John Berkavitch is a former UK Slam Poetry Champion, Internationally acclaimed Storyteller, accomplished Breakdancer, Digital Artist and Animator.
His work has taken him from major theatres such as the Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company to festivals like Glastonbury, Latitude and Hay Festival.
This year he’s back bimbling at Glastonbury as the festival’s poet-in-residence for 2025 and he took time out of preparations to tell us about his plans.
Q&A with John Berkavitch
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a multidisciplinary, Neurodivergent artist from Leicester. I grew up in a family of 7 siblings and 5 of whom were adopted.
I started as a Graffiti artist and a rapper when I was 12 years old. I’ve always been interested in communication and found a lot of cross over between the different art forms. I started breakdancing when I was 17 and one day when I was in my early 20’s I realised I wanted to be a poet.
I worked part time jobs for a few years and drove around the country in the evenings to travel to poetry events and started building a body of work.
In 2005 my brother and I performed at Glastonbury on the Poetry & Words stage. I met a lot of other poets and performers at Glastonbury and became part of a thing called OneTaste Collective who hosted regular events at the Bedford in Ballam.
In 2006 I met a man named Jonzi D and through a sequence of well-timed conversations ended up making a hip hop-theatre show with Jonzi called TAG. A year later I won the UK Poetry Slam championships and have continued making work for live performance ever since.
How did you get into live performance?
I think a large part of it is due to coming from a big family. When we were kids it took a certain level of theatrics to make you stand out from the herd.
What’s it like to be performing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival?
It feels like a full-circle moment. I first performed at the festival 20 years ago and have loved every festival I’ve been to. There’s something incredibly special about Glastonbury and the idea of weaving myself into that and giving voice to some of this magic is exhilarating.
What can you tell us about your plans for the show/s?
On Friday I have a short set on the Cabaret stage and will be introducing the BSL Poet Laureate. I have recently completed my Level 2 BSL qualification so I’m excited and nervous about being able to communicate with a whole community of people who have previously been strangers to me.
On Sunday I will be performing a longer set at Poetry & Words and I plan to include elements of mime, music and visual imagery.
I also plan to find gaps on a stage somewhere in the festival every day to perform pieces I’m writing in response to things I’m experiencing whilst here.
How do you approach performing at a festival like this?
Lean into the unexpected. Embrace the chaos. There are 3 partners in performance; The Audience, The Performer and The Environment. I plan to use the environment and audiences to inform what and how I perform.
Will you be checking out any other acts across the weekend?
Yes. I have perfected the art of Bimbling. I make no plans and just roam the festival. I am hoping to catch a few specific things so will plot my paths accordingly by mainly I’m excited to check out the smaller tents and stages to find people I haven’t seen before and discover my new favourite things.
Glastonbury Festival 2025 takes place from 25 to 29 June
Read his first poem of the festival, Here’s to You, Glastonbury, here
