Buxton Festival Literary Weekend 2014

Friday 31 October to Sunday 2 November Pavilion Arts Centre

Jung Chang Kathy Lette Nicholas Parsons Kirsty Wark Jonathan Aitken Sandra Howard Matthew Parris Andy Miller Seven Deadly Sins Literary Lunch

Buxton Literary Festival Weekend 2014 Box Office: 0845 127 2190 buxtonfestival.co.uk

In association with

Friday 31 October

KIRSTY WARK The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle 2pm–3pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £10 Presenter of BBC2’s Newsnight since 1993 and Newsnight Review between 2002 and 2014, Kirsty Wark talks about her first novel.

The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle is a captivating and haunting story of the richness beneath so-called ordinary lives, and the secrets and threads that hold women together, depicting a woman’s search for the truth about her mother, set on the Isle of Arran.

ANDY MILLER Read Y’Self Fitter

‘A hilarious selfhelp session on getting through difficult books hosted by Andy Miller, author of The Year Of Reading Dangerously.’ – The Times

4pm–5pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £10 Read Y’Self Fitter is a ten-step programme to cure you of bad reading habits from the author of The Year of Reading Dangerously.

With the aid of nothing more than a flipchart, Andy guides the audience through the ten rules of Reading Dangerously.

What makes a great book? Should you finish difficult books or books you don’t like? Why do so many of us lie about the books we have – or haven’t – read? Is it better to spend time at the gym or the library? Is Moby-Dick really a better book than The Da Vinci Code? And so on.

‘Designed for those who love literature but have somehow lost their way... Miller is an excellent speaker and he has honed his performance into a rewarding mixture of literary talk, motivational lecture and stand-up comedy routine.’ – TLS

Friday 31 October

An Evening with NICHOLAS PARSONS Just A La ugh A Minute 7.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £20 In this very entertaining and vibrant show, Nicholas Parsons, radio & TV star, comedian and entertainer. Chairman of BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute for an incredible 37 years (and counting!), he was also the host of Anglia TV’s Sale Of The Century for a record-breaking 14 years, takes his audience on a humorous and nostalgic journey through the often hysterically funny memorabilia of his long and eventful life, seeing the funny side of every situation as he highlights with superb observation the events that have shaped his career.

As a surprisingly fabulous mimic and impressionist, he not only recalls the incidents and events, he re-creates them with vivid impersonations of the famous personalities involved and shows why he has such a massive following from students to OAPs who are all regularly glued to his BBC Radio 4 broadcasts.

Saturday 1 November SANDRA HOWARD Tell The Girl 10.30am–11.30am Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £10 Sandra Howard (née Paul) was one of the leading fashion models of the 1960s, appearing on the cover of American Vogue two months running.

She worked as a freelance journalist alongside modelling, before turning to writing with novels including Glass Houses, Ursula’s Story, A Matter of Loyalty and Ex-Wives. Her latest, Tell the Girl, tells the story of a model’s movement through high society in Kennedy’s America.

JONATHAN AITKEN Margaret Thatcher – Power & Personality 2pm–3pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £10 Former MP and cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken gives his insider’s view of Margaret Thatcher’s story – from first meeting her when she was a junior shadow minister in the mid-1960s, during her time as leader of the Opposition when he was a close family friend, and as a Member of Parliament throughout her years in power, Aitken had a ringside seat at many private and public spectacles in the Thatcher saga.

Saturday 1 November

KATHY LETTE Courting Trouble

JUNG CHANG Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China 12 noon–1pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £10 The internationally bestselling author of Wild Swans and Mao: The Unknown Story talks about her most recent book Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China – an epic biography of the woman who ruled 19th Century China for 50 years, overcoming centuries of traditions and modernising China, exposing its culture to western political ideas and technology.

4pm–5pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £10 Outspoken and hilarious novelist Kathy Lette (Mad Cows, How to Kill Your Husband and Other Handy Household Hints, To Love, Honour and Betray) cites amongst her career highlights once teaching Stephen Fry a word, Salman Rushdie, the limbo and scripting Julian Assange’s cameo in The Simpsons’ 500th episode. She comes to Buxton with her latest novel, Courting Trouble, the story of a barrister forced to rebuild her life after the end of her marriage.

Saturday 1 November SEVEN DEADLY SINS FOUR DEADLY SINNERS 7.30pm Pavilion Arts Centre Tickets: £20 The hugely popular and very successful anthology evening of wicked comedy, heavenly drama, devilishly tall tales, enchanting poetry and seductive stories starring four deadly beautiful temptresses will enlighten you on how to survive, or even live by, the Seven Deadly Sins!

Compiled by the award winning scriptwriter and author of the first six of the Carry On... films Norman Hudis, Seven Deadly Sins stars four fabulous stars of stage and screen.

Liza Goddard first came to the public eye in the iconic 60s show, Skippy, and is well known for her appearances in Take Three Girls, The Brothers, Yes Honestly, Bergerac, Woof! and as one of the team captains in Give Us A Clue.

Rula Lenska shot to fame as one third of the 70s girl band in Rock Follies, and has appeared in such longrunning series as Doctor Who, Robin of Sherwood and Coronation Street.

Plus two more fabulous ladies to be announced.

‘The house roared with laughter.

A very clever show, great production, fabulous team, giving plenty of smiles and belly laughs.’

Theatre Australia

Sunday 2 November

MENU Creamy Cajun style Mushrooms Served on a warm Crostini with Dressed Rocket Deep Fried Goats Cheese in Spiced Breadcrumbs Served with a Mango and Chilli Salsa ~o0o~ Mixed Seafood Risotto Flavoured with Lemon, Dill and Crispy Rocket Honey and Cinnamon Basted Pork Loin Served with Apricot Stuffing and a Cider Jus

LITERARY LUNCH With special guests Matthew Parris Nicholas Parsons 12 noon–3pm Old Hall Hotel Tickets: £40 Special price for a table of 10: £360 Join us for the first ever slap-up Literary Lunch at Buxton’s historic Old Hall Hotel. After your delicious lunch sit back with a coffee and enjoy being entertained by our three speakers: former politician, writer, broadcaster and Buxton favourite Matthew Parris, showbusiness legend and Just A Minute host Nicholas Parsons and a third guest to be announced.

Red Lentil and Spinach Stew Served with Herb Dumplings All served with Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables ~o0o~ Banana and Toffee Bread & Butter Pudding Served with Custard White Chocolate and Raspberry Eton Mess ~o0o~ Freshly Ground Coffee Served with Cream and Mint Chocolates ~o0o~

Our venues Pavilion Arts Centre St John’s Road, Buxton SK17 6BE

Old Hall Hotel The Square, Buxton SK17 6BD

Palace Hotel

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Police Station

Market Place

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Ashwood Park

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Town Hall

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Coach Park

A6 to BAKEWELL, TIDESWELL & MATLOCK

BATH ROAD

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Bookings

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A6 to MANCHESTER, GLOSSOP, HAYFIELD, CHINLEY & NEW MILLS

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Pavilion Arts Centre Pavilion Gardens

The Slopes

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Opera House

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A55 to LEEK & MACCLESFIELD

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The Crescent

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St John’s Church

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Devonshire Dome

Buxton Station

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The Lee Wood Hotel

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A5004 to STOCKPORT & WHALEY BRIDGE

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A515 to ASHBOURNE

Buxton Opera House Box Office: 0845 127 2190 or 01298 72190 or online at buxtonfestival.co.uk For accommodation, please contact Buxton Tourist Information Centre – 01298 25106