Biography

Rob's live act uses a heady combination of poetry, comedy, storytelling and theatre to explore the world of chaos and adventure that lurks behind the veneer of everyday life.

Rob first acquired a taste for the stage playing King Herod in the school nativity. He started writing poetry when fronting punk rock bands as a teenager.

Based in Leicester, UK, he's performed over three thousand shows, regularly appears on BBC Radio, and is sometimes sent into schools as a warning to children. Rob's is the only performance ever to have instigated a fight at the Leamington Spa Peace Festival.

Rob has also performed The Glastonbury Festival, The Sydney International Poetry Festival, The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and The Austin International Poetry Festival. He performed the Edinburgh Fringe for seven consecutive years and regularly performs on the North American Fringe circuit. He's shared stages with numerous personalities, including Harold Pinter, Jo Brand, Sue Townsend, Jimmy Carr, Omid Djalili, Frankie Boyle, Russell Howard, Sarah Millican, Kate Tempest, Scroobius Pip and John Cooper Clarke.

Poetry Slam victories include The Edinburgh Slam, The Toronto $83 Slam, BBC2's Why Poetry Matters Slam, The Arts Council's Lit Up Slam, The Nottingham Alley Slam, The Ledbury Poetry Slam and The Orlando Poetry Smackdown.

Awards

  • Best of Fest, Calgary, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Saskatoon Fringe Festivals
  • Best Spoken Word, Minnesota and Victoria Fringe Festivals
  • Best Solo Comedy, Orlando and Buxton Fringe Festivals
  • Fringe Favourite, Limerick Fringe
  • Patrons' Pick, Winnipeg Fringe
  • Best Solo Show, Victoria Fringe
  • Best Original Script, Orlando Fringe
  • Best International Show, Orlando Fringe
  • Sold Out Award, Orlando Fringe
  • Best Comedy, Swindon Fringe
  • Impresario Award, London Fringe
  • Make Me Happy Award, Leicester Comedy Festival

Arts and Health

Rob has an extensive experience arts and health profile: he was commissioned by the NHS and Big Difference Company to create The C Word, an comedy game show about the early symptoms of breast, lung and bowel cancer. He's delivered numerous health-based comedy projects in schools and regularly leads creative workshops in mental health settings. He frequently performs at health conferences and has written a trilogy of shows exploring the theme of psychiatry.

Find out more in the Mental Health section.