Festival Hub - Thursday 19, Friday 20 & Saturday 21 October

SCIENCE DISCOVERY:

Drone’s Eye View

UCL and University of Southampton

Take a seat and experience take-off, hover, and landing through VR headsets using real drone footage.

Art, Learning and Memory

School of Pharmacy, UCL

A multimedia art exhibition and activities demonstrating how neurones grow and fire.

New Eyes from Stem Cells

UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and NIHR

Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre

Our eyes work all day long to help us see and understand the world around us. Find out how we’re growing new eye cells to help people with sight loss.

Medicines from Plant Origins to Landfills

Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCL

Find out about medicinal plants, and the team will show you how to “grow” medicines using 3D printing as one method to make them more sustainable.

The Research Tree

ARC North Thames

What springs to mind when you think ‘research’? Write your thoughts onto leaves and hang these on our research tree to help us to do better health & social care research.

Making Virtual Communication More Human

UCL Soft Haptics and Robotics and UCL

Adaptable Robotics

Experience first-hand new technology that uses the sense of touch for virtual interactions, bringing families and friends closer together.

Green Popcorn! UCell

Come and see UCell’s hydrogen fuel cells, and if you’re lucky you will be treated to the greenest popcorn you may ever eat.

ART EXHIBITIONS & CRAFT ACTIVITIES INCLUDING:

The New Bloomsbury Set Silks

Kinetika and Bloomsbury Festival with local community groups

Bloomsbury Festival has brought together artists at Kinetika and residents of Bloomsbury, Holborn and Kings Cross to create a set of 6 silk flags that represent the diverse identity, culture, and history of Bloomsbury’s residents.

Entwine - The Avocado Sculptures

Ghost and John

A creative exhibition of 50 avocado sculptures grown in artists’ Ghost and John’s home.

Reclaiming - Carolyn Murphy

A panel montage reflecting on nature’s power to reclaim with additional artworks exploring the habitats and fragility of the world we share.

Flower Displays

In partnership with Bloomsbury Flowers.

Craft and Art Activities

Including origami plants.

For more information about the facilities at Holborn Library and how to join, visit: camden.gov.uk/holborn-library

BLOOMSBURY’S WOMEN MEDICAL PIONEERS - CAMDEN TOUR GUIDES ASSOCIATION

A walk led by Elena Paolini. Learn about the trailblazing women who paved the way for today’s women in medicine and discover which Bloomsbury institutions supported them.

Starts at St Pancras Church Gardens

1pm; Tickets: £14

YOUNG VOICES @BLOOMSBURY

A curated screening of essay films exploring the theme of ‘Grow’ made by young filmmakers working in Bloomsbury, in collaboration with students from the MA Film Programming and Curating at Birkbeck, University of London.

Birkbeck Cinema

2.30pm; FREE - Just turn up

On The Beat In Bloomsburycamden Tour Guides Association

A walk led by Chris Foster. A light-hearted tour of some of Bloomsbury’s iconic buildings, magnificent green open air spaces and ways of life, sprinkled with some of Chris’s stories and memories from when he was a Bobby on the Beat in the area fifty years ago.

Starts at Blooms Cafe, Royal National Hotel

3.30pm; Tickets: £14

THE DREAMQUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH - VULCANELLO PRODUCTIONS AND SHIVERS

(See page 24)

The Crypt Gallery

6.30pm (plus 6.30pm Thurs 19 Oct)

Tickets: £15 (£12)

THE INTELLIGENT SOLUTION? YOU DECIDE: AI IN HEALTHCARE - UCL (WEISS)

(See page 24)

A Secret Facility in Bloomsbury

6pm (plus 6pm Thurs 19 Oct);

Tickets: Donation when booking online

THE LIFE OF MEENA KUMARI, BOLLLYWOOD STAR - MUKUL AND GHETTO TIGERS

Exploring the dark inner life of one of India’s most loved Bollywood icons, Meena Kumari and how it contrasted with the glamour the public saw on the silver screen. This is a bilingual production in English and Bengali.

