Hay Festival 2015

Join author Caroline O’Donoghue at Hay Festival as she hosts a live episode of her award-winning podcast Sentimental Garbage – a show that dives deep into the pop culture we love. The podcast celebrates the stories that women create, which are often undervalued, and has featured episodes about Nora Ephron, the high-street, cult-classic films and everything in between.

Bring your most beloved trash topics, the guilty pleasures you’re dying to see dissected, and O’Donoghue and a special guest will pick them apart live on stage. No topic too messy, no pleasure too guilty.

With over 11 million downloads worldwide, Sentimental Garbage has been called “exceptionally perceptive and funny” (The Times) and “full of humour, pace and sharp analysis” (The Irish Times). In its own words, Sentimental Garbage is a podcast not about knowing the most, but feeling the most.

Marcel Lucont (Comedy Central at the Comedy Store, Sky Atlantic’s Set List, BBC1’s John Bishop Show) presents a feast of international cabaret, coming to Hay Festival for one night only! Cabaret Fantastique has no fixed abode – a cult hit at festivals worldwide, each programme of entertainment is handpicked by Marcel. You’ll be served up a luscious plate of the finest performers from the world of cabaret, comedy, circus, poetry, magic and music, all held together with dry wit and a dry white.

The show has been a sell-out success at Soho’s Crazy Coqs for the past seven years, featuring a different line-up each night, and has been staged at London Wonderground and Glastonbury Festival among others. “Debaucherous, delightful and debonair, Marcel Lucont knows how to put on one hell of a show” PerthNow, Fringe World Festival.

The UK’s most apologetically posh comedian shares a deep dive into the various facepalms of his recent past, and a live diary of his unravelling present.

After coming last by quite a distance on Taskmaster Series 15, and seeing his emotional frailties laid bare in a series of memes of him with his head in his hands, Ivo Graham is adapting to an increasingly irreversible reputation as a man better known for his chaos than his comedy.

Longer-term resolutions of rest and relaxation can wait; in the meantime he’s trying to host the greatest club night of all time, run a Sub-3 marathon while pushing a wheelchair, and put his heart on the line in a show unlike anything he’s ever done before. Can these dreams become a reality, or will they just become more yardsticks for failure?

Start your day with an hour of effortless flow yoga movement. Dav will focus on mastering the basics of yoga pose transitions, with an emphasis on building strength, flexibility and mobility for a pain-free practice.

Whether you’re just starting out or have some experience, he’ll guide you through accessible flows that teach you how to move smoothly from one pose to the next. He’ll break down key transitions step-by-step, exploring the anatomical principles that support efficient movement. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of how to align your body to avoid strain and improve confidence in your practice. This class is perfect for beginners who want to build a strong foundation, as well as intermediates looking to refine their movement and feel more fluid and capable on the mat.

Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.

Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, and alert your practitioner at the start of class if you have any injuries.

Whether you’re new to sound baths or a seasoned wellness enthusiast, this transformative experience is perfect if you’re seeking to reduce stress, enhance focus and nurture well-being. Using high-quality crystal bowls, each tuned to vibrational frequencies that align with your Chakra energy centres, the sound bath promotes relaxation, improved intuition, creativity and rejuvenation. As you lie comfortably, you are guided into a somatic meditation followed by the healing resonance of the crystal singing bowls, restoring balance, peace and harmony to your body, mind, spirit.

No prior experience is necessary. Bring a yoga mat and blanket, and get cosy. Not suitable for people with sound epilepsy, in the first trimester of pregnancy, with metal implants or severe mental illness.

Featured in the BBC’s Digging for Britain, Snodhill Castle is the hidden gem of the Golden Valley. Explore the Norman ruins in their medieval parkland setting, including the high keep, the newly conserved Royal Free Chapel site and wall walk, and the C15th ‘panic room’ with its fortified latrine chutes. Hear the story of its discovery and preservation, from an expert guide.

Please note: the site is uneven and slippery with steep drops. There is no wheelchair access and no facilities. Children should be supervised at all times. Interested dogs on leads are welcome.

