An open and welcoming celebration of menstrual health, community and powerful poetry
| Lucy Cooper | 3:14 PM (5 hours ago) | ||
to me | |||
HOME Arches provides a space for artists, communities and creative events in the railway arches beneath HOME. And That’s On Period! brought poetry, performance and conversation together for a one night event exploring menstruation, menstrual health and the experiences that surround it. At the centre of the evening was a headline performance from poet Janoma, alongside open mic poetry and a panel discussion with speakers representing The Crimson Wave, Cysters and a PMDD charity.
Janoma’s performance gave the evening a clear artistic focus. Her poetry felt personal and direct, with a strong sense of perspective running through the set. The writing worked best when it stayed close to lived experience, and there was enough variation in tone to stop the performance feeling repetitive.
Her delivery added a lot to the material. Janoma has a strong voice and a confident stage presence, and she used changes in pace and intensity well. Some sections were quieter and more reflective, while others were much more forceful. That helped give the performance shape and made the set feel considered rather than flat.
Movement and theatricality were used to support the poetry rather than distract from it. The words stayed central, but the way Janoma performed them added more impact. One of the most striking moments came at the end when she revealed a bloodied sanitary towel. It was deliberately confronting and tied clearly into the subject of menstruation and the way it is often hidden or sanitised in public conversation.
The poetry also included a number of statistics, which was an interesting choice and helped connect the personal material to wider issues around menstrual health. At times, though, several figures came quite close together, which made some of them harder to absorb. Spacing them out more would have given each one a little more weight.
If anything, it would have been good to hear more poetry from Janoma. A slightly longer set, or a few additional pieces, would have worked well and given the performance more room to develop.
The wider event gave the poetry useful context. A panel brought together speakers from The Crimson Wave, Cysters and a PMDD charity, with each offering a different perspective on menstrual health. The discussion covered subjects including period poverty, menstrual conditions and the challenges people can face when trying to access support.
The panel was accessible and the community feel of the evening suited HOME Arches well. Audience members were able to contribute, which kept the discussion informal and helped the event feel more like an open conversation than a lecture.
The open mic poetry also fitted naturally into the programme and helped keep the creative side of the evening present around the discussion. The mix of poetry, personal experience and information gave the event variety, even if the balance could have allowed a little more time for the poetry overall.
And That’s On Period! worked best when the creative and informative elements fed into each other. Janoma’s poetry gave the evening its strongest performance element, while the panel added broader context and opened the conversation out to the room.
And That’s On Period! was a one night event at HOME Arches, Manchester on 11 August 2026, with no further performances scheduled.