14 February 2025
Three outstanding young performers have won the London heats for the prestigious Roundhouse Poetry Slam on their first time entering the competition – and for one poet, their first time ever performing spoken word.
The winners will now advance to the Roundhouse Poetry Slam Final in partnership with Taylor Wessing, where they will perform their work in the Roundhouse’s iconic main space. The trio won over judges and renowned poets Arji Manuelpillai, Tife Kusoro, and Maureen Onwunali across three heats on Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 of March at the Roundhouse Studio Theatre.
Thomas Egbujie, the winner of Thursday’s heat, is from Enfield and has performed in local Slams before but not on a national level. Tuesday’s heat was won by Croydon’s Shermya Modupe, who had never entered a Slam before. Sky Frances, originally from Newcastle and now based in London, won Wednesday’s heat despite it being their first time ever attending a live poetry event.
The Final of the Roundhouse Poetry Slam will be held on Thursday 17 April in the iconic main space in London’s Roundhouse, where the London winners will join other finalists from last week’s Liverpool and Leeds heats, and upcoming heats in Bristol and online to perform their work live in person and in front of a global online audience.
2025 marks the 20th edition of the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, one of the most respected poetry slams in the UK. This year, the Roundhouse Poetry Slam Final will form part of Roundhouse Three Sixty, a brand-new festival of music and culture.
The Final will be broadcast live on the Roundhouse YouTube Channel by young creatives participating in the Roundhouse Behind the Lens course in live TV broadcast and content creation.
Shermya Modupe, winner of the Tuesday London heat for the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, said: “I know that the quality of artistry at the Final is going to be immense. Even at the heat I was hearing bars and thinking ‘oh my god I wish I’d thought of that’. So I know the Final’s going to be incredible. I’m feeling excited, I’m feeling ready to go.”
Sky Frances, winner of the Wednesday London heat for the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, said: “I’m on a journey of doing this to push myself and learn what I can do. So it’s a real privilege that I get to push to that next level and have the experience of performing in the Final. I’m excited for it – and terrified.”
Thomas Egbujie, winner of the Thursday London heat for the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, said: “I love poetry, and I love writing poetry and I love performing for an audience, no matter where it is or what the conditions are. But to have the competitive aspect and the tension in the air, and to be able to perform in multiple rounds, multiple poems on the same night – you can’t beat it. Slams excite me so much. They’re just incredible to be a part of.”
Arji Manuelpillai, judge of the London heats for the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, said: “What other places are there where young people can get up and say what they really feel in their heart? There’s not many places. And now with the state that we are in, there’s words being thrown around left, right and centre whether it be online or in real life. But at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, young people have sat down and crafted words and then have come on stage and shared that. That in itself is a miracle.
“We’re in a weird time because a lot of things have moved online, so it’s really important that venues like Roundhouse are bringing things together to say hey, we believe in real life interaction. The interaction of the poet with the audience, and then the audience speaking about the poems in between. I love to see audience members coming up to the poets and speaking to them about their work. Poetry is about sharing and it’s about opening up a dialogue. And I feel like this Slam competition really does that. It brings the dialogue to the foreground.”