Our world is a mess. It faces challenges that few are prepared to confront. It is littered with governments that lie, led by people who can’t or shouldn’t be allowed to lead. It’s no surprise, therefore, that so many of us feel angry, frustrated and let down. Yet we also feel overcome by such a sense of powerlessness that we find ourselves asking in despair, ‘But what can I do?’

That question is regularly posed to Alastair Campbell, not least in reaction to The Rest Is Politics, the chart-topping podcast he presents with former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart. In this event, he provides the motivation and the tools to effect change for the better, provides advice on developing confidence and coping with criticism and setbacks, and sets out the practical steps by which we can become political players ourselves.

Start the day at Hay Festival with headline guests chaired by editors from The Independent reviewing the news, discussing the headlines and issues of the day, and revealing what’s breaking and trending online. A fascinating look at what’s tickling the nation’s fancy – and driving it to splenetic fury. Bring your coffee!

Among today’s guests are sustainability researcher Mike Berners-Lee, professor in the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University and author of There is No Planet B, and geopolitics journalist Misha Glenny, author of McMafia which has been adapted into a major BBC1 drama series.

David Szalay introduces his propulsive and hypnotic novel about a man who is unravelled by a series of events beyond his grasp. Flesh follows István, a shy 15-year-old who soon becomes isolated at school and whose only companion is his married neighbour, a woman close to his mother’s age. Their clandestine relationship causes István’s life to spiral out of control. As he grows and moves from Hungary to London, entering the world of the super-rich, competing impulses for love, wealth and more threaten to undo him completely.

Szalay is the author of five previous works of fiction including All That Man Is, for which he was awarded the Gordon Burn Prize and Plimpton Prize for Fiction, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

When Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s eldest daughter, Isata, made her solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2023, she could not have been prouder. But it all fractured when her younger daughter came to her in tears a few days later, having read online abuse about her sister. Isata, it was declared, did not deserve to be there.

Kanneh-Mason explores what it’s like to come of age in these turbulent times, when Black artistic self-expression is so often met with disparagement and abuse online – and offers a hopeful, powerful way through. She has seven children, all of whom are world-class classical musicians, who have performed together and solo at major concert halls around the world.

Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, discussing the impact of the climate emergency on national parks.

Hay-on-Wye is located within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

Please wear appropriate footwear and outdoor gear.

Enter the prehistoric world with children’s TV superstar Andy Day and bestselling illustrator Steven Lenton on a fantastic magical dino-tastic adventure! Get ready to sing, draw, laugh and learn about some incredible dinosaurs – and hear about Andy’s new book series Dino Dad, illustrated by Steven: a laugh-out-loud adventure about Ruby and her dinosaur expert dad who has a magic ammonite shell which takes them to an incredible island, full of dinosaurs.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.

Enjoy this twenty-minute open air performance between events. The Decis are an a capella women’s group from Hay-on-Wye and the surrounding villages. Singing together since 2014, the Decis perform a variety of songs including blues, folk, early music, and anything else they fancy.

Building homes – one and a half million of them – is at the top of the government’s agenda, and no NIMBYs, newts or bats will be allowed to get in the way. Nor will any planning rules, with the government set to rewrite them so that homes can be built on the Green Belt, which was instituted to stop urban sprawl.

But how can we solve the very real housing crisis without destroying the countryside?

Join architect, author and Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, wildlife TV presenter, conservationist, author and campaigner Chris Packham, and the founder of the Community Planning Alliance, Rosie Pearson, for a look at a common sense approach to tackling the country’s housing needs.

They talk to Sarah Lamptey, presenter, writer, DJ and founder of Showerbox, which brings free showers to enhance the lives of those facing homelessness in London.

How do we hold on to hard-won reproductive rights, in the UK and internationally? How can we secure the same rights for future generations? At a time when reproductive rights are in retrograde in the US, our panel, chaired by broadcaster Stacey Dooley, celebrates the UK’s proud history and continued fight for a world where everyone is empowered to make decisions about their own health and body.

