Rugby players are the ultimate Welsh sporting heroes, aren’t they? What about our footballers, athletes, boxers, cyclists, snooker players, surfers and all the rest? And who are the villains? (THE Gerald Davies! – Ed..)
What was once an insult used to marginalize those curious people and their obsessive interest in science has increasingly become a badge of honour. And it’s a high ambition to entrench scientific thinking more deeply into politics and society.
What do the surviving Greek tragedies and comedies, and the information we have about their performance and audiences, tell us about the Classical world?
President Obama’s Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security was the chief negotiator on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the Russian Federation. Chaired by Nik Gowing.
In association with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Awareness Programme
Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady
Event 474 • •
Venue: Big Tent
A compelling story of romance and fidelity, insanity, fantasy, and the boundaries of privacy in a society clinging to rigid ideas about marriage and female sexuality. The Samuel Johnson Prize-winner (The Suspicions of Mr Whicher) brings vividly to life a complex, frustrated Victorian wife, longing for passion and learning, companionship and love.
The National Trust Director General and Chair celebrate the centenary of Octavia Hill, the social reformer and founder of the National Trust, and discuss her legacy in the work of the Trust today.
The ever-growing demand for materials to support our lifestyles is not sustainable – it is time to use those materials more efficiently and explore new ways of manufacturing and production. The authors of Sustainable Materials and Sustainable Energy discuss.
Come and meet the women who’ve built successful local and rural enterprises - the TOAST clothing and homewares company, the natural gardening supplier Wiggly Wigglers, and Baileys Home Store - winner of ‘best homewares retailer’ in the Telegraph Magazine 2012. There’ll be an open conversation about starting up, building a business, design, marketing, management and maximising local potential. Chaired by Kitty Corriganand with Barbara Ann King of Barclays. Numbers are limited. Please see also events 447 and 489 with Mary Portas and Luke Johnson.
The film of the book by Michael Morpurgo. Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on. Directed by Steven Spielberg, screenplay by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis, produced by Revel Guest.
Is there any sex in Austen? What do the characters call each other, and why? What are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage? And why is it risky to go to the seaside? Mullan shows that you can best appreciate Austen's brilliance by looking at the intriguing quirks and intricacies of her fiction – by asking some very specific questions about what goes on in her novels and why, he reveals their devilish cleverness and their art.
The English Prof, Late Review star and Guardian Book Club host discovers what games people played and why they had to wear mourning, how they addressed each other and how wealth was inherited, who shared bedrooms and who owned coaches. He explores the rituals and conventions of her fictional world in order to reveal her technical virtuosity and sheer daring as a novelist. Though not a book about Jane Austen's life, it uses biographical detail and telling passages from her letters to explain episodes in her novels; readers will find out, for example, what novels she read and how much money she had to live on and why she was obsessed with the weather.
John Mullan's books include How Novels Work and Anonymity: A Secret History of English Literature.
Discover a world where Vampyres feed on the defenceless, orphans are sacrificed to hungry gods and if a woe-begotten catches your scent it will hunt you for ever. A brilliantly twisted take on the Dickens classic that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Pick up some tricks from the special effects trade and create realistic scars, bruises and wounds without the pain of getting hurt.
Duration 120 mins. 10+ years
Each young person attending this workshop without an accompanying adult must fill in the Permission Form available for download here. Please send the form in advance to admin@hayfestival.org and bring a copy on the day.
Please note this session is not suitable for people with latex allergies.
The fantastic team behind Local to Ludlow return to Hay with their mobile culinary school. Using locally sourced ingredients they teach children how to cook delicious snacks from scratch.
Duration 60 mins. 5-9 years
No adult ticket required, but children must be accompanied for this cookery session.
The novelist who reported live from Tahrir Square weaves human stories and acute political analysis into this magnificent understanding of the Egyptian uprising. Chaired by Bidisha.
Two of the most unconventional Westminster memoirs shed new, controversial and wickedly funny light on the political process. With the anti-apartheid campaigner, MP for Neath, former Leader of the House, and Secretary of State for Work and Wales, author of Outside In and the veteran Labour peer, author of An Autobiography. Chaired by Simon Mundy
The Forrests is our tip for this year’s Man Booker - a New Zealand novel that sings with colour and memory; that speaks of family and time, dysfunction, ageing and loneliness, about heat, youth, and how life can change if ‘you're lucky enough to be around for it’; Origins of Love is a huge novel from the Costa Prize-winner about the multi-million dollar, global surrogacy industry.
This event has taken place
Sponsored by Creative New Zealand and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
