Open mic and poetry nights in London: how to sign up and what they cost

What this guide covers and how it was checked

This guide is about two kinds of evening: poetry and spoken word nights, where you can watch or read, and open mic nights that take musicians, poets and comedians on the same bill. For each one we give the sign-up rules and prices the organiser itself publishes, because those are the details that decide whether a night works for a date.

Every date, time and price below comes from a page we fetched on 14 October 2026. Several sites did not let us in. The Poetry Society's site and the Southbank Centre's site both refused our requests, and the domain once used by Bang Said the Gun now shows an unrelated gambling page. We have left out anything we could not confirm from a page we read, and we say where that leaves a gap.

Open mic listings change often, and an older listing online can describe a night that has moved or stopped. Where the newest page we could find was more than a year old, we say so, or we have left the night out.

Apples and Snakes: the organisation behind many London nights

Apples and Snakes describes itself on its own site as the home for performance poetry in England. It says it develops and champions performance poets, foregrounds Black British artists, and runs live events, schools work, a spoken word archive, a podcast and the SCRATCH festival. Its address is the Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, SE8 4AG, and its site carries the Arts Council England logo.

According to Wikipedia, the organisation began in 1982 with a poetry performance at the Adam's Arms pub on Conway Street in central London, and has been a registered charity since 1986. Wikipedia lists John Agard, Kae Tempest and Lemn Sissay among the poets it helped develop, and records events at Glastonbury in 1984 and a performance poetry event on London buses in 2001.

For anyone who wants to try reading, the organisation's site offers a newsletter covering artist opportunities and spoken word news. Its What's On page is the simplest place to see its London nights, and its two autumn 2026 events are set out below.

• Apples and SnakesPerformance poetry organisation

  Deptford

  Based at the Albany, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG. Runs Jawdance and one-off shows; lists events on its What's On page.

Jawdance at Brixton House

Jawdance is the Apples and Snakes night its own listing calls London's warmest performance poetry night. The next date on its event page is Wednesday 28 October 2026, from 8pm to 10pm, at Brixton House, 385 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8GL. Tickets are £15 including booking fee, sold through Brixton House.

The night includes an open mic that the page calls a lucky dip, with typically 10 slots, and it says first-timers are welcome. The page does not say whether you put your name down in advance or on the night, so if you want to read, ask the organisers before you go rather than assume a slot.

For a date, the format is useful: the booked poets give the evening a shape, and the open mic means the line-up is partly unknown even to the hosts.

• JawdancePerformance poetry night with open mic

  Brixton

  Wednesday 28 October 2026, 8pm to 10pm, at Brixton House, 385 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8GL. £15 including booking fee; about 10 lucky-dip open mic slots.

More Fire at Woolwich Works

More Fire is a one-night Apples and Snakes show on Thursday 5 November 2026 in the Fireworks Factory at Woolwich Works, 11 No. 1 Street, SE18 6HD. Doors open at 7.30pm and the show runs from 8pm to 10.30pm, according to the Apples and Snakes page.

Woolwich Works lists standard seats at £22 and cabaret seats at £27, each including a £2 booking fee, and says tickets are non-refundable and latecomers are admitted. The billed line-up is The Last Poets (Abiodun Oyewole and Baba Donn Babatunde), Michael Rosen, Inua Ellams, AFLO. the poet, Jordan Stephens, Rakaya Fetuga and David Okodeh, hosted by Yomi Ṣode. Woolwich Works says The Last Poets are returning to the UK for the first time since 2019.

The Apples and Snakes page warns that some performances may contain strong language and adult themes. Neither page mentions an open mic, so treat this as a show to watch rather than a night to read at.

• More Fire at Woolwich WorksOne night performance poetry show

  Woolwich

  Thursday 5 November 2026, doors 7.30pm, show 8pm to 10.30pm. Standard £22, cabaret £27, both including a £2 booking fee; non-refundable.

Free open mics that take poets and musicians

The Gallery Cafe at St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road, E2 9PL, runs a monthly open mic for musicians, poets and comedians. Its page says the night is usually on the last Thursday of the month, except August and December, and lists Thursday 29 October 2026, from 7pm to 9pm with sign-up from 6.30pm. Entry is free, with tickets through Ticket Tailor.

There are eight slots of 8 to 10 minutes. Four can be booked in advance through the online link and four are given out on the door; pre-booked performers choose their slot on the night. Bands are asked to contact the organisers first, because no full backline is provided. The cafe serves a limited evening menu and, its page says, no coffee.

Oxford House, on Derbyshire Street in Bethnal Green, lists two open mic nights on its What's On page: a Black History Month open mic for Black poets, writers and spoken word performers on 21 October 2026, and a Made in the East End open mic on 9 December 2026. Its listing page does not give times, prices or sign-up rules, so check each event page or contact Oxford House on 020 7739 9001.

