Poet's play set to spread happiness

A Hartlepool poet has penned a play about how to be kinder to each other.
Kirsten Luckins.Kirsten Luckins.
Kirsten Luckins.

And she has taken her inspiration from talking to Teessiders about what makes us the happiest.

Kirsten Luckins is a poet, spoken word performer and award nominee whose new show ‘The Trouble with Compassion’ is set to teach people a thing or two about being kinder to each other.

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The poetry-based show is all about being more compassionate and what it means in today’s society, and how we can all take some time out from our busy lives to be just that bit nicer.

In a world where worries have taken over and social media is increasingly bringing out the darker side of people’s personalities, Kirsten’s show has a local twist that might just make Teessiders think twice before casting an unkind word.

To develop the show, she spent time in communities around Stockton and held a drop in centre at ARC, to have informal ‘heart-to-heart’ sessions to find out what would make someone’s perfect day.

From the conversations that came about, she then recorded herself relaying each person’s ‘perfect day’ and added in some meditation techniques so people had their very own tape of positivity to take home.

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She said: “The show, and the collection of poems that goes with it, is inspired by my stumbling attempts to be a more compassionate person by using meditation techniques.

“The emphasis is definitely as much on the ‘trouble’ as on the ‘compassion’, and I hope my audience will go home feeling entertained, amused and uplifted.”

The play will be performed today at Hartlepool Central Library and at ARC on Thursday at 5.30pm.