Member Article

Kezzabelle Ambler's one woman show seeks to impress mental health decision makers

Kezzabelle Ambler, renowned as ‘Mistress of Mischief and Wordsmith Wench’, began her ‘Permission to Love Yourself’ tour at The Playhouse Theatre Northampton opened by singer and presenter Yvonne Michele. The tour also aims to encourage mental health decision-makers to invite Kezzabelle’s ‘Weaving Words’ workshops into their acute psychiatric wards, wellbeing charities and community groups. She currently visits one of the acute wards in Northamptonshire weekly, supported by an Occupational Therapist (OT).

As the 11th Bard of Northampton, Kezzabelle has been making an impression in NHS services in the Midlands for 8 years. Her plan is to take the one-woman spoken word show to the next level nationally and internationally. She is now confirming other one-woman show events in Bedford, Birmingham, Devon, Nottingham and London. She plans to progressively include a workshop at the town or city of every venue she performs at. Kezzabelle’s mission is to help people to express, heal and play with words, spoken and written. Her vocation has seen her perform at festivals, community cafés such as Johnny's Happy Place, galleries, literary events, retreats and acute psychiatric wards.

On Thursday, 15th June, The Playhouse Theatre Northampton doors opened for the debut performance of ‘Permission to Love Yourself’, welcoming an intimate audience from far and wide. Her evening’s wordsmithery took the audience on an emotional journey, sharing her experiences over the past four years, poems written through lockdown, times in her life that had impacted her deeply, observations and ‘imaginings.’ She invited everyone into her world, where she shared her vulnerability and humour in poems such as Oyster Mind, Drumming Dream, Emergency Muse, and Beginning Is Now.

During the performance there were moments for reflection, sadness, surprises and time for laughter. The finale literally brought the audience to their feet as they danced in the seats and aisles. This first night is just the start for Kezzabelle, whose book and audiobook ‘Permission to Love Yourself’ has ‘A Weaving Words Experience’ App coming out later in the year to complement it. She knows she cannot reach everyone in person so the App will help those who want to access the tools for self-expression, no matter who or where they are. The App project will include daily affirmations, positive encouragement, filmed prompts, workshops, and monthly webinars with Kezzabelle for her Word Weaving Community to simply ‘watch, pause and write’.

Accompanying Kezzabelle on her tour is Yvonne Michele, an award-winning singer and coach. During her performance, she asked for lights to come up as the audience switched their phones to selfie mode and sang to themselves a song called ‘I Really Love You’. Yvonne’s message is “to fall madly in love with yourself, appreciate, accept, acknowledge, align and affirm love for yourself before you do that with anyone else.” In her hometown of Kettering, Kezzabelle is curating, hosting and performing all day at KettFest on Sat 15th July, plus the first the Kettering Festival of Literature on 16th September.

Kezzabelle said, “I would like to combine Weaving Words workshops with every live performance in each town and city I go to, to pass forward what I have learned. Expressing ourselves openly and honestly can teach us so much. There is no wrong or right to free writing, just make a start and scribble down your thoughts. Sometimes a tear may land on the page before or after processing life and emotions. When I facilitate my workshops, I say, “Empty your mind onto the page”, and then we can highlight some key words for ideas for a title or a foundation of a piece or poem or simply turn the page and start afresh. The time given varies for acute psychiatric wards; people write for minutes, sometimes seconds, depending on concentration levels. Sometimes we draw and colour pictures first whilst chatting, or I read my poems to them. When offloading, some people may laugh who haven’t laughed for years. It’s so cathartic. It’s all about creating inclusivity and accessibility for all needs.”

11th Bard of Northampton, Kezzabelle Ambler is a published performance poet. Her latest book and audiobook, ‘Permission to Love Yourself’, stands as a resounding message for 2023, following her previous publication called ‘Permission to Speak’. Through her spoken word performances, Kezzabelle seeks to bless, encourage, and connect with those who cross her path, intertwining her artistry with ‘Weaving Words Creative Writing Workshops’, captivating audiences at festivals, art galleries, acute psychiatric wards, community cafes and retreats.

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