Holborn Library - 4th Floor

6.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

Poetry And Music Evening

Curated social evening, looking at poems set to music, centering migrant diasporic voices and shared experiences of movement and migration.

Pushkin House

7pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

LANGUAGE IS A SKIN - VYTE GARRIGA

This visual theatre piece explores language from a Lithuanian female foreigner’s point of view and the urge to grow into the language to learn to communicate, fit in and survive.

Holy Cross Church

7pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

BLOOM - DANIELLA SICARI, MARK ROGERS & CAROLINE BORDIGNON WITH BLOOMHOUSE PROJECTS

A multidisciplinary concert incorporating art song, visual art and live inspired painting, centred around the imagery of flowers. Expect to hear music by Boulanger, Strauss, Sibelius and more.

William Goodenough House, Goodenough College

7pm; Tickets: £15 (£10) / VIP £25

GRAND UNION ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: FROM BENGAL TO BLOOMSBURY

Welcoming some of the UK’s foremost Bengali singers and instrumentalists, alongside Grand Union Orchestra’s musicians from world-wide musical cultures. Tabla maestro Yousuf Ali Khan will lead an evening of traditional songs by Lalon and Nazrul, alongside emotional ragas as we explore the music, language and culture of Bangladesh and its diaspora.

“Bringing musicians from such diverse backgrounds to play classical and Bengali songs is truly amazing!” Rich Mix audience member

Conway Hall - Main Hall

7.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

NEW WAVE THEATRE: HOW TO RUN AWAY BY LUCY ANDRINA - HOT TRIP THEATRE

(See page 23)

The Crypt Gallery

9pm (plus 9pm Wed 18 & Thurs 19 Oct)

Tickets: £8 (£6)

EVENT TYPES:

TALKS & LITERATURE

The London Welsh Emporium

The Annual Emporium at the London Welsh Centre: a vibrant celebration of Welsh culture, showcasing handcrafted products from traders in London, Wales, and the local Camden community.

London Welsh Centre

10am - 5pm; FREE - Just turn up

WORDS FROM ELSEWHERE: ARTZINE WORKSHOP

Publish yourself at Conway Hall’s fanzine workshop with Artizine’s Ioana Simion. Discover our archive of DIY pamphlets covering 200 years of art and activism, before creating your own.

Conway Hall

10.15am; Tickets: £15 (£10)

Bellydance Workshop With Lucy Andrina

In this 2 hour workshop, explore the fundamental movements of Egyptian style bellydance. From shimmies to figures of eight, you will try a variety of hip movements to the core rhythms of bellydance.

Conway Hall

10.30am; Tickets: £5 EVENT TYPES:

EMANCIPATED WOMEN OF BLOOMSBURY - CAMDEN TOUR GUIDES ASSOCIATION

A walk led by Mike Marriott and Sam Nicholls. Walking through the squares to the eastern side of Bloomsbury this walk discovers where an extraordinary range of women lived.

Starts at St Pancras Church Gardens

11am; Tickets: £14

Picasso In Bloomsburyanthony D Padgett

This talk and walk discuss Pablo Picasso’s visits to Bloomsbury in 1919 and 1950 and his relationships to literary, political and scientific figures in the area, with a focus on his artworks featuring plants and children.

City Lit - Cultureplex

11am; Tickets: £14 talk only / £20 talk & walk

DOUBLE BILL: RADIO NEIGHBOURHOOD & BOH BOH FINDS HOME - GHOST AND JOHN WITH SANDRA LAM @HIDDEN

KEILEON & LITTLE BEAN THEATRE

Dance, drama and radio sound take us on interactive adventures as we travel through the galaxy - and you can join in! Two linked shows aimed at families and young children but all are welcome.

Holborn Library - 4th floor

12pm; Tickets: Adult £10 / Adult plus up to 2 children £15 / Additional children £5

Tickets/Info: bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

Saturday

SPOKEN POETRY, RAP & VIOLENCE: CAN WE DEVELOP DIALOGUE?

