Brexit furore at heart of Matt Abbott's poetry gig coming to Preston

Two Little Ducks is Abbott’s acclaimed set of poems examining Britain today and the crisis that the nation has found itself in.

The work has helped establish the former frontman of alternative-pop band Skint & Demoralised as one of the UK’s leading performance poets.

Abbott calls upon diverse experiences, ranging from his home-town of Wakefield – where two thirds of the population voted Leave – to his work as a volunteer in Calais Jungle refugee camp, to question what being British means in 2019.

He said: “There are two reasons why I wrote this show. Firstly, I was fed up of people labelling all Leave voters as ‘thick, ignorant, racist Northerners’.

"My home city of Wakefield voted 66 per cent Leave, and through my heritage and my upbringing, I understand a lot of the reasons why. And the way that Brexit’s playing out at the moment is only heightening the damaging social divides that were caused by the referendum.

“Secondly, I’m still shocked by the dehumanisation of refugees at the moment - not just a lack of sympathy but real vitriolic hatred. And much as it doesn’t apply to most Leave voters, there is unfortunately an overlap when it comes to the Brexit movement and anti-refugee sentiment.

“So, to perform the show in Preston, which voted 53.3 per cent Leave, is really important to me.”

Two Little Ducks comes to Vinyl Tap in Adelphi Street on Wednesday, February 13 at 8pm. Tickets are £5 on the door.