Bath Festivals is thrilled to bring two cultural treats to Bath this autumn, ahead of next year's edition of The Bath Festival, as actor Sir Simon Russell Beale and author David Mitchell visit the city in September and October respectively.
Sir Simon Russell Beale: A Piece of Work
Image: Sir Simon Russell Beale
Sir Simon Russell Beale, one of the nation's beloved actors, is coming to Bath for a special event celebrating the launch of his memoir, A Piece Of Work: Playing Shakespeare and Other Stories.
Spend a captivating evening with one of the finest actors of his generation, as he delves into his life, his extraordinary career on stage and screen, and his enduring fascination with the world’s greatest playwright.
Simon Russell Beale has played many roles on stage, film, television and radio, from Winston Churchill to Stalin, George Smiley to King Arthur. But ever since his appearance at school as a glamorous Desdemona, he has been captivated by Shakespeare. He studied English at Cambridge University before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company and has been garlanded with many accolades, including Olivier and BAFTA awards.
Simon will reveal what it is to approach and live with some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters, drawing on his experiences as a man who has played many parts, and attempt to get under the skin of the playwright and find out what drove him – how collaborative was Shakespeare? Was he an instinctive ‘conservative’ or, rather, gently subversive? Did he suffer from insomnia and experience sexual jealousy?
He will also take us backstage, sharing fascinating behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the great and the good – including his friends Sam Mendes, Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Sondheim and Lauren Bacall – and revealing some of his own surprising sources of inspiration.
Join Simon on Monday 30 September from 7:30pm at The Assembly Rooms for an evening in what promises to be delightful, entertaining company. His memoir A Piece of Work: Playing Shakespeare and Other Stories is published on 5 September.
Tickets are £13 (£9 concessions) plus booking fee, from: An Evening With Sir Simon Russell Beale – The Bath Festival : The Bath Festival (bathfestivals.org.uk). Booking is also available by phone, 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday on +44 (0)1225 463362. Tickets can also be purchased in-person from the Bath Box Office counter within the same hours at 1A Forum Buildings, St James’ Parade, Bath BA1 1UG.
David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas at 20
Image: David Mitchell, credit Eoin O’Conaill
Rescheduled from this May's Bath Festival, author David Mitchell will visit The Assembly Rooms on Thursday 3 October, from 7:30pm.
Mitchell's genre-defying, Booker-shortlisted, bestselling novel Cloud Atlas is 20 years old this year, and to celebrate the anniversary, Bath Festivals is welcoming him to Bath for an evening in conversation with author, journalist and composer, Mat Osman (The Ghost Factory).
Cloud Atlas was originally published in 2004 and is comprised of six interconnected tales, each written in a unique style and told from a differing perspective. David will reflect on his literary masterpiece, and what it meant for his writing career. He’ll also discuss the challenges of turning one of the most complex novels into a Hollywood film.
‘I remember so clearly the sheer pleasure of reading Cloud Atlas for the first time. It was one of those rare books that expand your idea of what literature might be capable of. I’m still in awe of its scope and ambition, its readability and its heart, so I’m delighted to have a chance to talk to David about it.’ – Mat Osman.
Tickets are £11 (£8 concessions) plus booking fee, from: https://bathfestivals.org.uk/the-bath-festival/event/cloudatlasat20/. Booking is also available by phone, 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday on +44 (0)1225 463362. Tickets can also be purchased in-person from the Bath Box Office counter witihin the same hours at 1A Forum Buildings, St James’ Parade, Bath BA1 1UG.
David Mitchell has written eight novels, as well as essays and a novella and has adapted his work for the stage and screen.
Cloud Atlas, his third novel, was his breakthrough work. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and listed for many other awards, the book was acclaimed by critics and readers alike. Mitchell has been nominated for the Booker Prize five times, and in 2018, won The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, given in recognition of a writer’s entire body of work.
Mat Osman is the bassist and founder member of iconic British rock band Suede and a composer of music for TV and films. He also worked as a culture journalist during the 2000s, writing about art and travel for papers, magazines and online. He is the author of bestselling novel The Ghost Theatre, published in 2023.
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