A rapping workshop led by Wanda Canton, focusing on social justice through the creation of music. Participants will have the opportunity to explore different styles and create their own rap poetry in a fun and safe environment.

Pushkin House

12pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

WORDS FROM ELSEWHERE: SMALL PRESS PUBLISHING

Books can change the world. Conway Hall welcomes three radical small press publishersStrange Attractor Press, Guts Publishing and Past Tense publications - to share their stories.

Conway Hall

12.15pm; Tickets: £10 (£8)

The Hidden History Of The Foundling Hospitalmarianne

NICHOLS

Explore the creation of the Foundling Hospital, and the lives of the foundlings themselves. Reflecting on the memory of place and ancestral history.

Holy Cross Church

1pm; Tickets: £6 (£3)

NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: MIRRORS WITH AÏDA LAHLOU (PIANO)

Ravel’s beautiful and kaleidoscopic Miroirs interspersed with gem-like, lesser known, miniatures from the piano repertoire. A recital with a story.

Presented by Bloomsbury Festival as part of the New Wave programme, a platform for emerging talent.

The Music Room

1pm; FREE - Just turn up

Imagining Sanctuaries Workshop

A space to nurture, hold, share and celebrate ourselves. This workshop reflects on our heritage and memories, and honours and reclaims our ancestral practices.

Conway Hall

1.30pm; Tickets: £5

26 WORDSTOCK @ THE BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL - 26 WRITERS

A mini festival within a festival, celebrating words, people and the natural world through talking, listening and writing together. How do words grow with us, and how do they help us grow? In partnership with the Wildlife Trusts.

Conway Hall - Library

2pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

New Women In East Bloomsburycamden Tour Guides Association

A walk led by Sue McCarthy. Discover the rich history of the women of East Bloomsbury who seized new opportunities in the rapidly changing world of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Starts outside The Art Workers’ Guild

2pm; Tickets: £14

The Bloomsbury Beast Pipe Organsilent Film Double Bill

This filmic double-bill is an opportunity to hear the pipe organ of Bloomsbury Baptist Church as never before: accompanying two classic silent films.

2pm: Harold Lloyd’s 1923 riotous comedy Safety Last! - accompanied by Donald MacKenzie (world renowned organist from the Odeon Leicester Square)

7pm: 1925 American silent horror film The Phantom of the Opera - accompanied by Aaron Hawthorne (international, multi-award-winning organist)

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church

2pm & 7pm; Tickets: £7/£10 for both screenings (Under 16s FREE)

EVENT TYPES: ▐ TALKS & LITERATURE ▐ WALKS ▐ MUSIC ▐ WORKSHOPS

Tickets/Info: bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

Saturday 21 October

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: CHILDREN’S MUSICAL SHOWCASE

SOAS University of London, Camden Music Service and Woolwich Creative Club present a showcase of young musical talent inspired by Black History Month.

Supported by SOAS Library.

SOAS - Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre

2.30pm; Tickets: £5

YOUNG BLOOMSBURY: A NEW QUEER HISTORY - NINO STRACHEY

Nino Strachey shines new light on the queer history of the Bloomsbury Group, revealing changing attitudes towards gender and sexuality in 1920s London.

This event is part of the festival’s New Bloomsbury Set programme.

City Lit - Cultureplex

2.30pm; FREE - Just turn up

A VICTORIAN MEGASTAR’S STORYFRIENDS OF ST GEORGE’S GARDENS

In a presentation about the occupants of this old graveyard, two actors tell the story of Julia Betterton Glover, an actor buried there in 1850 after a long and acclaimed career on the London stage.

St George’s Gardens

3pm; FREE - Just turn up

THE TWO HEADED BIRD - TAMARIND THEATRE COMPANY

A young person’s adventure to find a mythical bird invites danger and intrigue. Theatre storytelling with puppetry, music, song and dance. English with Bengali and Hindi, suitable for all the family.

