A live literary deep-dive into one of the scariest story villains of all time (or is she just misunderstood?) - and her many cackling faces. Presented by Wes White for Southwark Festival of Words 2026.

The Wicked Witch of the West is a character we all know - or think we do. But do you know her by name? And how many names do you know her by?

In the 'Wicked' stories, she is Elphaba. In the classic 1939 film, she is the vivid, emerald-skinned avatar of sepia-tinted Miss Gulch. In 'The Wiz', she is pink-red-and-purple Evillene - not a splash of green to be seen. And these are just some of her better-known monikers - she's been called by at least a dozen more.

In 'Thirteen Names for the West', Wes Viola has taken a cauldron-full of these names and from them crafted a sequence of poems, each of which presents another face of this surprisingly mercurial character.

Tonight, thirteen female and non-binary performers—poets, actors, and singers—give voice to these names for the first time.

Eventbrite (reserve a free ticket): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thirteen-names-for-the-west-a-fantastical-coven-in-thirteen-poems-tickets-1988418608585?aff=oddtdtcreator#location