• Open Mic Night at the Gallery CafeMonthly open mic: music, poetry, comedy

  Bethnal Green

  Usually the last Thursday of the month (not August or December), 7pm to 9pm, free. Eight slots of 8 to 10 minutes, four online and four on the door.

• Oxford HouseCommunity arts venue

  Bethnal Green

  Lists open mic nights on 21 October and 9 December 2026; times and prices are on individual event pages.

BYOB Poetry at Boxpark Croydon

Bring Your Own Bars Poetry, shortened to BYOB Poetry, runs numbered open mic nights at Boxpark Croydon, CR0 1LD, hosted by Woodzy with DJ Haroon. Its July 2026 listing on Ticket Tailor ran from 6.30pm to 10pm, with the show starting at 7pm sharp. Tickets are free, and the listing advises booking because nights often sell out and a ticket guarantees entry.

The rules are stricter than at most open mics. It is 18+ only with photo ID required, and you also need a Boxpark black card, which the listing says is free from Boxpark's website. Open mic sign-up is at the door from 6.30pm, first come first served, and each performer gets one poem or four minutes. The host decides the order and the reserve list.

The most recent date we could read was July 2026. BYOB lists each night separately on Ticket Tailor, so look there for the next one rather than assuming a fixed weekday.

• BYOB PoetryFree poetry open mic

  Croydon

  Free, 18+, photo ID and a free Boxpark black card needed. Door sign-up from 6.30pm; one poem or four minutes each.

The Poetry Society, the National Poetry Library and the Troubadour

The Poetry Society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society and took its current name in 1912, according to Wikipedia, which gives its headquarters as Betterton Street in Covent Garden, alongside the Poetry Café. The society's own site refused our request, so we cannot give the café's current event dates, prices or open mic rules. Check the society's site directly before you go.

The National Poetry Library is on the fifth floor of the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. Wikipedia says it was established in 1953, holds more than 200,000 items and is free to use, with free membership. We could not read the Southbank Centre's own pages, so we give no opening hours or event listings for it; it is a free place to browse before or after a reading on the South Bank.

The Troubadour at 265 to 267 Old Brompton Road, Earls Court, gives 1954 as its founding year on its own site. Wikipedia records Bob Dylan playing there at Christmas 1962 and Paul Simon in June 1964. The page we read mentioned band bookings for October to January but no poetry or open mic nights, so we make no claim about either.

• The TroubadourCafé and music venue

  Earls Court

  265 to 267 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9JA. Founded 1954, its site says; currently booking bands through its Play at the Troubadour page.

Reading at an open mic for the first time

The organisers' own rules point to a few habits. Slot limits are written in poems or minutes, from one poem or four minutes at BYOB to 8 to 10 minutes at the Gallery Cafe, so time your piece at home. Door sign-up is usually first come first served, so turning up when sign-up opens matters more than arriving for the start of the show.

If you are going on a date and only one of you wants to read, a night with a booked bill as well as open slots, such as Jawdance, gives the other person something to watch either way. If neither of you wants to perform, a ticketed show like More Fire is the clearer choice.

We did not find a currently listed queer-specific poetry open mic that we could verify from an organiser's own page on 14 October 2026, so none is named here. Kindrd's guide to queer cabaret, drag and comedy covers LGBTQ+ performance nights more broadly.

Before you go

• Check the organiser's own page for your date: several older open mic listings online describe nights that have moved or stopped.
• If you want to read, find out whether sign-up is online, at the door or a lucky dip, and arrive when sign-up opens.
• Time your piece in advance; slots run from four minutes to about ten depending on the night.
• Bring photo ID to 18+ nights such as BYOB Poetry, and get the free Boxpark black card before you go.
• Ticketed shows such as More Fire are listed as non-refundable, so be sure of the date before booking.

Questions people ask

Are there free poetry open mics in London?

Yes. The Gallery Cafe open mic at St Margaret's House in Bethnal Green is free and usually runs on the last Thursday of the month, and BYOB Poetry's open mics at Boxpark Croydon are free but 18+ with photo ID required, according to their own listings checked on 14 October 2026.

How do I get a slot at an open mic?

It depends on the night. The Gallery Cafe splits its eight slots between four booked online and four given out on the door from 6.30pm. BYOB Poetry signs people up at the door from 6.30pm, first come first served. Jawdance uses a lucky dip of about ten slots.

How much does a ticketed poetry night cost?

Jawdance at Brixton House on 28 October 2026 costs £15 including booking fee. More Fire at Woolwich Works on 5 November 2026 lists standard seats at £22 and cabaret seats at £27, each including a £2 booking fee.

What about the Poetry Café and Bang Said the Gun?

We could not read either organisation's current site on 14 October 2026, so we give no dates or prices for them. The Poetry Society, which runs the Poetry Café, is based on Betterton Street in Covent Garden, according to Wikipedia.

Can musicians play at these open mics?

The Gallery Cafe open mic takes musicians, poets and comedians, but bands should contact the organisers first because no full backline is provided. BYOB Poetry and Jawdance are poetry nights.