Poet, Playwright and Educator
Tommy Sissons is an award-winning poet, playwright and educator based between Brighton and London. He is the narrator of Channel 4’s award-winning TV series ‘Four to the Floor’. He has done other work with BBC Radio 1, Red Bull, the Imperial War Museum, the National Trust and the Guardian. His poetry has been studied by creative writing and literature students at the University of Trier in Germany and in addition to this, he has taught spoken word at the V&A Museum and a variety of educational institutes across the country. His debut poetry collection ‘Goodnight Son’ was published in June 2016 by Burning Eye Books. Sissons has performed in venues across the UK such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Roundhouse Theatre and the Birmingham Reparatory Theatre, in addition to festivals such as the Edinburgh Fringe, Latitude, Bestival, Camp Bestival and Boomtown.
One of the recurring themes in my his work is that of law and criminality. Tommy firmly believes that young people can be deterred from a life of crime by the intervention of art and opportunities for artistic expression in education and youth centres. He believes that the collaboration between art and law could be a fantastic vehicle in researching, discussing and then addressing key issues of criminality in our society.
He is particularly keen to work alongside lawyers, judges and police officers in addressing the use of artistic expression as a form or rehabilitation and also as a deterrent from crime. He would be very interested in doing some form of work within the prison system to inform and develop this idea. He would also be very eager to collaborate with art professionals, academics and agitators to create a form of installation on the theme of protest featuring my words alongside provocative art.
