Lance Pierson Performer

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Fringe
John Betjeman Photo courtesy of Jane Bown

 


Pierson rightly pushes Betjeman as a serious, purposeful poet, against a populist view of him as "‘jolly" and "the nation's favourite teddy bear" which ignores and denies him the real depth of some of his poetry, as well as his roles as conservationist and critic and the honest "jobbing writer" he had to be to live and bring up a family. Edinburgh Guide, Bill Dunlop

The Fringe

Lance first took part in the Edinburgh fringe in 2007. He brought his one-man show John Betjeman's Life in Verse to St Cuthbert's Parish Church for seven performances. The show takes you through Betjeman's life story using his autobiographical poems as a guide. Three Weeks magazine saw the show and said:

The very performance Lance produces adds to the resonance and beauty of the verse tenfold; performance poetry is an art in which he truly thrives. His vocal range is hypnotic and limitless. Three Weeks magazine, 2007

He returned to the Fringe in 2008 with his show The Best of John Betjeman. This show aimed to give an overview of Betjeman’s best work; including the poems he considered his greatest, together with those which have made him so famous. Three Weeks magazine reviewed the show again and said:

Betjeman's poetry became magical with Lance Pierson's 'epileptic animation'. The sheer enthusiasm and clear love for Betjeman's work that Lance projects make for a truly enjoyable experience. Three Weeks magazine, 2008

In 2009 Lance returned with an updated show taking the best poems from his first two shows to help tell Betjeman’s life story. The show was split across two hours, the first hour covering 1906 to the start of the Second World War. The second covered the War and the rest of Betjeman’s life until 1984.

Praise for the 2009 show


Lance Pierson is surprisingly good at what he does, which is bringing Betjeman’s poetry to life. He does it in his own individual, personal style. It is individual, idiosyncratic and it works. What he doesn’t do, and all credit to him, is try to be John Betjeman. He doesn’t need to. He has the measure of the man and brings Betjeman to life through his poetry, his words and some well-chosen comments which are concise, apposite and relevant. Broadway Baby, Leon Conrad

Filling the packed room with his projected tones, Pierson doesn't just recite the former Poet Laureate's words; he truly acts them. With an almost child-like expressiveness, yet never straying into over-acting, Pierson brought out both the pathos and the humour of Betjeman's poems. His stunning vocal range compellingly evoked a vast cast of characters including, of course, the great man himself; it was fascinating and enlightening to hear such a skilful practitioner work with the lines I've only ever heard in my own voice, in my own head. FringeGuru, Richard Stamp


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