party
Staged Reading/Performance
Presented in association with 05Events
Award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall) brings his chaotic, audience-led poetry event to Lyra Festival.
Pick a word, any word. Prompted by audience suggestions, Inua Ellams will search through his extensive archive of work and perform a reactive and spontaneous selection. Each Search Party is unique and special. The show includes an audience Q&A. Introduced by Dr Edson Burton.
“Like his theatrical work, Search Party shows Ellams’s versatility and fearlessness as an artist who’s willing to take risks, especially in a show like this, which by its nature will never be the same twice.”
- Theatre Mania
“It’s a luxury to hear Ellams… I highly recommend. Go hang with him.“
- New York Times
“He impressed us with his talent as a performer, with his genuine love of theater, and his unique gift of bonding with an audience.”
- Theatre Pizzazz
“Welcoming, soft-spoken, ultra-casual… but Search Party is… the work of an immensely erudite, multifaceted, and busy artist... His poetry is thoughtful, tender, and muscular.”
- Vulture.
Inua Ellams:
Inua is an award-winning poet, playwright, screenwriter, and performer. His celebrated works include Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall, and The 14th Tale (Fringe First Winner). He has performed at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and internationally, including solo performances at New York’s Lincoln Centre and Sydney Opera House.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Arts, Inua has been awarded an MBE for Services to the Arts and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Arts London. His work explores themes of identity, migration, masculinity, mental health and belonging – crafted with humour, heart and razor-sharp insight.
05Events:
Founded by Inua Ellams, 05 is an events company dedicated to the promotion of literature through live engagement. The aim is to remove barriers between authors and audiences by creating open, playful, nuanced interactions in democratised spaces. 05 is home to ten events, originated and curated by Inua Ellams that celebrate multiple artforms including Poetry, Music, Film, Theatre, Cinema and Storytelling - often simultaneously.
Part of Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival 2026
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Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
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