Kate Gilmore is Chair of the Board for International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and co-chair of the WHO Gender and Human Rights Advisory Panel on Human Reproduction. Family law barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman researches and teaches gender inequality under law at the University of Cambridge. She founded Right to Equality, campaigning to put gender justice at the top of the legal agenda.

They are joined by Nikki, a young activist representing the 16–19 Participation Advisory Group from Brook, the only national charity to offer both clinical sexual health services and education and well-being services. Nikki will talk about the impact the US rights changes are having, and why it is crucial to educate young people about their reproductive rights.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author talks about her new novel, a genre-defying story about a character with her name. In conversation with the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, she discusses flipping the traditional crime narrative of gendered violence on its head, playing with language, and poetry and art.

Death Takes Me sees a Professor Cristina Rivera Garza stumble upon the corpse of a mutilated man in a dark alley and report it to the police. She becomes the first informant on the case, which is led by a detective newly obsessed with poetry and trailed by a long list of failures. As the bodies of more castrated men are found alongside lines of verse, the detective tries to decipher the meaning of the poems to put a stop to the violence spreading throughout the city.

Rivera Garza is the award-winning author of The Taiga Syndrome and The Iliac Crest, among many others. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her memoir Liliana’s Invincible Summer.

Lucy Mangan grew up as a bookworm. As an adult, she uses her relationship with literature to seize upon the most important question: (how) do books prepare us for life?

Wend your way through the bookshelves with Mangan as she recounts her metamorphosis from young bookworm to bookish adult. She looks at the books and stories which accompanied her in important life stages, including falling in love, finding a job, becoming a mother and navigating grief.

Mangan’s Bookish is a sequel to her bestselling book Bookworm. She is TV critic for the Guardian, and also writes for Stylist magazine, the Telegraph and others.

Two powerhouses of children’s literature captivate in this creative event bringing William Shakespeare’s work to life with the help of some special guests. Poet Michael Rosen and illustrator Chris Riddell, both former children’s laureates, have collaborated on Pocket Shakespeare: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Bits of the Bard, a celebration of the words of Shakespeare.

In this event, Rosen will guide the audience through the Bard’s exploration of love, heartbreak, magic, superstition and more, including insults and one-liners, accompanied by Riddell, who’ll draw live on stage.

Enjoy this twenty-minute open air performance between events. Got 2 Sing Choir perform uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Truth is a much-debated concept in our modern world, but according to Mike Berners-Lee (There is No Planet B) there’s nothing more important. The climate and sustainability expert delves into his new book A Climate of Truth, to spell out why, if humanity is to thrive in the decades ahead, the most critical step is to raise standards of honesty in our politics, our media and our businesses. By turning our attention to the principle of truth, he argues, we can all have much more impact on the issues we care about. The professor in the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University talks to journalist Rosie Boycott.

Chef and refugee Imad Alarnab celebrates the flavours of Syria in his new cookbook, Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. In this vibrant event he takes some of his sensational recipes and prepares them before your eyes, using fresh ingredients, sharing his techniques and, finally, giving us a taste!

In Damascus, Imad ran successful restaurants and cafés, but was forced to flee after these were destroyed. He made his way to Europe, cooking for refugees, up to 400 at a time, and arrived in London ten years ago, where eventually his family joined him. In 2021 he burst onto the restaurant scene with a series of charity events and supper clubs, and now has his own restaurant in London at Soho’s Kingly Court. He talks to investigative journalist and documentary presenter, Catrin Nye.

Zahaan Bharmal argues that, far from being abstract, physics can help us answer some of the most urgent questions about life. Why are some relationships unstable, while others last a lifetime? Why do the rich keep getting richer? And why do we all make so many irrational decisions?

You don’t need to be a scientist to have a stake in these answers. Join Bharmal for an abstract-free, accessible look at the hidden and surprising ways in which physics can help us to make sense of our unpredictable world.

Bharmal works for Google as a senior director of strategy. He writes about science for the Guardian and won NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for services to science communication.

