Ode to Leeds

There's always a pause,
between the inhale and the first word.
The room is silent.
Butterflies collide.
The words begin to rise up inside of you;
Metaphors and similes contort like question marks.
Your mouth unhinges,
You speak

Five young poets from Leeds are selected to compete at the world's most prestigious international poetry slam competition in New York City.

Fuelled by love, pride and passionate protest, their words light fires to show the world who they are and what they can be. But the determination to be crowned International Slam Champions threatens to overwhelm everything. As the competition draws closer, the poets are forced to discover not just their voices, but what they must find the courage to say.

Ode to Leeds is a funny and moving coming-of-age story; a celebration of Leeds and language; and an ode to the art that changed Nyoni's own life. It blends spoken word poetry, heart and soul to provide a poignant and uplifting portrait of the city of Leeds.

The play received its world premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, on 10 June 2017.

Zodwa Nyoni is a Zimbabwean-born playwright and poet based in Leeds, UK. As winner of the Channel 4 Playwright's Scheme, she was Writer-in-Residence at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2014. Her first full-length play, Boi Boi is Dead, was shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2014/15. Other theatre credits include: Tangled Roots (2014), Nine Lives (2014), Come To Where I'm From (2013), The Market (2013), Di Daakes' Part A Di Night (2013), Home Has Died (2012), Why The Drought Returns (2012), The Night Shift (2011) and The Povo Die Till Freedom Comes (2010). She has been the recipient of the following awards: Award for the Arts 2011 (Leeds Black Awards) and the Young Black and Asian Writers Award (The Big Issue in the North's Short Story Competition 2011).