Holborn Library - 4th Floor

3.30pm & 7.30pm; Tickets: £5

AN APOTHECARY OF ART: JOURNEYS FOR EMOTIONAL GROWTH - LISA AZARMI OF RAVENOUS BUTTERFLIES

A journey through emotions and how art can promote personal growth. Lisa Azarmi shares her own experiences and will immerse you in soothing paintings and prose from her book An Apothecary of Art, to soothe your soul.

City Lit - Cultureplex

4.30pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

Discovery And Legacygoodensemble Orchestra

A concert not to be missed. As the Orchestra gets ready for its 10th anniversary, the College is preparing you for a feast of rich fresh voices, sounds, and experiences.

London House, Goodenough College

7pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

FOREST OF THORNS - THE STILL

An hour of forest-themed folklore, fairytale and soundscapes with THE STILL (Laura Sampson and Sam Enthoven, plus guest artists Diana Redgrave and Stephan Barrett). Step into a world of danger and renewal as we forge a path through enchanted thorns to what lies beyond.

Holy Cross Church

7.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

HISTOIRE DU TANGO - SHOW & MILONGA

Contemporary Tango Show re-imagining

Piazzolla’s iconic piece Histoire du Tango. A journey charting the growth of Argentine tango through the ages. Followed by a ‘Milonga’ - an evening of social dancing.

Conway Hall - Main Hall

7.30pm; Tickets: £25 (£20 students) cabaret table seat / £15 (£12 students) balcony seat

EVENT TYPES:

TALKS &

AIR POLLUTION IN BLOOMSBURY - WHAT CAN WE DO? A SENSOR-EY WALK

This gentle 90-minute walk with a mobile Breathe London sensor includes stops along the way to share good and bad practice. Plus practical hints about what you can do - for free - to help yourself.

Starts at Friends House Gardens

11am; FREE - Just turn up

LONDON: A BLOOM OF CONSCIOUSNESS - A*MUSING CO LAB

A site-specific immersive soundscape and dramatic tour of Bloomsbury. Three performerguides trace connections to Virginia Woolf, herself an avid streetwalker of London, and explore their our own relationships with Woolf’s writing and the global cities in which they grew up; Kolkata, Lima and Wu Wei. Not suitable for children.

This event is part of the festival’s New Bloomsbury Set programme.

Fitzrovia Mural (next to Goodge Street Station)

11.30am & 2.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

HOW CAN WE RADICALLY RE-DEFINE GROWTH? - GHOST AND JOHN

Is it possible to measure growth as strengthening relationships, building peace across borders, and spreading love and kindness? Art duo Ghost and John invite a panel of thinkers to gather and dream up new thinking models with a holistic approach. City Lit - Cultureplex

12pm; Tickets: £5

BLOOMSBURY & KINGS CROSS GROUP BOOKSHOP CRAWL - 4 HOUR CRAWL

An exploration of the second hand, specialist, indie and chain bookshops of Bloomsbury led by Bookshop Crawl UK. Meet fellow book lovers, swap book recommendations and explore bookshops and literary landmarks.

Starts at St Pancras Church Gardens

1pm; Tickets: £12

NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: KAREN WONG (FLUTE) & LANCE MOK (PIANO)

A varied programme of music for flute and piano featuring works from under-represented and contemporary composers, highlighting themes of equality, inclusiveness and our relationship with the natural world.

Presented by Bloomsbury Festival as part of the New Wave programme, a platform for emerging talent.

City Lit - Recital Room

1pm; FREE - Just turn up

BLOOMSBURY NORTH: GARDENING, BUILDING, HISTORY-MAKING - CAMDEN TOUR GUIDES ASSOCIATION

A walk led by Paul Guest, covering parts of north and north-east Bloomsbury. It highlights the area’s growth in terms of open spaces, urban planning and historic achievements.

Starts at Blooms Cafe, The Royal National Hotel

2pm; Tickets: £14 (£12)

AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A 19TH CENTURY WOMAN! - PASCAL THEATRE COMPANY

What happens when women trespass into the rooms which say Keep Out? A dance theatre performance dramatising the lives of a doctor, a classicist and an accountant.

