I had an absolutely brilliant time on Monday 1st July 2024 working as part of the crew for this year’s Poetry by Heart Grand Finale.

Poetry by Heart is England’s national poetry recitation competition for young people. For the finale, 100 young finalists, aged from 7 to 18, traveled to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre from across the country to perform poems they chose to learn by heart and to compete for the title of Poetry By Heart National Champion.

I’d attended the finale in previous years as an audience member but this was my first time working as crew. My role was to prep performers, leading them through some warm up exercises and explaining what would happen on stage. Then, it was time to head upstairs to the ‘tiring house’ and then the backstage area where the young people waited their turn. I then got to go on stage and act as their prompter if needed.

It was an incredible thing to be onstage at the globe but what really blew me away was watching these young people, who were often very nervous in the lead-up, step onto the stage and shine.

There were so many supportive people around them: parents, teachers, friends etc., reassuring them and it was clear that so much time and effort had gone into getting them to the finale. But on stage, it was all on them. And every time it was like watching an airplane take off as they stepped forward and started to soar. Over and over again, these amazing young people began to fill this world-famous theatre with their voice and presence. It was completely remarkable to see and I was absolutely in tears by the time the winners were announced. I was so happy for everything these young people achieved.