Nayab Midha Concludes Six-Country International Tour, Sets Record For Largest Solo Poetry Shows By An Indian Artist

Indian spoken word artist Nayab Midha has successfully concluded a landmark six-country international tour across Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, earning standing ovations at every venue and setting new records for the Indian spoken word community.

Midha made history as the first Indian spoken word poet to headline solo shows in Christchurch and Auckland, while her performances in Sydney and Melbourne became the largest solo poetry and storytelling events by an Indian Spoken Word Artist in Australia. Notably, Hindi spoken word was performed for the very first time to sold-out audiences in Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand.

The 2025 global tour included twelve ticketed shows across twelve cities, an exceptionally rare scale for Indian spoken word artist. Following a five-city run in India, Midha’s international shows sold out in record time. The tour covered major cities including London, Birmingham, Reading, Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne, Christchurch and Auckland.

The shows were premium-priced, with tickets ranging from USD $50– USD $90, aiming to raise the pricing bar for poetry and establish spoken word as a major artistic offering rather than a community-level event.

At the centre of the tour was Midha’s critically praised 2.5-hour solo show Rajkumari, a hybrid performance combining poetry, narrative, music and theatrical delivery. The show explores womanhood, identity and financial autonomy through a bold, emotionally resonant lens. Industry veteran Roshan Abbas described Midha as the ‘female Zakir Khan’, highlighting her ability to command stages and attract mainstream entertainment audiences to a poetry-led format.

Midha’s journey from engineer to international performer has played a significant role in her connection with global audiences. Raised in Sri Ganga Nagar, Rajasthan, and formerly employed at Infosys, she left her corporate career in 2020 to pursue poetry full-time.

Nayab Midha shares, “My work has always been about making space. Rajkumari is my attempt to rewrite the old scripts about women and power. Touring cities where no Indian poet has headlined before is a risk, but opening doors matters. If one young poet back in India believes they can do this full-time because they saw us, everything was worth it.”

Beyond her own artistic trajectory, Midha’s 2025 tour marks a significant advancement for Indian spoken word internationally. By performing in venues historically reserved for comedians and musicians, matching mainstream ticket prices and consistently filling large-capacity rooms, she has expanded the commercial and cultural possibilities for poets and storytellers on the global stage.