Hay Festival 2019 Programme

The professor unravels the mysteries of science and explains exactly what makes the world go round. From rocket launches to erupting volcanoes, with fun facts and mind-blowing information, Utterly Amazing Science will capture the imagination of children (and grown-ups) of all ages.
8+ years

A practical, fun workshop for all the family. You’ll work together as actors do during RSC rehearsals but no previous experience or knowledge is required as you’ll be introduced to characters and themes from Shakespeare’s History plays on the day. This workshop is for all members of the family to join in with.

Most suitable for 7+ years

An opportunity to try your hand at traditional craft skills with a three-hour workshop in which you will develop hand woodworking skills with an expert craftsperson. During the workshop you will mark out, construct and assemble a rustic oak stool to take home with you at the end of the session; all without the use of modern power tools or measuring devices. The design is marked out using the same principles of daisy wheel geometry used to build the great medieval cathedrals and the Tithe Barn at Cressing Temple.
Suitable for all abilities and ages, 12+ years

Young wildlife photographer in the making? Take the RSPB photography challenge, discover what lives in the Hay Festival garden and get creative! Learn new skills and discover nature with Photography Jnr and RSPB Cymru. 
4–12 years

The novelist talks about her play written in response to Shakespeare’s Othello. Her workis an intimate dialogue of words and music between Desdemona and her African nurse Barbary. Morrison gives voice and depth to the female characters, letting them speak and sing in the fullness of their hearts.

Other events in the Shakespeare 450 series - 34, 55 and 446.

Demystifying Cancer

The biochemist explains how the behaviour of cells is controlled and what goes wrong when they begin to proliferate in an abnormal manner – the basic cause of cancers. He then enters an amazing new world, revealed by astonishing technical advances that are revolutionising how we think about and treat cancers. Advances and alternatives that suggest a cautious optimism for the future of mankind’s battle against these fascinating diseases. His Betrayed by Nature and The Secret of Life are published this year.

Contributors to Honno’s new anthology about women campaigners discuss how they became politicised, and how they were personally changed by the process of changing the world. Armstrong is director of the climate change blockbuster Age of Stupid, and is now working on a TV drama series based on the true story of the police spies who infiltrated British activist groups and the women who unwittingly had relationships and even children with them. Crow is a disability rights activist and performance artist. Sanghera has won many awards and accolades for her work against honour-based abuse and forced marriage.

In 1613 a beautiful Stuart princess married a handsome young German prince. This was a love match, but it was also an alliance that aimed to weld together Europe’s two great Protestant powers. Before Elizabeth and Frederick left London for the court in Heidelberg, they watched a performance of The Winter’s Tale. In 1943, a group of British POWs gave a performance of that same play to a group of enthusiastic Nazi guards in Bavaria. When the amateur actors suggested doing a version of The Merchant of Venice that showed Shylock as the hero, the guards brought in the costumes and helped create the sets. Nothing about the story of England and Germany is as simple as we might expect. Chaired by Rosie Goldsmith.

Art is not always just for art’s sake: it has long been used as way of exploring, communicating and engaging people as well as bringing people together. Writers Mahfouz, Sheers and Brigstocke, and Cape Farewell director Buckland, discuss vision, ethics, imagination and integrity. They are joined by Mark Shorrock from the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, who is unveiling the first of two international art commissions.

Seven key tips for making a success in social enterprise. Nick Temple is the Director of Business & Enterprise at Social Enterprise UK.

Charlie Fletcher, Justin Somper and Philip Womack share a love of dragons and heroes, evil assassins and high-octane escapades. What makes a great fantasy adventure? Join Julia Eccleshare in finding out as they discuss their three brand new fantasy adventure series, Dragon Shield, Allies & Assassins and The Broken King respectively.
10+ years

It’s Hay-on-Wireless! BBC 6 Music’s Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie present a show live from the BBC Arts Tent at Hay Festival, with special guests Marcus Brigstocke, Kirsty Wark, festival founder Peter Florence and 6 Music’s very own Cerys Matthews.

Expect witty badinage and even a spot of live music on this show as Mark and Stuart hold court in front of a live festival audience! Plus chats with broadcaster, presenter and writer Kirsty Wark, comedian and Hay Festival regular Marcus Brigstocke and festival founder Peter Florence, who tells us more about the background to the festival.

There’ll be live music from singer-songwriter and 6 Music presenter Cerys Matthews who performs a brand new track, and even a dash of audience participation with a special version of the regular Radcliffe and Maconie Show feature, Teatime Themetime.

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

FREE BUT TICKETED

Following the success of OxTales and OxTravels we are thrilled to launch our third collaboration with Profile Books with a reading of three stories from this collection of short crime fictions donated by some of the greatest crime-writers in the English language.

One summer’s day in 793, death arrived from the sea. The raiders who sacked the island monastery of Lindisfarne were the first Vikings – sea-borne attackers, adventurers and traders who brought two centuries of terror to northern Europe and North America. Chaired by Katrin Bennhold.

The broadcaster discusses her first novel. When Elizabeth Pringle, an inspirational teacher on the island of Arran dies, her will contains a surprise. She has left her home and her belongings to someone who is all but a stranger, a young mother she watched pushing a pram down the road more than thirty years ago. Now it falls to Martha, the baby in that pram, to find out how her mother inherited the house in such strange circumstances.

Frida Kahlo transformed the emotional and physical pain of her life into art. Her paintings make visible the invisible, interior experiences of many women. They speak of loss, loneliness, her struggle to have children, her lovers, a bus accident that shattered her body and spirit. But they are also full of passion and warmth, each canvas a defiant celebration of what it is to be human. The author of Pip Pip – A Sideways Look at Time, Wild ­– An Elemental Journey and Kith – The Riddle of the Childscape reimagines Kahlo’s life and art in a passionate prose poem.

The standard description of the scientific method is that it is primarily a negative activity, with scientists setting out to disprove the latest hypothesis. But very few real scientists have ever set out with this aim in mind. The astronomer shows that real science is often a matter of casting a net.

The quartet play Haydn’s String Quartet in B flat major Op.76 No.4 and

Janácek’s String Quartet No.2 ‘Intimate Letters’.

Recorded for broadcast on Radio 3

See also events 198, 292 and 337.