Sing Like A Vagabond: Cries and Songs from the Streets of Victorian London

Historian Oskar Jensen and acclaimed singer of forgotten songs Patricia Hammond combine for an interactive evening’s entertainment, exploring what it meant to sing on the streets of Victorian London.

Come and discover the art and adventures of the city’s ballad-singers, and the hidden musical histories their stories reveal – from grisly deaths and executions, to high romance and absurdist humour. Try some of the food and wares the city’s criers used to hawk, and collaborate in creating your own cry. Hear some of the biggest hits that once resounded through the streets of London, before using what you’ve learnt to help revive a street classic that hasn’t been heard in two hundred years…

Oskar Jensen is a historian, author, and BBC New Generation Thinker. His latest book is Vagabonds: Life on the Streets of Nineteenth-Century London. Patricia Hammond is a singer and writer specialising in an eclectic range of historical song genres. She has performed with everyone from Sir Simon Rattle to the Ragtime Parlour Band.

This event is part of the Being Human Festival 2022, the UK’s national festival of the humanities.