Kill Your Darlings III: Wasted

The third Kill Your Darlings was another truly entertaining night at the Cube Cinema. This time the usual residents Nikesh Shukla, Tom Clutterbuck and Molly Naylor were performing, with Byron Vincent compering, Joe Dunthorne headlining, and the introduction of brand new darling Chimene Suleyman.

Byron was in particularly good form as compere, and surprised us with a variety of special 'celebrity guests'. The first of these was Katie Hopkins (his friend Dave with a wig balanced on top of his head) who gave a profound and pithy response to the performance she'd just witnessed. (I forgot to take a photo of this, but it was reet good.)
 
Following this was Nikesh Shukla, who read for the first time from his forthcoming novel, Meatspace, which was funny, compelling and insightful, and is out July 3 (Why not pre-order a copy now?).

Nikesh Shukla reading from Meatspace

Tom Clutterbuck followed with a bit of new material from his upcoming show about his relationship with weed, and the stigma attached to it, particularly in the world of internet dating. He ended by sparking a conical spliff and left the stage in an over-sized wool hat to Bob Marley not worrying about a thing.

Tom Clutterbuck does a bit from his show

After a bit of comedy, Byron returned with more silliness. Again, in the shape of his friend Dave. This time Dave was wearing a sort of Count Duckula cape, and was - of course - Brian Sewell.

Brian Sewell

Molly Naylor was up next, telling a funny and poignant story in her usual natural and lovely way. This time the story was about friends and loneliness and how difficult life in Spain can be when your only friend is a dead fish.

Who wouldn't be this woman's friend?

After a break, Byron arrived for some more surreal compering. This time he was armed with a sentient (if only!) dog toy called Alan, an easter egg and some other weird things I've forgotten, all with the aim of bribing the audience into clapping. It worked, except for when he revealed that his fear of crowds meant he was incapable of seeing where the sound came from, and so was just chucking the prizes at random. Luckily for us, the Cube audience didn't take back their hand thunder.

Byron receives messages from Alan

Newest darling, Chimene Suleyman was next. She read a few poems beautifully, discouraging the impressed audience from clapping in between, and filling in the gaps between pieces with stories about the writing. Her charisma and humour between poems set off the pathos and beauty of her work.

Chimene Suleyman reads from her forthcoming collection

Finally, it was time for our headliner, Submarine and Wild Abandon author, and Faber poet, Joe Dunthorne. He read a few poems, and then the first part of his new novel, The Adulterers, which is set to be a marvellous follow up to his previous novels: funny, ironic and gripping.

So, if you couldn't make it this time, or haven't been before, then come down next month, and see what you make of the night. All work is new, which means there's the risk it can be rubbish, but equally that you might see something rather special.

This month the theme is Sex so it can't help but be interesting.

Tickets are £5 in advance or £6 on the door. Come along and see what you think. We'd love to meet you.