Hay Festival 2025 Full Programme

In poet Nick Makoha’s collection The New Carthaginians, time and the world are out of joint. Through a triumvirate of characters – the Poet, a Black Icarus and a resurrected Jean-Michel Basquiat – Makoha explores a heroes’ odyssey, a new mythos in which the othering of Black life might be undone, and a transfigured understanding of myth and life.

Makoha, who discusses his work with poet Malika Booker, is a Ugandan poet and playwright. His debut collection Kingdom of Gravity was shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Prize and was one of the Guardian’s Best Books of the Year.

Musicians Cerys Matthews and Arun Ghosh present an extraordinary exploration of the worlds and words of the late, great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

Welsh singer-songwriter and Thomas fan Matthews – whose Sunday morning show is the biggest single show on Radio 6 – takes us on a tour of Llareggubb, the fictional seaside village of Under Milk Wood, with acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Ghosh accompanying on clarinet and harmonium. In this magical evening, the pair bring to life characters including Captain Cat and Nogood Boyo from Under Milk Wood, celebrating one of Thomas’ best known works through a mix of storytelling and music.

A love of Dylan Thomas has infused Matthews’ career; she composed music for A Child’s Christmas, and among her books are Out of Chaos Come Bliss, a compilation of Thomas’ poetry, and a retelling of Under Milk Wood. Ghosh is a British-Asian clarinettist, bandleader and composer who has twice been awarded Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

Mercury Prize-nominated singer Sam Lee has shaken up the music scene. His latest album Songdreaming (a Mojo Album of the Month) breaks boundaries between traditional and contemporary music. It’s rich in musicality and invention, building on the backbone of double bass, percussion and violin with a world of instrumentation including the Arabic Qanoon and Swedish Nyckelharpa.

His lyrical focus on the perilous state of the natural world informs all his work, and his arrangements relate to a modern audience, moving from identifiable acoustic songs to drone soundscapes, electric guitar and gospel choir. He is a co-founder of Music Declares Emergency.

Lee is also a film soundtrack composer and has provided songs for several major feature films, from Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Comedian and musician Rob Deering presents Beat This, the live-music, stand-up comedy game show. Deering delivers mash-ups, megamixes and mayhem, as four great guests from across the Festival compete to win this pop quiz with a difference.

A twenty-first century one man band, Deering creates “a highly impressive one-man soundscape powered mainly by energy and excellent guitar skills” (The Scotsman) at the centre of this fun show. It’s a festival favourite from the Edinburgh Fringe, Green Man, Machynlleth Comedy Festival, Latitude and more, making its Hay Festival debut in 2025.

“As sharp and versatile as a Swiss Army knife” – The Independent.