National talents such as John Cooper Clarke, Ian McMillan and Luke Wright have made good livings over the past 30 years by performing quirky, humour-driven poetry.

Now York punk poet Henry Raby has launched his own attempt to follow in their footsteps, performing his one man show, Letter To The Man (From The Boy) Raby’s involvement with York Theatre Royal (this show was commissioned by the 2011 TakeOver Festival) has paid off: his dynamic use of voice, volume and speed was precise and well rehearsed, making the poems come across as personal, impassioned monologues rather than cute rhymes.

The self-deprecatory riff on the slow pain of maturation read like Adrian Mole, updated. One piece on girls included the great line “She’s as keen on me as an OAP is on the dodgems”. The section on loss was delivered with an emotion that left the audience utterly silent.

Raby encouraged everybody to write letters to their future selves, handing out paper and pens before the start to the (mostly young) audience.

He was clearly aiming for profundity but it didn’t always work – asking the audience to note down the last meal they had seemed a little trite alongside questions such as “What would you do to change the world?”

That said, this was an engaging performance, full of sincerity and humour, and (despite a few grating rhymes – “water” rhymed with “torture”’), hinted at deeper waters that may be uncovered over time.

It was a confident show, and by the end the audience were convinced Raby had succeeded in pulling of an engaging and witty piece. Keep working, Henry. This could be the start of something special.