Day One

Saturday, 31 July 2021

John Lloyd: IQ versus QI

10 am - 10:45 am

In this session kicking off the Festival, Joanne Ooi, EA Festival founder, interviewed John Lloyd, the UK’s most celebrated comedy producer, responsible for national treasures like Blackadder, Spitting Image and QI. Comedy, however, was not the central topic. Instead, Lloyd explained the importance of curiosity, how he emerged from a mid-life depression with newfound purpose and how the idea of service underpins every day of his life.

Generously supported by Andrew and Karen Sunnucks.

William Sieghart: Why Poetry?

11:00 am - 11:45 am

“Poetry Pharmacist”, William Sieghart, talked about the healing power of poetry and why he set up National Poetry Day and the Forward Prizes for Poetry. Sieghart also treated us to readings of some of his favourite poems.

Spoken Word: Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa

12 pm - 12:45 pm

Safiya performed poems from her new collection, 'The Inheritance', coming out soon on Out-Spoken Press. Her performances are based on the groundbreaking technique of combining spoken word with dance and body language.

Generously supported by Clara and Percy Weatherall.

Susie Dent: The Future of English

1:45 pm - 2:30 pm

Renowned lexicographer, author and Countdown’s resident word expert, Susie Dent shared her observations about how language has changed over the past twenty years, the pros and cons of tech, her biggest linguistic bugbears and what her favourite words are.

Dr. Gavin Francis: Writing as a Doctor

2:45 pm - 3:30 pm

Award-winning doctor-author, Dr. Gavin Francis, recounted the first-hand experiences of COVID-19 that led him to write his most recent book, Intensive Care, published last year. But perhaps more fascinating, he explained how being a medical doctor has moulded his insights and perspective on the human condition.

Mike Figgis: "Can't put this guy in a box"

3:45 pm - 4:30 pm

Mike Figgis is a polymath extraordinaire and legendary auteur on many fronts. Consequently, a conversation with him doesn't deserve to be shoehorned into a single subject, except perhaps "creativity". Among the questions that we asked him: What is responsible for your bottomless drive to create and learn every day? What art form do you enjoy engaging in the most and why? What is your favourite piece of output as a creator and why? What's the relationship between all your disparate artistic pursuits and how do they interact or reinforce each other?

Evelyn Glennie & Rosey Chan: The Power of Listening

5:15 pm - 6:45 pm

This captivating double bill featured Evelyn Glennie in conversation with John Lloyd (first video below) followed by an improvisational piano performance by contemporary classical pianist Rosey Chan. The session ended in a three-way conversation between Evelyn, Rosey and John (second video below).

Generously supported by Dominic and Sarah Caldecott.

Roman Kosyakov: Scintillating Pianism

7:15 pm - 8:30 pm

In this intimate recital by the 2018 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition winner, Roman will treat us to a recital of Bach’s Partita No. 1, Beethoven’s Sonata op. 10 No. 3 and Schumann’s Kreisleriana op. 16.

Day Two

Sunday, 1 August 2021

Panel: The Ethical Carnivore

10 am - 11 am

Against the backdrop of a looming culture war about the wisdom and desirability of eating beef, four experts brought their unique perspectives to bear on the issue. Louise Gray, the name of whose book furnished the title of this discussion, described how her experience of consuming meat only found or killed by her for two years, informed the way she thinks about meat eating. John Lynch, an environmental scientist, educated us about the actual (versus purported) impact of livestock farming on climate change. Hugh Somerleyton, rewilding advocate, explained his mission to reinstate East Anglia’s wilderness while Anna Beames, an environmental systems thinker, gave us a glimpse of the difficulties and challenges of putting natural capital at the heart of agricultural production.

Generously supported by Lavenham Brook.

Panel: Art in East Anglia

11:15 am - 12:15 pm

In this panel discussion, veterans of the East Anglia art scene, Sally Shaw of FirstSite, Amanda Geitner of East Anglia Art Fund and Julia Devonshire of Original Projects, discussed the challenges of making a living as an artist in the region and funding ground-breaking art projects, all while broadening public audiences and pushing the envelope of creativity and experimentation. In short, what do we need to create or put in place in order to make the regional art scene flourish?

Charles Saumarez Smith: The Future of Museums

12:30 pm - 1:15 pm

In this festival session, Charles Saumarez Smith, one of the world’s most eminent art historians and former director of both the National Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts, introduced his new book, The Art Museum in Modern Times, and explained how the modern museum has evolved to address the changing nature of art appreciation and museum-going.Panel: “Let’s talk about sex”

Panel: “Let’s talk about sex”

2:15 pm - 3 pm

In this frank and fun discussion, Rowan Pelling and Daisy Buchanan compared notes on how behaviour and attitudes towards sex and relationships have changed because of mass media, technology, social media and economic forces, illuminating the dilemmas of dating and loving in today's society.

Generously sponsored by Bulbeck Foundry.

Sustainable Fashion: Beyond Greenwashing

3:30 pm - 4:15 pm

Supermodel and ecofashion advocate, Arizona Muse, joined Sass Brown, scholar, author and former dean of FIT, via video link to discuss how the fashion industry can mitigate climate change - not just its raw inputs but legacy business models and the value system propagated by the fashion industry.

Generously supported by County Broadband, EA Festival’s Infrastructure Partner.

Spoken Word: "The Feel-Good Movie of the Year" by Luke Wright

4:30 pm - 5:15 pm

Spoken word poet, Luke Wright, treated us to a riveting performance of poems from his newest book, The Feel-Good Movie of the Year, "These poems pull on the ‘tidy hem’ of responsible existence, unravelling the banal frustrations of online outrage and ageing friends ... Wright files through the shackles of cynicism to ask how can we let go without giving up." Bittersweet but always captivating, Wright's genius stems from his ability to marry verbal virtuosity with elegiac observation. (Video not available.)

Music: Waiting for Smith

5:30 pm - 6:15 pm

The singer-songwriter treated us to an acoustic journey that traces his story of personal redemption through music. His concert comprised new tunes written during COVID-19 combined with well-worn favourites in his trademark style of anthemic folk-pop optimism. (Video not available.)

Comedy: Josh Berry

6:30 pm - 7:15 pm

Conservative Party advisor, Rafe Hubris (BA, OXON) aka Josh Berry was interviewed by magician-prankster, Archie Manner, in this satirical send-up of British politics. (Video not available.)

East Anglia Showcase (Music): Nik Void, Talvin Singh & Tawiah

8:15 pm - 9:45 pm

Talvin Singh, Nik Void and Tawiah shared the stage in this adventurous tripleheader concert that represents the Festival's unorthodox approach to programming. Singh, the world's best-known tabla player opened the set and was followed by the percussive experimental synth of Nik Void. Tawiah ended the evening with a poignant acoustic performance that showed off her astonishing voice and inimitable knack for melody. (The video includes Talvin’s performance only.)