Shaun aka Evoke, is predominantly known for his ventures in ‘Spoken Word Poetry’ which he describes as ‘the ability to paint images in your imagination with verbal words’.

He began writing poetry and performing as a hobby and immediately made his presence felt on the open-mic scene at local bars and cafes around Birmingham. After being talent spotted he then went on to grace the stage of many theatres, festivals and conferences across the UK.

In 2010 he produced his first short poetical film commissioned by the NHS to raise awareness of the stigmas of mental health called ‘The Revolving Door’ and on the close of the year he embarked on a national tour as one of the pioneers of ‘grime theatre’ in the ‘Decypher Collective’ showcasing their theatrical Show ‘8SIXTEEN32’.

With two national tours and an influential film under his belt, he soon realised the transformational power of creativity and spoken word poetry and decided to share his experience with people who wanted to learn how to write creatively and improve their self-awareness and self-confidence.

To date Shaun now has an ardent interest in sharing his experiences and creative skills with youths and actively runs creative writing and entrepreneurial workshops that engage people to use their greatest tool for the expression of their ideas – their imagination.

Brief background

*short broad list of recent activity:

Testimonials

“There are very few people who can adapt their craft to suit the needs of others and still make it a first-class performance; Evoke made this look easy.”

Mandeep Malhi – Creative Practitioner

“Evoke had performance skills which really captured the attention and interest of the young people, this helped motivate them in their own creativity.”

Geese theatre Company Member

“Your talk was exactly what we were after and you could just tell from looking at the kids faces that they were all inspired by what you had to say (I was inspired by what you said!) Talking to their teachers, they felt that the message you gave was really perfect and they were thrilled to see their pupils listening so intently.”

Claire Adlam – Marketing Executive Gloucestershire College

“The young people looked up to him as their role-model while learning the art of poetry, but for me the most rewarding part was witnessing how Shaun helped in building their confidence. Schools are great and they have there place but the skills I saw them take away from our workshop was something they’d never experience in the classroom. Shaun became there friend and teacher and for some a hero (although he’d never admit this). It was a pleasure working with Shaun, till the next time!”

mmsix – Creative Practitioner/Graphic Designer

“The legacy for the ‘Opening Up Culture’ event at Tate Modern finished with a spectacular performance from Evoke who showed not only how powerful language can be for blind and partially sighted audiences but all audiences. His style, passion and inspiring performance is a lasting legacy for Vanely Burke’s photography and for the arts nationally and internationally.”

Zoe Partington-Sollinger, Director of AIO

“It was an inspirational experience for me working with Shaun and his colleagues when they were asked to produce a film exploring the stigma in communities against people with mental health issues. Shaun worked closely with our team and other stakeholders, dealing with feedback and making amendments speedily, while at the same time remaining true to the integrity and message of the film. The work that was produced was beyond our expectations in terms of quality and impact and we have been thrilled at the numbers of people who have connected with its message. We have developed a whole programme of anti-stigma work using the Revolving Door film and it has been picked up as a model of good practice in many other parts of the country. We have even had requests for the film from other parts of the world.
We learned a lot from working with Shaun as, although we are not filmmakers, we knew what we wanted and Shaun understood perfectly and produced the goods. We cannot thank him enough for the commitment, dedication, energy and creativity he brought to the project.”

Lakhvir Rellon, Director of Community Engagement, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust