CHARLESTON FESTIVAL
1 5 T H TO 2 5 T H M AY 2 0 1 5
w h e r e b o o k s , i d e a s a n d c r e at i v i t y b l o o m
including:
Peter Carey
Shami Chakrabarti
Monty Don
Antonia Fraser
Michael Frayn
Maggi Hambling
Helena Kennedy
Neel Mukherjee
David Nicholls
Hans Ulrich Obrist
Amartya Sen
Ali Smith
Tom Stoppard
Colm Tóibín
WELCOME TO CHARLESTON
FESTIVAL 2015
Located in the glorious South Downs in East Sussex,
Charleston was, from 1916, the home of Bloomsbury
group artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Pioneers of
early 20th century British art, Bell and Grant created a hub
of artistic and intellectual activity. Home also to Clive Bell
and John Maynard Keynes, guests included Virginia Woolf,
Roger Fry, Lytton Strachey, T.S. Eliot and E.M. Forster.
This year’s Festival of literature, art
and ideas is a cultural cornucopia. We
explore themes as old as Magna Carta
and as modern as current fiction; as
life enhancing as gardening and as
important as freedom of expression; as
historic as the Battle of Waterloo and
as contemporary as phone hacking; as
raffish as Bohemianism and as glamorous
as front-row fashion; as magical as Alice
in Wonderland and as magisterial as T.S.
Eliot. Our speakers include titans of the
theatre (Tom Stoppard, Michael Frayn,
Richard Eyre), the law (Helena Kennedy,
Jeremy Hutchinson, Alan Moses), and
the art world (Maggi Hambling, David
Gentleman, Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans
Ulrich Obrist).
Charleston is now open to the public and provides the
stunning setting for the Festival. It is looked after by
The Charleston Trust, an independent charity that receives no public or government funding
for its running costs. For more information about Charleston and its many other activities, go to
www.charleston.org.uk.
Charleston would like to give special thanks to its new Associate Partners who
support the Charleston Festival and the Trust throughout the year.
Hurst
Hurstpierpoint College
Pre-Prep | Prep | Senior School | Sixth Form
Charleston is grateful to the following for their generous support:
The Ondaatje Foundation • Jane Miles • Hugh & Catherine Stevenson • Prudence & Kevan Watts • Nira Wright
Printed by MCR Print, official print partner to The Charleston Trust (www.mcrprint.co.uk)
If you are interested in supporting Charleston, or future events, please contact
Susie Tempest on 01323 815161, or at [email protected]
2 | How to Book information is on page 39
Keynes’ star burns ever brighter. We
are honoured to present the inaugural
Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes
Prize to the Nobel Prize winning
economist and philosopher, Amartya Sen.
We are delighted to introduce our first
music commission, in conjunction with
Rathfinny Wine Estate, featuring the
London Conchord Ensemble in a new
work which pays homage to Virginia
Woolf and Benjamin Britten.
There will be plenty of opportunity to join
in, meet the speakers at the City Books
stall and hang out in the Charleston
garden, cafés and bar. Don’t miss out!
Diana Reich
Artistic Director
Photographs © Penelope Fewster/Axel Hesslenberg. Kindly
reproduced with the permission of the photographers.
HOVE
Bloomsbury is enjoying a special moment
this year. It has inspired a series of films
for BBC TV, fiction and even a ballet.
All the different art form creators will
speak at the Charleston Festival and
explain how they have re-imagined
Bloomsbury for the 21st century.
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 3
FRIDAY 15 MAY
FRIDAY 15 MAY
RAISING THE ROOF
FAMILY ROMANCES
Jamie Fobert, David Gentleman,
Simon Jenkins and Julia Barfield
David Nicholls and Polly Samson with Alex Clark
6pm Tickets £16
1pm Tickets £14
David Nicholls’ new novel, Us, was a critical success and instant bestseller. The story follows a couple and their son on a tour of Europe
in a last-ditch attempt to save their marriage. His previous novel, One
Day, was an international phenomenon; his film adaptation of Far From
the Madding Crowd will be released this spring. Polly Samson’s lyrical
and haunting new novel, The Kindness, is the story of a passionate love
affair blown apart by an explosive secret. Her most recent book was
the lauded story collection, Perfect Lives. She is also a lyricist for Pink
Floyd. They discuss the conventions of family romances with Alex
Clark, literary critic and broadcaster.
Architecture, whether new buildings,
extensions, restorations or renovations,
inspires passions for and against. As the
transformation of the Grade II listed barns
and hidden courtyards at Charleston gathers
pace, the panellists discuss their favourite and bête noire
architectural projects of this century. Jamie Fobert’s practice
won the commission to develop Charleston’s contemporary
spaces. Journalist and author Simon Jenkins was chairman of
the National Trust until last autumn; his books include England’s
1,000 Best Houses. David Gentleman occupies a unique niche as
a watercolourist, designer and topographer. His latest book is
In the Country. Chaired by Julia Barfield, half of the architectural
team that conceived the London Eye, the Treetop Walk at Kew
and Brighton’s forthcoming i360 Tower.
Supported by The Ondaatje Foundation
Supported by Harveys of Lewes
FRIDAY 15 MAY
HER HISTORY
Above: Key Treetop Walkway
Top: Charleston Barns by Duncan Grant
FRIDAY 15 MAY
QUITE A GOOD TIME TO BE BORN
David Lodge with John Mullan
3.30pm Tickets £14
David Lodge, one of our foremost novelists, playwrights and
literary critics, renowned for his hilarious satire, turns the
spotlight on himself. Disarmingly frank, as well as insightful and
illuminating, he charts the process of becoming the writer of
the award-winning Changing Places, How Far Can You Go?, Small World
and Nice Work, as well as stage plays, screen plays and literary criticism.
He discusses the transitions in British society since his birth in 1935 and
his evolution as a writer with fellow academic, broadcaster and journalist
John Mullan, whose latest book is What Matters in Jane Austen.
Antonia Fraser with Jon Snow
8pm Tickets £16
Antonia Fraser turns her biographer’s eye inwards and mines her early years to explain her
development as a celebrated narrative historian. Her excursion into personal history takes in her
upbringing by privileged Labour party activists; her undergraduate
days at Oxford; her season as a debutante; working for Lord
Weidenfeld; her racy London life and her marriage to a
Tory MP (which lasted until she met Harold Pinter);
and the triumphant publication of her first book, Mary,
Queen of Scots. She discusses the making of a historian
with Jon Snow, distinguished broadcaster and Channel
4 News anchor.
Supported by EFG Private Bank
Supported by EFG Private Bank
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Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 5
SATURDAY 16 MAY
PERFECT WIVES
Virginia Nicholson with Julia Somerville
11.30am Tickets £14
Fifties style is everywhere, from decor to fashion, but beyond the surface
look of the decade, what was it really like? Virginia Nicholson’s latest
social history analyses the era from the female perspective and guess
what? – it was not all glamour. She is a ‘brilliant and tireless researcher
and every page will be replete with startling facts and personal stories’
(The Observer). Virginia Nicholson discusses The Story of Women in the
1950s with Julia Somerville, one of our most well known and respected
TV news broadcasters, encompassing both the BBC and ITN.
Supported by The Ondaatje Foundation
SATURDAY 16 MAY
SATURDAY 16 MAY
WATERLOO
MONTY DON IN
CONVERSATION
SATURDAY 16 MAY
Andrew Roberts and
Jenny Uglow
MORTAL LESSONS
4pm Tickets £14
Henry Marsh and Hugh Aldersey-Williams
1.45pm Tickets £14
Henry Marsh’s Do No Harm takes us into the mysteries of the human
brain and its ailments and into the mind of a top surgeon. An Inspector
Maigret of the neurosurgical theatre, he reveals the limitations and
dangers of his art and how he copes with the expectations and fears
of his patients. Hugh Aldersey-Williams is a best-selling science writer
whose new book, The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st
Century, vividly resurrects the great 17th century writer (admired by
Virginia Woolf) and physician. His previous books include Anatomies
and Periodic Tales.
Supported by
Lancing College
with Kate Kellaway
On the 200th anniversary of the Battle
of Waterloo (1815), historian Andrew
Roberts, unabashed Bonapartist, explains
why he thinks that Napoleon was one
of the most extraordinary men who
ever lived. In the space of 20 years,
he transfixed France and Europe, until
he met his nemesis in the dramas of
Russia in 1812 and finally at Waterloo.
Jenny Uglow’s In These Times: Living
in Britain through Napoleon’s Wars,
examines the lives of ordinary people
during this turbulent period, capturing
the social context and everyday details.
They consider the international and
local impact of the Napoleonic years,
culminating in Waterloo.
Supported by
Hurstpierpoint College
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Monty Don
6.15pm Tickets £20
Monty Don is an inspirational gardener (‘there is
as much pleasure in a snowdrop as in a successful
career’), broadcaster and prolific writer. He is the
lead presenter of BBC’s Gardeners’ World, which
is broadcast from his home, Long Meadow in
Herefordshire. He is also the main presenter for
the Chelsea Flower Show. His latest
series for the BBC, The Secret
History of the British Garden,
is due for transmission in
2015 and includes scenes shot
at Charleston. He will be in
conversation with Kate Kellaway,
Observer writer, editor and keen
gardener, though most of
her learning is through
her own mistakes!
Supported by
Sussex Country
Gardener
Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 7
SUNDAY 17 MAY
CASE HISTORIES
Jeremy Hutchinson, Helena Kennedy and Thomas Grant
12pm Tickets £14
Jeremy Hutchinson was the greatest criminal barrister of his time.
He defended the publication of Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Fanny Hill
and prevented the suppression of Last Tango in Paris and Romans in
Britain; he also defended Christine Keeler, George Blake, Great Train
robber, Charlie Wilson, art ‘faker’ Tom Keating and Howard Marks.
Not surprisingly, he was the partial inspiration for John Mortimer’s
Rumpole. Helena Kennedy QC is one of the UK’s most distinguished
lawyers. Her leading cases include the Brighton bombing trial and
the Guildford Four Appeal; she is well known for her championship
of law reform for women. Thomas Grant QC has collaborated
with Jeremy Hutchinson to recount his sensational career.
SATURDAY 16 MAY
BLOOMSBURY RE-IMAGINED
Amanda Coe and Priya Parmar with Frances Spalding
8.15pm Tickets £14
Supported by Knill James
The legacy of Bloomsbury still resonates. How have novelist Priya Parmar and scriptwriter
Amanda Coe re-interpreted Bloomsbury? Priya Parmar’s book, Vanessa and Her Sister,
re-examines some momentous events in the lives of the unconventional Bloomsbury
coterie through the perspective of Vanessa Stephen. Amanda Coe’s three-part series for
BBC Two, Life in Squares, dramatises the story of the Bloomsbury group over 40 years,
focusing on the close and fraught relationship between Vanessa and Virginia. They discuss
portraying Bloomsbury in fiction and film with Frances Spalding, the biographer of Vanessa
Bell. Priya Parmar’s previous novel is Exit the Actress. Amanda Coe is also a successful
novelist. Her latest book is Getting Colder.
SUNDAY 17 MAY
MAGNA CARTA
Shami Chakrabarti and Robert Tombs
2.30pm Tickets £14
Life in Squares, BBC Two
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Image: © The British Library Board
Supported by Rathfinny Wine Estate
This year is the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, sealed at
Runnymede in 1215. Clause 29, the right to ‘due process’,
laid the foundation for the individual freedoms that we
enjoy today. Shami Chakrabarti and Robert Tombs discuss
its historic, contemporary and symbolic importance. Shami
Chakrabarti is the director of the civil liberties advocacy
organisation, Liberty. She published her first book, On
Liberty, last year. Robert Tombs’ The English and their
History (‘pithy, punchy and learned’ – The Sunday Times)
is a sweeping narrative, taking in 1066 and Thatcherism in
one volume. He is Professor of History at Cambridge.
Supported by Hurstpierpoint College
Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 9
SUNDAY 17 MAY
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY
BATTLE OF THE BULGE
BUNNY
Antony Beevor
Henrietta Garnett and Sarah Knights with Anne Chisholm
5pm Tickets £16
1pm Tickets £14
Antony Beevor, our most distinguished military historian, is famous
for evoking the total experience of war, civilian as well as military.
In his new book, he turns from the magisterial big canvas of
his best-selling The Second World War to the key battle of the
Ardennes 1944 (‘The Battle of the Bulge’), which marked the
end of the German war machine. In the process, he casts a
critical eye on Montgomery’s errors in the campaign, that so
infuriated our American allies. Expect a powerful account of the
Wehrmacht’s last stand.
David (Bunny) Garnett was a Bloomsbury insider who has recently
been pushed to the margins. A conscientious objector, he was one of
the original Charleston residents. A scientist by training, he became
a best selling novelist: Lady into Fox was made into a Rambert ballet
and Aspects of Love into an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. He
spent part of his youth in pre-revolutionary Russia and was at home
in intellectual and underworld circles. He was the lover of Duncan
Grant and husband of Angelica Bell (Duncan’s daughter). Sarah Knights,
author of Bloomsbury Outsider, discusses the real Bunny Garnett with his
daughter Henrietta Garnett and biographer Anne Chisholm.
Supported by Prudence & Kevan Watts
Supported by City Books
SUNDAY 17 MAY
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY
WOOLF WORKS
Wayne McGregor and Uzma Hameed with Rupert Christiansen
7.30pm Tickets £14
‘The proper stuff of fiction is little other than custom would have us believe it’. (Virginia Woolf).
Inspired by Woolf’s defiance of narrative convention, the multi-award winning choreographer
Wayne McGregor, in collaboration with director and writer Uzma Hameed, has created a new
ballet, Woolf Works. The commission for the Royal Ballet, with music by Max Richter, will be
premiered at the Royal Opera House this
year. It enmeshes themes from Virginia
Woolf’s landmark novels, including
Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves,
with elements of her letters, essays
and diaries. They discuss how Woolf’s
world of ‘granite and rainbow’
translates into ballet with Rupert
Christiansen, Emeritus Trustee of
Charleston and dance critic of
the Mail on Sunday.
ANGLOS AND SAXONS
Miranda Seymour and Giles Waterfield
3.30pm Tickets £14
The recent exhibition at the British Museum, Germany: memories of a nation, signalled a new
phase in our relationship with the EU’s largest country. Giles Waterfield’s fourth novel, The
Iron Necklace, revolves around the marriage between a German architect and an English
artist whose families are divided by the outbreak of WWI. Miranda’s Seymour’s Noble
Endeavours explores the ties that bind our two countries together through the
stories of a range of individuals, from royalty to artists. Giles Waterfield
is an independent curator and former Chairman of the Charleston
Trust. Miranda Seymour’s books include biographies of Ottoline
Morrell and Mary Shelley.
Supported by Art Fund
Supported by
The Uckfield
Picture House
10 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 11
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY
WAR REQUIEM
Maggi Hambling with Nicolette Jones
6pm Tickets £16
Maggi Hambling is one of our most important
artists. A painter and sculptor, her best known
public works include A Conversation with
Oscar Wilde in central London, and Scallop
on Aldeburgh Beach, dedicated to Benjamin
Britten. Her most recent exhibition at the
National Gallery is Walls of Water. Her new
book, War Requiem and Aftermath, focuses on
a major installation, first exhibited in 2013,
which included an extensive body of
paintings of battlefields and war victims.
Never shy of controversy (‘it proves a
piece of work has some life in it’), she
discusses her art and life with Nicolette
Jones, critic and journalist.
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY
THURSDAY 21 MAY
THURSDAY 21 MAY
HOW TO BE BOTH
BEHIND THE FAÇADE
Ali Smith with Alexandra Harris
Anne de Courcy and Claudia Renton
POLITICAL
PIONEERS
8pm Tickets £14
with Nicolette Jones
Ali Smith’s dual narrative, How to be Both,
winner of the Costa Novel Prize and
Goldsmith’s Prize, and runner up for last
year’s Booker, was described as ‘A delight.
A masterpiece. Magical’ (Sunday Times). The
book comes in two inter-connected parts,
one of which is about a Renaissance fresco
painter, the other a contemporary teenager.
