"EVERYONE’S dad exists as a kind of statue, frozen in a certain pose," says UK poetry slam champion Ben Norris."Mine is wearing his cream and black mac, standing in the rain watching football or cross country, it doesn't

matter which: it was muddy, and he was there."

Following a phenomenal response from audiences and critics at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year, the debut solo show from UK All Star Poetry Slam champion Ben

Norris will play at Artrix in Bromsgrove as part of a 20 date tour of England and Wales. Ben's dad was born in London and only ever moved north, always loosely in line with

the M1. So over six days in summer 2014, Ben hitchhiked south along the famous motorway from his birthplace in Nottingham to his father’s birthplace in Brixton, moving backwards in time through his father’s life as he went, stopping everywhere his dad had

ever lived. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Family takes the audience on a warts-and-all journey through modern Britain and Ben's own family history as he attempts to better know Ray Norris;

ever present and quietly supportive, but emotionally unavailable and a perpetual mystery. Like so many fathers.

Ben added: "In the wake of the EU referendum result, it’s clear that we live in an age of deep generational divisions. Feeling distant from your parents is increasingly - and sadly - a universal experience. This show is my attempt to explore how we might bridge the impassable

gap many of us feel from the ones we love."

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Family is at Artrix Studio on Friday, November 4 at 7.30 pm. Tickets cost £12 and are available at the Box Office on 01527 577330 or at Artrix.co.uk.