5x15 Special: Allie Esiri, Tony Robinson, Ruby Wax & others on Sleep Poetry - Live!
Join editor and poetry curator Allie Esiri to celebrate the publication of her new anthology, Sleep: A Poem for Every Quiet Hour of the Night, in a revealing evening of poetry and conversation about sleep, insomnia and the ways poetry can accompany us through the night.
Allie will be joined by a stellar group of actors and thinkers, including Ruby Wax, Lindsay Duncan and Tony Robinson, who will explore the different states of the night — from sleep and the rituals of winding down, through the restless world of insomnia and the embrace of sleeplessness. Together, they’ll consider why poetry feels so naturally suited to these hours, and what it can illuminate about our minds, our bodies and ourselves.
Featuring poems from across centuries and traditions, from Bashō to Charles Bukowski, the evening will bring together poetry, ideas and conversation.
The act of reading poetry invites us to slow down, pay attention and pause. Perhaps poetry accompanies us into these hours because its cadences resemble the body’s own rhythms. Even five minutes of rhythmic verse read aloud, according to Swiss researchers, can measurably quiet the nervous system.
The new anthology, Sleep, offers poems for different moments: the three chapters are called ‘Sleep'; 'Psst Are You Awake' and ‘Dawn'. Known for her live poetry events at the National Theatre and the Hay Festival, Allie brings a warmth, wit and immediacy to poetry in performance.
RUBY WAX is a successful comedian, TV writer and performer of over 25 years. Ruby additionally holds a Masters’ degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for her services to mental health. She is the author of books Sane New World and A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled and has toured all over the world with the accompanying one-woman shows. Both books have reached the number one spot on the Sunday Times bestsellers list and a third book, How to Be Human: The Manual was also a major bestseller. In March 2017 she launched Frazzled café in partnership with Marks & Spencer and has been running daily sessions online at Frazzled.org during the coronavirus lockdown. Her memoir, How do You Want Me? was published with a new introduction in April 2020. To date, Ruby has sold over one million copies of her books worldwide.
Paterson Joseph trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He’s worked extensively on screen, television and in the theatre. Paterson's previous scren credits include Inside No. 9, Peep Show, Green Wing and Grantchester. He is currently filming Tomb Raider for Amazon alongside Sophie Turner. As an established author Paterson's work includes Sancho - An Act of Remembrance (play), The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho (novel) and Ten: Children Who Changed the World (historical biography.)
Nigel Lindsay can most recently be seen in the role of Tom Kendricks in Seasons 1 to 3 of The Capture for BBC/NBC Universal, and has just completed a run of High Society at the Barbican for Trafalgar Theatre Productions. His extensive film and television credits include playing Barry in the BAFTA-winning cult film Four Lions, directed by Chris Morris, a role that earned him a British Comedy Award nomination.
Sir Tony Robinson is an actor, author and historian who has appeared in a variety of films and TV programs throughout his long-spanning career. He started out at age 13 in the original West End production of Oliver! and most notably portrayed the iconic Baldrick in Blackadder. He has won two RTS awards, a BAFTA and the International Prix Jeunesse. He has authored over 30 children’s books and several adult books including his debut fiction novel, House Of The Wolf, in November of 2025. An ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society since 2008, Sir Tony received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2013.
Lindsay Duncan's numerous stage credits include Private Live sopposite Alan Rickman, for which she won Best Actress at the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Critics’ Circle and Variety Club Awards, and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, earning her an Olivier Award and Tony nomination. On television, Lindsay’s recent credits include Truelove, The Morning Show, The Wheel of Time, Sherwood, The Split and Around the World in 80 Days. Her film credits include the Oscar-winning Birdman, About Time, Le Week-End, Prick Up Your Ears, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband, Mansfield Park, Under the Tuscan Sun, Starter for 10 and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.
Diana Quick has appeared on stage at the RSC, RNT, as well as on tour and in the West End; she is particularly keen on new writing for the theatre and screen. On tv she was recently seen in the Chelsea Detective and is probably best remembered as Julia in Granada TV's perennial favourite Brideshead Revisited. This year she has made a short film about a woman recovering from coercive control by her son, Amaretti, which was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and plays the mother of a wizard in Practical Magic 2.Her family memoir A Tug on the Thread, exploring her father's roots in colonial India, was published byVirago, and for 6 years she was director of the Aldeburgh Documentary Festival. She is a regular broadcaster and loves to share poetry and stories in live performance.
