Catergory / ideas
New autumn ideas programme announced
The sad closure of Bristol Ideas Festival in spring 2024 has opened up an opportunity for one of the city’s flagship venues to take on the mantle as a natural home for talks and discussions on all manner of subjects.
And St George’s has done so. In a packed autumn programme under its ‘ideas’ strand, the concert hall will be hosting a raft of expert talks, from chefs to historians; and wildlife filmmakers to paratroopers.
It’s a chance for audiences to learn more about a diverse mix of fields, as guest speakers share snapshots of their extraordinary careers, followed in many cases by an illuminating Q&A session.
is needed now More than ever
Here’s a look at some of what’s to come:
Candice Brathwaite: Manifesto – September 11
Brathwaite is a bestselling author, journalist and broadcaster whose new book explores her unique attitude towards “using your mind to bring your dreams into reality” – otherwise known as the art of manifesting.
“But what if your life experiences so far have demonstrated the exact opposite?” she contends. “What does manifesting look like if you’re not white, thin, traditionally pretty, or able-bodied? What does it look like if the world – so far – hasn’t had your back?”
Focusing on the discrete areas of ‘Wellness’, ‘Wealth’, ‘Love’ and ‘Happiness’, Brathwaite will be on hand to provide wisdom and honesty about her own journey towards contentment, aiming to demonstrate that “manifesting can be for everyone – not just those to whom the universe has already been kind”.
Candice Brathwaite, Manifesto – photo: Amanda Akokhia
John Simpson CBE: The Leaders and Lunatics Tour – September 14
Still amongst the most eminent foreign correspondents in British television history, Simpson has been covering major world events for over 60 years, with numerous personal encounters with leaders along the way – from Margaret Thatcher to Xi Jinping.
Here, he shares some of the stories and insights he has gathered from his extraordinary vantage point within the knotty world of geopolitics and international relations.
It’s also an opportunity to ask, “what were these leaders and lunatics really like, and what on earth is going on?”
John Simpson, The Leaders and Lunatics Tour – photo: courtesy St George’s
An Evening with Elif Shafak – September 24
Widely regarded as amongst the foremost contemporary writers, Turkish-British novelist, speaker and activist Shafak is author of the bestselling The Island of Missing Trees and the Man Booker Prize-listed 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.
Her new book There Are Rivers in the Sky is described as “a rich, sweeping novel set between the 19th century and modern times, about love and loss, memory and erasure, hurt and healing, centred around three enchanting characters living on the banks of the River Thames and the River Tigris – their lives all curiously touched by the epic of Gilgamesh”.
David Olusoga: The State of the British Union, Why Black History Matters – September 30
A renowned historian, broadcaster and BAFTA-winning filmmaker, Olusoga has written seven books to date, including the garlanded Black & British: A Forgotten History, and The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide.
He is also the writer and presenter of numerous television history programmes, including the series A House Through Time (BBC Two), and has written widely for the UK press.
In this talk, he Olusoga will be using his BBC documentary Union as a jumping off point for an interrogation of written black history, and how its echoes can be felt in contemporary life.
David Olusoga on A House Through Time – photo: BBC
Jay Rayner: Nights Out At Home – October 8
One of the foremost – and most-feared – restaurant critics in the business, Rayner is looking back at 25 years of “eating professionally”.
In a celebratory evening to mark the publication of Nights Out At Home, described as his “memoir-in-recipes”, Rayner answers questions from a number of ‘virtual star interviewers’ and audience members about life as someone with “one of the most coveted jobs in the world”.
Doug Allan: Whale meet again… and again and again – October 28
When describing the talents of Allan, a world-class natural history photographer and filmmaker as well as a diver and marine biologist who has worked on seminal BBC series from Planet Earth and The Blue Planet to Life, Sir David Attenborough admitted that “wildlife cameramen don’t come much more special than Doug”.
A veteran of more than three decades’ filming, Allan has travelled to the Antarctic and the Arctic numerous times, capturing remarkable footage from both above and under the water.
In this event, he will be recalling some of his career highlights, as well as exploring the environmental impacts of climate change on the rare and unique landscapes he has encountered over protracted periods of time.
Famed wildlife filmmaker Doug Allan – photo: courtesy St George’s Bristol
For more information about the St George’s Bristol ideas programme and all other events at the venue, visit www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk.
Main photo: St George’s Bristol (Doug Allan filming whales)
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