World champion poet heading for Torrington

World Poetry Slam Champion, comic, spoken word supremo and fan favourite Harry Bake is hitting the road again this summer with a new bag of words ready to make you laugh, relate and perhaps even think.

Harry’s new tour Wonderful will be touching down at The Plough Arts Centre in Great Torrington on Friday, July 5.

As a poet, mathematician, stand-up comedian and writer harry has performed all over the world, endearing himself to audiences with great humour but also poignancy and plenty to ponder too.

Recently his work has been shared on TED.com and in recent months his honest, heartfelt and hopeful poems have cut through the fog of social media to reach more than 10 million people on Instagram and TikTok.

But the live stage is his spiritual home and fans can expect brand new poems about wellies, postcodes and his favourite German wheat beer Schöfferhofer.

The maths-loving, TED-talking, German-speaking, battle-rapping, happy-crying, self-bio-writing unashamed human brings his signature playfulness and poignancy that has made him a fan favourite and reached millions of people all over the world.

Harry said: “After the mental health struggles I shared in my last show, this time around the plan was to have a fun time touring a fun show full of fun poems to celebrate coming out of the other side.

“But it hasn’t quite worked out like that. For the first time ever I have been to more funerals than weddings in the last year. I have hit the age where everyone around me is either having babies or talking about having babies or definitely not having babies, and found out first-hand how complicated and painful that can be.

“If anything it is the darkness that helps us to appreciate the light, just as it is the puddles that help us to appreciate the wellies. And what could be more wonderful than sharing all of this with the glorious folk who come along after reading about it in your magazine or newspaper?”

Harry’s versatility has meant he has been as (un)comfortable rising to the top of the UK’s rap battle scene as he has becoming a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Pause For Thought.

He has toured the UK and featured on The Russell Howard Hour as part of everyone’s favourite comedy-rap-jazz duo Harry and Chris and was chosen to perform at the Royal Albert Hall this spring as part of a line-up of the country’s most exciting poets.

This tour will coincide with the release of Harry’s third collection of Poetry (also called Wonderful) published with Burning Eye in May 2024.

For more information and tickets, go to www.theploughartscentre.org.uk or call the box office on 01805 624624.