The English-Speaking Union
May Fair 2012 Tuesday 22 to Friday 25 May
To celebrate both the ‘merry month of May’ and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the ESU is holding its inaugural May Fair. A week of cultural, culinary and spoken-word events will take place at Dartmouth House, our beautiful headquarters in the heart of Mayfair; we will be delighted to welcome you to one or two events, or to have you as our guest for the entire festival. To book email susan.conway@esu.org or phone 020 7529 1582. Tuesday 22 May Music for the Jubilee
5 pm
Robert Cohen talks about ‘Performing Confidence’
7 pm
Jubilee Concert with the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra, Robert Cohen and other ESU alumni
Wednesday 23 May Shakespeare Day
2 pm
Performing Shakespeare Competition with young people from around London
6.30 pm
Scenes and Sonnets: A dinner with Shakespeare Aloud!
early pm
Country Dancing in the Courtyard
2.45 pm
Insider Mayfair Walk and Afternoon G&Tea
7 pm
The Dartmouth House Speak Easy
12.30 pm
Lunch with Robert Lacey: A Brief Life of the Queen
3 pm
Diamond Jubilee International Public Speaking Winner of Winners Competition & drinks reception
Thursday 24 May Dance, Teas & Speeches
Friday 25 May An International Jubilee
Tuesday 22 May Music for the Jubilee
Wednesday 23 May Shakespeare Day
Robert Cohen: Performing Confidence, 5 - 5.45 pm
Jubilee Concert Performance 7 - 9 pm
Performing Shakespeare Competition 2 - 3 pm
Scenes and Sonnets: A dinner with Shakespeare Aloud! 6.30 - 9 pm
Robert Cohen has been hailed as one of the foremost cellists of our time. “It is easy to hear what the fuss is about, he plays like a God” (New York Stereo Review). Prior to performing in the Jubilee Concert, Robert will give a lecture entitled ‘Performing Confidence’, where he will discuss the key to successful, confident performances on the world-wide stage and the secret to handling nerves, in front of an audience of thousands.
Join the ESU for an evening of musical entertainment with special performances by the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and alumni of the ESU’s Music Scholarship Programme including soloist, concerto player and chamber musician Robert Cohen.
Open to schools in all of London’s 32 boroughs, the Performing Shakespeare Competition was launched by the ESU to give young students the chance to engage in the works of Shakespeare and develop their performance skills.
Join us at Dartmouth House for an evening of Shakespearian splendour with the first ever London performance given by Shakespeare Aloud!, the performing arm of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Tickets are complimentary to this event; however a suggested minimum donation of £10 will be welcome in order to support ESU educational programmes.
Tickets: £15 to include a glass of wine and selection of nibbles. The concert will begin at 7.30 pm.
With arrangements by Handel, Purcell, Dvorak, Haydn and Carroll, the event promises to be the perfect start to the May Fair.
Following an afternoon of workshops led by the Globe Theatre, the competition final will take place from 2 pm, where short-listed candidates will perform either a Shakespearean monologue or duologue in front of an audience and judges. Tickets are complimentary; however, please ensure to register your attendance with Susan Conway.
Before, during and after dinner, actors will give pop-up performances of some of Shakespeare’s best loved scenes and sonnets. Tickets: £40 members, £45 alumni*, £50* guests, to include a two-course meal with wine. Dinner will be served at 7pm. *to include a voluntary donation of £5 and £10 respectively to support the charitable work of the ESU.
Photo: JP Masclet
To book for any of these events, email susan.conway@esu.org or phone 020 7529 1582
Thursday 24 May Dances, Teas & Speeches
Friday 25 May An International Jubilee
Courtyard Country Dancing 12.30 & 2.15pm
The Dartmouth House Speak Easy 7 - 10.30 pm
Join the ESU for Maypole and other traditional English country dances performed by students of William Patten School, Stoke Newington, in the Dartmouth House courtyard.
The ESU invites you to an evening of public speaking and performance organised by the College of Public Speaking, in support of ESU educational programmes.
Dartmouth House Lunch – Robert Lacey: A Brief Life of the Queen 12.30 - 2.30 pm
Tickets complimentary; a suggested donation of £10 is welcome.
The event will feature speakers from some of London’s most prestigious speaking fraternities, including Toastmasters and Central London Debating Society.
Insider Mayfair Walk and Afternoon G&Tea, 2.45 pm Spend a leisurely afternoon at the Dartmouth House “G & Tea Party” with traditional home-made afternoon tea. A selection of gins from local and national artisan distilleries will also be available to taste. Before the Party, Richard Reddaway, will give a guided tour of “Insider Mayfair”, highlighting some famous landmarks in and around the W1 area. The walk leaves Dartmouth House at 2.45 pm with tea to follow at 4.15 pm. Tickets: £35 for Insider Mayfair walk and afternoon tea and gin tasting.
The event’s theme is “Education and Entertainment” and will feature speeches on metaphor and rhetoric, the art of connection, humour and inspiration. There will also be a 30 minute debate by competing teams from the ESU and the Central London Debating Society. Guests will also be invited to give impromptu speeches toward the end of the evening. Tickets are complimentary; however, we do ask for a minimum suggested donation of £10 per guest in order to support the cost of the evening.
Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to - and often living alongside - his subjects. After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert, Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert wrote Majesty, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977, Majesty remains acknowledged as the definitive study of British monarchy - a subject on which the author continues to write and lecture around the world, appearing regularly on ABC’s Good Morning America and on CNN’s Larry’s King Live. Join us at this Diamond Jubilee themed lunch as Robert talks about his new book A Brief Life of the Queen, copies of which will be on sale. Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 alumni*, £50 guests*, to include a two-course lunch with wine and talk by Robert. Dress code: business casual. *to include a voluntary donation of £5 and £10 respectively to support the charitable work of the ESU .
Diamond Jubilee IPSC Winner of Winners Competition and drinks reception, 3 - 5 pm From its humble beginnings as a tournament between England and Australia, the ESU International Public Speaking Competition is now in its 31st year, reaching over 40,000 young people in around 50 countries across the globe. As part of the ESU May Fair, the ESU will host the Diamond Jubilee IPSC Winner of Winners Competition, hosted by ESU alumna and former BBC Arts Correspondent, Rosie Millard. Six previous winners from the USA, Australia, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Romania and Ghana battle it out to win this prestigious award as they speak on the topic ‘English as a Golden Thread’, a quote from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A drinks reception will follow the competition. Tickets are complimentary; however, a suggested minimum donation of £10 is welcome to support both the cost of the event and ESU educational programmes. This event is supported by the HSBC Global Education Trust.
To book for any of these events, email susan.conway@esu.org or phone 020 7529 1582
All week Young People’s Art Exhibition Diamond Jubilee Art Competition for Young People The Constitutional Monarchy Association (“CMA”) is a non-profit making organisation set up to support the British Monarchy; in particular to increase understanding among young people of the role of the Constitutional Monarchy, the Royal Family and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year 2012. Join us at Dartmouth House as we launch the CMA’s “Diamond Jubilee Competition for Young People”, a competition designed to encourage creativity and inspire artwork or short stories based on the Diamond Jubilee. The competition is open to children aged 7 – 18 years of age and selected works of art will be on display around Dartmouth House during the May Fair week, for members of the public to view.