Black Country entertainer on getting older and performing as new book is released

A Black Country performer, poet and writer has been busy with a new book and an upcoming performance at an arts festival.

Brendan Hawthorne is set to bring Laughing In The Face of Absurdity, a performance of original songs and poetry that try to make sense of the ludicrous trials and tribulations of modern life through ageing eyes and mind, to the Wheatsheaf in Wolverhampton at the Midlands Fringe at 12.30pm this Saturday (July 25).

Ahead of that, the 65-year-old from Wednesbury has been celebrating the release of his new book Menagerie of Lost Souls, which features a “unique stable of characters presenting a tantalising view into tortured souls”.

He said: “The book itself is illustrated by a fantastic artist named Jason Fullwood and my part in all this is that Jason worked off the stories that I put forward to create the illustrations.

“It’s based on, effectively, a circus-type performance where people share what’s made them in their lives and it’s about talking about all the things that have made them the person they are.

“it’s about making an exhibition of yourself within the context of a show, so the whole premise is for it to not only be read, but also performed as it’s about people exploring their personalities in front of an audience.”

Alongside the launch of his book, Brendan said he was looking forward to his performance on Saturday.

He said: “It’s about laughing in the face of absurdity because, as I’m getting older, more and more things seem to be becoming less and less understandable and much more absurd to an ageing mind.

“It’s really about exploring some of those issues that are age-related and no longer fitting in with where you see society going, so it’s comedy, but very dry, observational comedy.

“It does get interactive as well because I’m a performer who likes to break down a barrier between the performance and the audience and I like them to be involved, at least in understanding where things are coming from, as much of this is going to be in Black Country dialect.”