Performed by Antosh Wojcik | Directed by Yael Shavit

UK Tour: 27th April – 19th October

PRESS NIGHT: Thursday 23rd May 7.30pm, Rich Mix

“Original, tender, funny and moving” ★★★★★ BritishTheatre.com

@antoshwojcik ‏ | #HowToKeepTime

Following in the footsteps of a successful Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018 run, Antosh Wojcik’s mesmeric display of live drumming and spoken word returns for a UK tour. As poems becomes beats, and beats become glitches in time, Antosh’s debut stage show, How to Keep Time, tells the moving story of his Polish grandfather’s struggle against vascular dementia and the effect it had on the people around them. Using just his voice and a Roland TD-4KP electric drumkit, Antosh attempts to humanise memory loss through assigning rhythms to family members.

Antosh Wojcik said, “I want to de-stigmatise dementia and give it a human voice. By combining spoken word with music, I want to unlock some critical questions about memory and language. What happens when memories disappear? Where do they go and can we get them back? Can I use my drums to communicate with my grandfather?”

This dynamic solo show was a breakout hit of Edinburgh Fringe 2018 at Summerhall, attracting one five-star and three four-star reviews and a huge number of social media posts. Audiences described How to Keep Time variously as “Indescribably brilliant”, “Deeply powerful”, “A suggestive, expansive gift of a show”, “Moving, insightful & original”, “An unbelievably powerful & beautiful hour” and “Totally unique and powerful … will lodge itself permanently in a corner of your brain”.

Photograph: Madeleine Rose

How to Keep Time is produced by award-winning live literature company Penned in the Margins (Twenty Theatres to See Before You Die, Fair Field). Early versions were presented at Shoreditch Town Hall, Camden People’s Theatre, Iklectik, Roundhouse, Verve Poetry Festival and Southampton’s Nuffield Theatre. Antosh Wojcik is a poet, performer, writer, facilitator. He is a Resident Artist at The Roundhouse and is a member of London-based poetry collectives, Kid Glove and Burn After Reading. Antosh was joint champion of the Roundhouse Poetry Slam 2013 and has performed at many events around the UK, including TEDx East End 2015 and festivals such as Glastonbury, Latitude and Bestival, as well as internationally at Sofia Poetics 2015. He was part of The Last Poets’ Speak Up Newcomer Tour 2015, in which he was commissioned with three other poets to write and perform a collaborative piece responding to ‘This Is Madness.’ He leads writing workshops in schools and other contexts for all ages.

Yael Shavit is a director and dramaturg and develops stories and live performances with writers, actors and community groups. Recent projects include A Dangerous Woman by Manjeet Mann (Soho Theatre), Until You Hear That Bell by Sean Mahoney (BAC/ Unicorn/ Summerhall) How To Die Of A Broken Heart by Femi Martin (Talawa), Begin Again (Unicorn intergenerational project) and Dark Corners by Polarbear (BAC/Birmingham Rep). Yael is currently collaborating with artist Olivia Plender on a film project for the ICA and working with Polarbear to develop a new play for young people with the Unicorn Theatre/ BAC. Yael worked as script consultant on Roughhouse by Jonathan Hodgson which won the short animation BAFTA in 2019 and continues to read for Film London. She teaches acting and writing for stage and screen at Central School of Speech and Drama and is a recipient of the Jerwood Directors Award.

Tour dates

27 April Nonsuch Studios, Nottingham
97 Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham, NG1 1EH
5.30pm | £9
Book now | 0115 837 1950

15 May The Woodville, Gravesend
Woodville Place, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1DD
8pm | £13.50 – £11.50
Book now | 08442 439 480

22 May Norwich Arts Centre
St Benedict’s Street, Norwich, NR2 4PG
Book now | 01603 660352

23 & 24 May Rich Mix, London
35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
7.30pm | £10
Book now | 020 7613 7498

5 June Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
Queen’s Square, Queen Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2SP
7.45pm | £12 – £8
Book now | 01484 430 528

27 July Port Eliot Festival, Cornwall
St Germans, Saltash, PL12 5ND
porteliotfestival.com

21 Sept Gulbenkian, Canterbury
University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NB
thegulbenkian.co.uk | 01227 769075

22 Sept The Albany, London
Douglas Way, London, SE8 4AG
www.thealbany.org.uk | 020 8692 4446

4 Oct The Place, Bedford
Bradgate Road, Bedford, MK40 3DE
www.theplacebedford.org.uk | 01234 354 321

16 Oct Theatre Deli, Sheffield
202 Eyre Street, Sheffield, S1 4QZ
www.theatredeli.co.uk

18 Oct Theatre Shop, Clevedon
Unit 5 Queens Square, Clevedon, Bs21 6HX
www.theatreshop.org.uk

19 Oct Phoenix, Exeter
Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
www.exeterphoenix.org.uk | 01392 667 080