Poetry at Duchess Lounge

Stiek uit for a vast night of queer storytelling. Three poets will be taking you on a beaulah verse journey, followed by an open mic session.

There will be dora available during the performances. So moenie shiela wees nie en come share space, gayle jou gayle or just come humble and hester.

An evening for the queers by the queers.

Meet the Poets:

Amy “Brown” Hendrickse grew up eating suurangs and dreaming in the Fynbos surrounding a seaside lobe of the Cape Flats called Strandfontein. Brown is the always-hungry child of munificent Mothers and skilled craftsmen. Their multi-sensory stories are channelled through the lens of Hip Hop’s Knowledge of Self principles. A decade of contribution to Cape Town’s artistic web as a celebrated writer, performer and filmmaker has empowered their artivist intention – transmuting visibility into representation. Brown is currently re-collecting recipes & poetry for their debut written offering, Kummbuis Taal.

Dianne Du Toit Albertze is an award-winning writer from Namaqualand. She studied drama at Stellenbosch University, and completed her honours degree in directing in 2018. In the same year, her solo show Die Meermin Kompleks received three Kanna nominations, including Best New Script as well as winning Best Upcoming Artist at KKNK. Her seminal novel Bottelnek breek bek was published by Human & Rousseau in 2022 and is considered the first fully-fledged trans novel, and was shortlisted for the Jan Rabie-Rapport prize, among others. She received the Reinet Nagtegaal text prize in 2025 for Huis van sand, with the production receiving 9 Fiesta nominations including Best New South African Script.

Lady D | BYTHELETTER is a multisensory, sonic storyteller and self-proclaimed colonized queer Being. Her performances are not passive encounters; they’re confrontations with memory, selfhood, and everything we hide behind. Delivered with a raw, unwavering presence, she pulls audiences into a space where discomfort becomes revelation and vulnerability becomes power.

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