The Moth in London: heart on your sleeve, in front of everyone

If you ever find yourself in London, there's one evening I recommend with all my heart: a Moth StorySLAM. I went to one of the StorySLAM nights in London, and I have to say it was really interesting, much more than I expected from "a night of stories".

First, what is it? The Moth is a nonprofit founded in 1997 in New York by the novelist George Dawes Green. The idea is simple and beautiful: people get up on stage and tell a true story from their own life, in the first person, with no notes. You can also hear these stories on The Moth Radio Hour and their podcast, but nothing beats hearing them in one room with the audience.

Here's how it works: every night has a theme announced in advance. Anyone who wants to tell a story drops their name into a hat, the host draws names through the evening, and whoever is picked takes the stage. Each storyteller gets five minutes for a true story on the theme, and teams of judges from the audience give scores. Winners of the regular nights go on to the GrandSLAM, the championship night where the best storytellers share one stage.

In London, the home of the StorySLAMs is Rich Mix, an arts centre in the east of the city, while GrandSLAMs are held in bigger venues such as Union Chapel and the Southbank Centre. Upcoming nights and their themes are listed on the official site.

But what really got me was the spirit of it. The whole idea is to put your heart on your sleeve: people stand in front of a room full of strangers and share their most secret, most hidden, sometimes even darkest things. And the audience? Takes it in. Listens, laughs with them, breathes with them, and even cheers. It's something really special, and not something you get to see every day.

And that's exactly why it's such a great way to meet new people. You hear someone's emotional story the way they tell it in front of everyone, so by the end of the night you already know them a little from the inside. If a story resonated with you, you can just walk up to them afterwards, tell them it moved you, and start getting to know each other. There's no more natural conversation starter.

A few tips for first-timers: come early, to get a good seat and get a feel for how the night runs. If you have a story that fits the theme and you dare, put your name in the hat. And if not, that's completely fine too: just listen. Being a good audience is half the magic of the night.

And the best part: The Moth isn't just in London. There are StorySLAMs in many cities around the world, so if you're travelling, or live somewhere else, it's worth checking the site for a night near you.

Warmly recommended. Come to listen, and maybe to tell. Sometimes five minutes is all it takes to feel part of something.