The spoken word is a wonderful thing, as we, the audience of Hatch’s one-off return were reminded. Ellie Kendrick and Adam Lawrence are to be congratulated for ensuring that the night focused on what was important, namely the project’s unique status in a university whose creative scene is dominated by theatre.

Corpus as a venue provided the sort of intimacy and bareness required for a night that aired works in progress. Even the name, ‘Hatch’, sounds right, reflecting the kind anticipation that was evident before the show started.

Thankfully, the writing did not disappoint, with works varying from the concise and clean (Celine Lowenthal’s ‘copper coins’) to the almost disarmingly visceral, as was the case with ‘dissatisfaction’ by Mark Wartenberg. As ever, some pieces stood out: Donald Futers’ incomplete ‘Vis Itch’ was brimming with subtle rhyme and well-crafted alliteration, while the night’s closer, ‘Tony Harrison would think me daft’ demonstrated James Vincent’s obvious talent, while being personable and amusing.

Alongside the poetry and prose scenes were performed, for which, we were informed, the (clearly talented) actors had had only about two hours of rehearsal time. This kind of rough and ready aesthetic was endearing: the ingenious premise of ‘The Distinct Damnations (Kennel)’, wherein a homeless man tries to switch places with a dog for a night, was highlighted by Amrou Al-Kadhi holding between his teeth a plastic bottle wrapped with paper brandishing the word ‘BONE’ on it.

Although this worked for Jack Belloli’s work, Tom Powell’s ‘Utterance’ would have benefitted from some more direction. ‘Utterance’ dealt with a frustrated couple trying to back each other into verbal corners, and, as such, a slicker, more polished performance would have really brought out some lines. These were unfortunately lost in its second half, although the laughter at Harry Carr’s frustrated mid-conversation exclamation, “You’re a shit!”, was testament to the strength in the writing.

Most importantly, Hatch was a showcase for some interesting and diverse work. It’s a shame last night was its only return this term, as more of the same would be a welcome and enjoyable treat for those of us who enjoy new writing.