Carol Ann Duffy with instrumentalist John Sampson

Former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and instrumentalist John Sampson join forces for a unique event of words and music. Duffy performs some of her much-loved poems as well as new work, interspersed with musical interludes by Sampson, a multi-instrumentalist who plays the trumpet, recorders and a plethora of early and obscure wind instruments such as the crumhorn, gemshorn, and cornettino.
Duffy and Sampson have collaborated for 20 years, playing venues from the Hay Festival to Buckingham Palace.


Date	Thursday 13^th November 2025
Time	7:30 PM
Doors Open	6:45 PM
Venue	The Dembe Theatre (Formerly The Court Theatre)

Standard Seats	£20.00
Members earn 5 points per ticket

ABOUT CAROL ANN DUFFY

Carol Ann Duffy lives in Manchester, where she is Professor and Creative Director of the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her poetry has received many awards, including the Signal Prize for Children's Verse, the Whitbread, Forward and T. S. Eliot Prizes, and the Lannan and E. M. Forster Prize in America. She was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2019. Her many collections include Mean Time, Love Poems and The Bees, which won the Costa Poetry Award. She was made a DBE in the 2015 New Year Honours list. In 2021, she was awarded the international lifetime achievement award the Golden Wreath for her achievements in poetry.

ABOUT JOHN SAMPSON

John A Sampson is an Edinburgh-based professional musician, composer and actor. A well known and loved performer on the UK music scene for over forty years and a respected actor for almost as long, he has also appeared extensively on the continent.

He is also well-known for his collaborations with poets - particularly a wonderfully successful 20-year association with poet-laureate Carol Ann Duffy during which their interplay of words and music has received rave reviews all over the UK.