About

Passionate, political, funny & fearless. Welcome to SoapBox

SoapBox is an independent producer of spoken word, poetry and music events, based in Suffolk. We also make gorgeous artworks and installations from recycled materials, decorating both our own events, and others.

We pride ourselves on curating high quality events that aim to surprise, challenge and entertain in equal measure. We have worked with Festivals, Schools, Universities and Private Parties so please get in touch if you would like a performer or workshop for your event. Past clients include: Woodbridge Youth Poetry Festival, Future Female Society, Petta Fiesta, Ipswich MayDay, Primadonna Festival, Global Rhythm, East Anglian Storytelling Festival, Maui Waui, Wild Tree Fair, Harlequin, FolkEast, Maui Waui, and the Pacitti Company's SPILL Festival of Performance.

SoapBox began as an Open Mic in Ipswich in 2006 and eighteen years later, we are still finding and developing new talent. Its one part of this job that we love the most. We love artists who take chances. Performers who have opinions and whose passion for their art can be felt by everyone in the room. We work with the most exciting, contemporary poets and musicians in the UK, and create performance opportunties for new artists to hone their craft. We are passionate cheerleaders for every single person who is brave enough to take the stage and share their art with the world.

We manage every aspect of our events, from sourcing new acts, to ensuring it runs smoothly. We are very proud to say that we handmake all of our own decor from recyled materials, often broken tents that have been donated by family & friends. You will (literally) never see anything else like SoapBox. This is no 'cut and paste hire job'. Everthing is unique. Everything is created and conceived with love and consideration. 

SoapBox has a strong environmental ethos, and we work very hard to keep as much waste from landfill, as we possibly can. One of the ways we are working to make sure our fun doesn't come at the expense of the planet is to only use damaged fabrics to make our artwork. We source lots of the materials for our decor from friends, family, and websites like Freecycle. We also work with local charity shops to take clothes that they might be otherwise putting in the bin, and put them to good use. Reimaging others rubbish into artwork for us all to enjoy. Its one of the most enjoyable parts of this project and really allows us to experiment and take chances. 

We have recorded, filmed and photograhed almost all of our gigs and have gathered a remarkable body of work that really shows how much talent there is in East Anglia. We are proud to say that we booked many artists in their early days, who have now gone on to be household names. In the past we have put on gigs featuring Ed Sheeran, Scroobius Pip, Kae Tempest, Let's Eat Grandma, Eliza Shaddad, Luke Wright, Mark Grist, Bessie Turner and so many more. We are similarly proud of the new and emerging artists we give a platform to. Do check back to this website throughout to hear more about the release of the archive as it happens. 

The creator and producer of SoapBox is Amy Wragg. Email: amy@getonthesoapbox.co.uk Twitter @getonthesoapbox facebook.com/getonthesopabox and follow us on instagram.com/getonthesoapbox