The Royal National Hotel

2pm & 3pm; FREE - Just turn up

FROM FIELDS TO FACULTIESALEC FORSHAW

This richly illustrated talk will cover the development of Bloomsbury over the last 500 years, from when it was fields and market gardens supplying the City of London, to the present day.

City Lit - Cultureplex

3pm; FREE - Just turn up

EVENT TYPES:

Tickets/Info: bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

GRASSROOTS PROTEST: ACTIVISM FROM BELOW

Change begins from below. Join activists Leila Hassan and Andy Worthington as they discuss campaigns against racism in the 1980s, the New Cross Fire murders, Guantánamo and much more.

Conway Hall

3pm; Tickets: £9 (£6; Conway Hall members free)

PARADISE PLANET EARTH: A COSMIC MIRACLE UNDER THREATDR FRANCISCO DIEGO

Projections, story telling, poetry, body language and music tell the long story of a cosmic miracle, now under threat. What is life? How did the Earth become a Paradise? Where do humans come from? Why is there so much injustice and destruction in the world? The event ends with a guided discussion about Paradise Planet Earth.

Holy Cross Church

3.30pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

PARIS CHAPTERS - CLARA BARBIER SERRANO & ROBERT FINEGAN

A performance exploring French-Irish relations in literature and music through new compositions and songs, following the day of an imaginary Irish author in Paris.

City Lit - Recital Room

4pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

NURTURING THE PLANET - KATE NOAKES AND CATH DRAKE

Exploring through poetry how we can reach a more sustainable future. Including poems drawn from Kate and Cath’s various collections, as well as new work written especially for the festival.

City Lit - Cultureplex

5pm; Tickets: £5

Madeline Dring Celebration Concert

Join Nicholas Daniel OBE & Antonio Oyarzabal for a concert celebrating the life & music of Madeline Dring. Award-winning writer Leah Broad will open with a talk introducing Dring’s fascinating story.

Conway Hall

5.30pm; Tickets: £13 in advance / £15 on door (concessions available)

FROM DOWLAND TO BRITTEN: ENGLISH NATURE THROUGH MUSICDUO FABULAE

A journey through time with music inspired by the natural world by Dowland, Bridge and Britten. The programme includes an original silent film by Radu Rojas to accompany Bridge’s cello sonata.

City Lit - Recital Room

7pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

Encore

An invitation to our audience, performers and partners to come and enjoy spoken word and music at this end of festival celebration. See website for programme details at the time of the festival.

London Welsh Centre - Bar

7.30pm; FREE - Just turn up

Tickets/Info: bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

Sponsors & Funders

Local Business Supporters

Major Partners

Key To Event Types

Exhibitions Music

Talks & Literature Family Events

Performance & Film Workshops

Walks

Exhibitions Throughout The Festival

(pages 8 - 11) See listings for event opening times

New Wave: Art Competition Winners 14 - 21 Oct

New Bloomsbury Set Silks 14 - 21 Oct

A Room of One’s Own 14 - 22 Oct

26 Plants 13 - 22 Oct

Deaf Mosaic 13 - 22 Oct

ENDLESS

14 - 20 Oct

Jessica’s Flowers 13 - 22 Oct

The New Bloomsbury Set Exhibition 13 - 22 Oct

We Were Here 14 - 21 Oct

Rugby Estate’s Flower Trail 14 - 22 Oct

Entwine: The Avocado Sculptures 14 - 21 Oct

Reclaiming 14 - 21 Oct

FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER (page 13)

OPENING EVENT: Street Food & Flower Market on Store Street 12pm - 5pm

Family Under 5’s Workshop: Time to Grow 10am - 11am & 1pm - 2pm

City Lit Mental Wealth Festival All day (see pg 14)

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER (pages 14 - 17)

City Lit Mental Wealth Festival All day (see pg 14)

