Off The Shelf Festival
The Night Alphabet – Joelle Taylor
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Award winning poet Joelle Taylor performs a staged reading from her acclaimed debut novel, The Night Alphabet. Hackney, 2023 – a woman walks into a tattoo parlour.  Her body is covered with tattoos, but she wants to add a final inking to her gallery – a thin line connecting the haunting images of her body art together.  If you follow the line, what extraordinary stories will the images tell you?  Set across histories and geographies, illustrated with animations of the tattoos, The Night Alphabet is a furious, gripping, dystopian story and a bold investigation into violence, resilience and women’s stories.  The performance is directed by acclaimed theatre maker Neil Bartlett.

Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry. Her most recent, C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 TS Eliot Prize and the 2022 Polari Book Prize for LGBT authors.

Neil Bartlett has made theatre everywhere from the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to the National Theatre including Orlando and a live version of Derek Jarman’s film Blue.

The Night Alphabet is a kaleidoscopic novel that daringly enters worlds that are outside our own.  Joelle is a rare and brilliant writer…”  Jasmine Palmer

Books will be on sale at the event and can also be ordered here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/off-the-shelf-2024

About the company

We’re delighted to bring you an exciting, extensive and our most diverse festival ever this Autumn! We’ve some of the best names in writing, arts and media as well as new rising stars. From ABBA to Artificial Intelligence, history to Hip Hop, Japanese fiction to Dutch graphic novels, miners to mudlarking plus nature, cosy crime, poetry and speed dating (a publisher!) this year’s festival gives you the chance to dive into the wonderful world of books and ideas and reflect on issues that affect all.

We look forward to seeing you!

Off the Shelf team

With thanks to our guest curators and partners who have enriched and brought a new perspective to the Festival: Kerry Hudson. Esmie Jikiem-Pearson. Andrew McMillan. Ruth McDonald. Vicky Morris. Sunjeev Sahota. Faber Academy. Headline Publishing Group. Hive South Yorkshire. Japan Foundation. Poetry Translation Centre. Sheffield Hallam University.

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Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Dates & times

Tickets for this event are sold through our box office.

Tickets are available online 24 hours a day, by clicking the button above.

Telephone and in-person ticket sales are open Monday to Friday 12pm – 5pm, and 1 hour before each performance.

Tel: 0114 327 3456

Access
The Montgomery is currently undergoing redevelopment works to make the building accessible. Access information will be updated in due course.

It is not currently possible to book access seats online.
If you require assistance booking these seats during our closure please send an email to info@themontgomery.org.uk with your telephone number and we will call you back.
Getting Here

Public Transport

The nearest tram stop is Cathedral, within 5 minutes’ walk.
Buses stopping at the Arundel Gate interchanges are within 5 minutes’ walk.
Sheffield Train Station is approximately a 10 minute walk from the venue.

By Car

Access to Surrey Street is via Arundel Gate, onto Norfolk Street. A the top of Norfolk Street, turn right. The Montgomery is on the right side, facing the Town Hall.

A loading bay is available immediately in front of the theatre, and hourly on-street parking is available.

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