Philippa Gregory’s bestselling Normal Women has been adapted for teens! Join the international blockbuster author of The Other Boleyn Girl as she redefines the story of ordinary English women and asks why they are missing from 900 years of history. Hear some fascinating stories of highwaywomen, pirates, soldiers, inventors and rioters in this lively and interactive event.

The nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, discusses his new book Cobweb with Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Cobweb is a powerful, moving adventure inspired by the extraordinary true story of the French Drummer Boy of Waterloo; a stunning tale of courage and kindness – a book about the bond between a girl and her beloved dog, about humanity, animals and the heartbreak of war.

Enjoy this twenty-minute open air performance between events. Got 2 Sing Choir perform uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Award-winning broadcasters Emma Barnett (BBC Radio 4’s Today programme) and Stacey Dooley (Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over) take a personal, political and cultural look at motherhood and the impact it has on women. The pair’s honest and open conversation will look at the experience of becoming a mother and the physical and mental work required in motherhood, celebrating mothers of all kinds.

Barnett’s Maternity Service was written in snatched moments after the birth of her second child, and is a heartfelt and reassuring look at what it really feels like to be on maternity leave. In Dear Minnie, written after she had her first child, Dooley brings her trademark empathy and investigative skill to an entirely new ‘frontline’, exploring the varied perspectives of mothers today.

Presenter June Sarpong OBE, the BBC’s first Director of Creative Diversity, shines a light on the incredible forgotten legacy of the BBC’s first Black female broadcaster.

Una Marson was a trailblazer: she made history by becoming the first Black female broadcaster at the BBC and paved the way for Black women and the amplification of Black voices in the media. A journalist, poet, playwright, broadcaster and activist, Marson played a pivotal role in bringing Caribbean culture to audiences in the UK, smashing glass ceilings and fighting against the racism and misogyny she faced. She was a fierce political activist throughout her life.

The International Booker Prize is the world’s most influential prize for translated fiction. It’s awarded annually for a single book translated into English and celebrates the vital work of translation with the £50,000 prize money divided equally between author and translator. In championing works from around the world that have originated in a wide range of languages, it fosters an engaged global community of writers and readers whose experiences and interests transcend national borders.

The prize will be announced on 20 May, and we present the winning author and translator in conversation with the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood, and one of this year’s judges, author and International Booker Prize-shortlisted translator, Anton Hur.

Writer Lamorna Ash explores why younger people in search of nourishment for the soul are turning to religion. Ash was raised with about as much Christianity as most people in Britain these days: a basic knowledge of hymns and prayers received via a Church of England primary school education and occasional brushes with religious services.

But when she started writing about her two friends’ unexpected conversions, she began encountering a recurring phenomenon: in an age of disconnection and apathy, a new generation was discovering religion for itself. In her book Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever, Ash explores why younger people are turning to religion, and meets those wrestling with Christianity today.

Ash’s first book Dark, Salt, Clear won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize.

Drop the mic! Award-winning teacher, Sky Kids superstar, World Book Day ambassador and viral book-rapping sensation MC Grammar heads to Hay to introduce his brand-new series, The Adventures of Rap Kid.

Get ready to meet Z, his beatboxing sidekick SFX, their super-slick teacher Mr G, and his dawg Pup Smoke, in a story about friendship, the power of words and finding your voice.

Grab your bling and your shades and make your way to this epic event jam-packed with jokes, bangin' tunes, wicked rhymes, a sick rap battle, and the greatest dance-off of all time!

Join the author of The Rachel Incident and All Our Hidden Gifts, Caroline O’Donoghue, to hear about her new fantasy romance with a sci-fi twist, Skipshock. When Margo boards a train to her new school, she could never have expected a time slip into the chill of an alien winter. Margo and Moon were on two different trains, in two different worlds. They never should have met – but they did. And now they are running out of time. Will Margo manage to find a way home, or will she choose to stay in a world where she may have found the only person with whom she would choose to spend eternity?

Caroline’s The Rachel Incident is being adapted for television by Universal Studios, and her hit podcast Sentimental Garbage has had over 9 million downloads worldwide.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.