Peter Pan Family Adventure Walk 11am - 12pm

Growing up with Witch Powers 11am - 12.30pm

Encouraging Healthy Growth in Specific Populations 11am - 12.15pm

Why Education Matters for Growth 12.45pm - 2pm

Lunchtime Concert: The Four Seasons

Song Recital 1pm - 2pm

Urban Greening: Cities of the Future 1pm - 2pm Rebels and Blue Stockings 2pm - 3.30pm

Cold Islanders: Caribbean Folklore 2pm - 4pm

SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER (pages 18 - 21) Lunchtime Concert: Piano works of Serbian

- 9pm

Oils 7.30pm - 8.30pm

WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER (pages 22 - 23)

The Bright, The Gifted & The Fearless 11am - 12.30pm

Lunchtime Concert: Duo Neul 1pm - 2pm

Bloomsbury & Kings Cross

Bookshop Crawl 2pm - 4pm

Writers of Colour Digital Bookclub 5.30pm - 6.30pm

Who Were the Bloomsbury Group? 7pm - 9pm

Phoenix 7pm - 7.40pm

Heaven Can Wait 7pm - 8.30pm

Finegan Viscardi Duo EP Launch 7pm - 8pm

How to Run Away 9pm - 10.30pm

THURSDAY 19 OCTOBER (pages 24 - 25)

FESTIVAL HUB (see pages 26-27):

Grow Discovery Hub 10am - 4pm

A Green Thread 11am - 12.30pm

Lunchtime Concert: Michelle Hromin 1pm - 2pm

The Smaller Squares of Bloomsbury 2pm - 3.30pm

The Intelligent Solution?... 6pm - 8.30pm

The Dreamquest of Unknown... 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Poetry’s Circle of Growth 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Life Lines: Poetry, Dance and Music 7pm - 7.45pm

Blue Light 7pm - 8pm

100 Books for the Next 20 Years 7pm - 8.15pm

An Evening with an Immigrant 7pm - 9pm

SEED 7.30pm - 9pm

A Music Party at Montagu House 7.30pm - 9.15pm

Giant Folk 8pm - 9.15pm

How to Run Away 9pm - 10.30pm

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER (pages 28 - 29)

FESTIVAL HUB (see pages 26-27):

Grow Discovery Hub 10am - 4pm

Bloomsbury’s Women Medical

Pioneers 1pm - 2.30pm

Young Voices @ Bloomsbury 2.30pm - 5pm

On the Beat in Bloomsbury 3.30pm - 5pm

The Intelligent Solution?... 6pm - 8.30pm

The Dreamquest of Unknown... 6.30pm - 7.30pm The Life of Meena Kumari... 6.30pm - 7.20pm Poetry and Music Evening

Language is a Skin 7pm - 7.45pm

- 9.30pm

How to Run Away 9pm - 10.30pm

SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER (pages 30 - 35)

FESTIVAL HUB (see pages 26-27):

- 5.20pm

Discovery and Legacy 7pm - 8.30pm

The Bloomsbury Beast: The Phantom of the Opera 7pm - 9pm

The Two Headed Bird 7.30pm - 8.40pm

Forest of Thorns 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Histoire du Tango 7.30pm - midnight

SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER (pages 36 - 39)

Air Pollution in Bloomsbury... 11am - 12.30pm

London: A Bloom of Consciousness 11.30am - 12pm & 2.30pm - 3pm

How can we Radically Re-define Growth? 12pm - 2pm

Bloomsbury & Kings Cross Bookshop Crawl 1pm - 5pm

Lunchtime Concert: Karen Wong & Lance Mok 1pm - 2pm

Bloomsbury North... 2pm - 3.30pm

An Unsuitable Job for a 19th Century Woman 2pm - 2.40pm & 3pm - 3.40pm

From Fields to Faculties 3pm - 4pm

Grassroots Protest 3pm - 4.30pm

Paradise Planet Earth 3.30pm - 5.30pm

Paris Chapters 4pm - 5.15pm

Nurturing the Planet 5pm - 6pm

Madeline Dring Celebration Concert 5.30pm - 8.30pm

From Dowland to Britten... 7pm - 7.50pm

Encore 7.30pm - 9.30pm