Hay Festival 2019 Programme

A special screening of this BBC ONE Imagine documentary on the acclaimed American author Philip Roth as he turns 80, introduced by its series editor and presenter Alan Yentob. Not for broadcast.

Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult over 18.

FREE BUT TICKETED

The historian presents his magisterial study of the Jewish people with previews of the themes, stories and arguments that inform the second and final volume of his epic When Words Fail including the persistence of anti-semitism, even after the Holocaust and, disturbingly with gathering force, into our own times.

Lady Diana Cooper was an aristocrat, Jazz Age society darling and actress of stage and screen. Sharing the letters she wrote to her only son, John Julius Norwich discusses the dazzling life his mother led as the original ‘It’ girl. He’s joined by the actress who played Lady Diana in the original 1970s TV drama, to bring to life some of the most moving and entertaining of the letters.

War and Propaganda

What happens to the truth in a time of war? What’s the first obligation for the media? How do you win a propaganda war? Who controls the images, the headlines and the poetry?

Made in Merthyr

The creator of the famous blog issues a brilliantly bolshy and raucously funny rallying call to girls and women of all ages: The Vagenda asks real women everywhere to demand a media that reflects who we actually are.

Join Alison Gwynn and Carey Fluker Hunt for an illustrated journey through the creative process involved in making a picture book. Take a look ‘behind the scenes’ to find out how illustrators develop their ideas, and explore materials from Seven Stories’ fantastic literary archive, including work by Edward Ardizzone, John Lawrence and Polly Dunbar. With special guest Yasmeen Ismail, the Waterstone’s Prize shortlisted illustrator of Time for Bed, Fred.

In their new show Marcus du Sautoy and Victoria Gould use theatre, mathematics and humour to navigate the known and unknown reaches of the universe. The show is directed by Dermot Keaney and was developed in association with the Science Museum and the award-winning theatre company Complicité. Also see event 176

In the light of what we know from part 1 of the Leveson Inquiry and from the trial of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, Hacked-Off campaigners debate the issue of how to regulate the press with the CEO of English PEN and the Observer columnist.

A sneak preview of the new stand-up show from the Scottish comedian and News Quiz favourite. ‘She’ll make you chuckle your pants off.’ Time Out

The actress spins stories from her two tender and funny volumes of memoirs, Notes To My Mother-in-Law and How Many Camels Are There in Holland?, newly reissued with added material from her daughters Emma and Sophie Thompson.

Nuremberg, 1946. Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin, prosecuting ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’; Hans Frank, Hitler’s lawyer, the defendant. Three lives, connected to events in Poland, and music that offered solace and hope. A drama about the origins of modern justice, in images, and in words and music by Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Louis Aragon and Leonard Cohen.

The new show from one of Britain’s sharpest comedians. ‘Provocative, remorseless, and very, very funny.’ The Times

The legendary Malian kora player returns to Hay with his son Sidiki, celebrating the release of their new album Toumani & Sidiki. The concert is a dazzling dialogue – between father and son; past and future; power and restraint – conducted through the kora, the 21-string West African harp which the Diabaté dynasty has over centuries transformed into the most iconic of African instruments. Watch a preview here.

The harpist transcribed and recorded some of Philip Glass’s music, and saw the result rise to the top of the Dutch rock charts. In a perfect complement to the Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté concert at 9.45pm, Meijer plays a meditative, candle-lit, acoustic concert. Watch a preview here.

Ukraine: What Should The West Do?

150 years on, Crimea is again the centre of a geo-political crisis that threatens to destabilize East–West relations. How should the West react to Putin’s decisive intervention? Rausing works in the human rights field around the Caucasus, Butler is an energy expert, frontline journalist Bullough has newly returned from Ukraine. They talk to the editor of Prospect.

The founder of Editorial Intelligence and Professor of Networking at the Cass Business School conducts an open workshop to help develop this essential business skill. Her latest publication is Fully Connected – A Look Ahead to Working and Networking in 2020.