Apples and Snakes: Managers’ Match
Ninety minutes of fast-paced, thought-provoking poetry performances from top-of-the-table poets ready to leave it all on the pitch.
A performance poetry showdown of England’s finest poets!
Presented as part of WORDCUP2026, Managers’ Match sees the lead poet facilitators of the WORDCUP teams take to the pitch for 90 minutes of fast-paced and thought-provoking poetry performances.
Featuring: John Bernard, Kat François, Khadijah Ibrahiim, Zohab Zee Khan, Muneera Pilgrim, Reece Williams and Antosh Wojcik.
Plus, freshly created works by Nasima Bee, Eileen Gbagbo, Rayna Mulligan, Hannah Newton, Yvette Santana, Kavien Sribala and Akeim Toussaint.
Hosted by Ty’rone Haughton.
WORDCUP is a national performance poetry project working with people aged 13 to 16 to encourage self expression and raise self-esteem. It develops writing and performance skills, encourages working in a team and enables young people to share what is important to them on a national stage, showing that their voice is powerful and deserves to be heard.
Apples and Snakes is the national organisation for performance poetry. It develops performance poets, produces live events, runs transformative workshops and projects and connects poets with schools, libraries, festivals and communities across England. Known for its fearless, high quality and innovative approach it is dedicated to bringing the best in performance poetry to wider audiences.
Need to know
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
11 Jul 2026, 4.30pm
Run time
1 hour and 30 minutes (approx)
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Standard entry
Free – no ticket required
Concessions
Learn more about concession discounts
Refunds and exchanges
Find out more about our refund and exchange policy
Make a donation
Help us open up the arts to everyone by making a one-off or a recurring donation.
For your visit
This event is held at the The Clore Ballroom Southbank Centre
The Clore Ballroom is open six days a week.
Tuesday, 10am – 6pm*
Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
*If we’re hosting a performance, the building will stay open until the event ends.
Plan your visit
The Clore Ballroom is located inside our Royal Festival Hall on Level 2.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
There is step-free access to The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, via a ramp.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
Next to The Clore Ballroom is our Ballroom Cafe where you can grab a coffee and a piece of freshly made cake. Also on Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.