Angela Graham considers what a poetic text gains from performance by an actor:

As a film maker and screenwriter, I have always been interested in the relationship between words in the script and the actor. As a poet, I enjoy considering the differing impacts of poetry read to oneself from the text; poetry heard via a reading from the text and poetry performed. The actor, Finlay James made this video of my poem, Watching the Bridegroom, during a period of strict lockdown, with no location access, few props etc. It exemplifies how performance of poetry, in this case on camera via the close-up, affords a particular range of access to a poem: intimacy, nuance of tone and expression and (something I value especially) an effective use of delivery pace – pause, acceleration, deceleration. Together these techniques allow the emotions in the poem to be, literally, embodied.

A single line, which I knew was problematic (and is the point of perception within the poem), had its weakness demonstrated unmistakably by the performance. Finlay delivers the line as written: ‘One, he wants to be with her.’  I immediately realised that, to increase its chances of conveying what I intend, it would be better as, ‘He wants to be – one – with her.’ One-ness attracts us and terrifies us, especially that ‘one flesh’ of sexual union. I look forward to more actor/poet collaborations.