The playfulness of the novel, the gender
bending, the surprises and time lapses,
suggest that Virginia Woolf is her literary
forebear. Her other books include Hotel
World, The Accidental and Artful. Alexandra
Harris is the author of Romantic Moderns
and an Introduction to Virginia Woolf. She is a
BBC New Generation thinker.
Supported by
University of Chichester
1pm Tickets £14
Two recent biographies, both of which read like
novels, describe the domestic turmoil behind the
scenes at 10 Downing Street in late Victorian
and Edwardian England. Claudia Renton’s Those
Wild Wyndhams tells the story of the three
unconventional sisters, memorably painted in
virginal poses by Sargent in 1899, one of whom
conducted a passionate extra-marital affair with
Balfour, the Prime Minister. Anne De Courcy’s
Margot at War focuses on the marriage between
Asquith and his daring wife, Margot, and how
they coped with his infidelity. Both books
end with the tragedies of WW1. Chaired by
Nicolette Jones, critic and journalist.
Supported by
Hugh & Catherine Stevenson
Anita Anand,
Caroline Lucas and
Abi Morgan
3.30pm
Tickets £14
Suffragettes,
as well as issues
of female and minority
political power, are in the air. Anita
Anand, BBC Radio presenter, has unearthed a
fascinating tale of privilege, protest and Punjabi
history. The resulting book, Sophia: Princess,
Suffragette, Revolutionary, tells the story of an
Indian princess who became a leading figure
in the fight for Indian independence and the
UK suffragette movement. Caroline Lucas’
Honourable Friends: Parliament and the Fight for
Change is a revealing account of the workings
behind Westminster from the perspective of
the first Green Party MP, several times voted
as the UK’s most ethical politician. Chaired by
Abi Morgan, playwright and screenwriter of
The Iron Lady and Suffragette, to be released
this year.
Supported by
St Leonards-Mayfield School
Supported by Gorringes
Image above © Nancy Honey – 100 Leading Ladies
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Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 13
THURSDAY 21 MAY
FRIDAY 22 MAY
FAR FROM THE TREE
THE IMPROBABILITY OF LOVE
Neel Mukherjee and Andrew O’Hagan with Susie Nicklin
Hannah Rothschild with Charles Saumarez Smith
6pm Tickets: £14
1pm Tickets £14
Young men involved either with extreme activism or war, far
from the established lives of their families, unite Neel Mukherjee’s
and Andrew O’Hagan’s powerful novels. Neel Mukherjee’s Booker
shortlisted The Lives of Others takes place
in Calcutta in the late 60s – ‘an outstanding
novel: compelling, compassionate and complex’
(Rose Tremain). Andrew O’Hagan’s The Illuminations revolves
around the relationship between a young soldier returning from
Afghanistan and his grandmother. ‘What gives the novel its great
depth and dimension is the depiction of a blood-torn self when
a soldier comes home’ (Edna O’Brien). Chaired by Susie Nicklin,
former Director of Literature, British Council.
If you have fantasised about finding a lost masterpiece in a junk
shop, be careful what you wish for. The protagonist of Hannah
Rothschild’s novel, The Improbability of Love, discovers a lost
masterpiece by Watteau and is pursued by a Russian oligarch, a
Sheikha and an unscrupulous dealer. Is this what the art world is
really like? A Trustee of the Tate, soon to become Chair of the
National Gallery Board, the author knows whereof she speaks.
She discusses her affectionate satire (also a love story) with
Charles Saumarez Smith, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal
Academy. Hannah Rothschild’s previous book was The Baroness.
Supported by Art Fund
Supported by Prudence & Kevan Watts
FRIDAY 22 MAY
WALBERSWICK AND MONTMARTRE
THURSDAY 21 MAY
Esther Freud and Sue Roe with Olivia Laing
AMNESIA
Peter Carey with Alan Moses
8pm Tickets: £16
Double Booker-winner Peter Carey’s new novel, Amnesia, revolves
around a crusading journalist, the stories he uncovers about U.S.
interference in Australian politics, the plight of a young female internet
hacker and the unleashing of a virus which breaks security codes,
resulting in the release of swarms of prisoners. ‘Few writers mix farce
and ferocity to such engaging effect’ (Andrew Motion). Touching
on surveillance and cyber-activism, Amnesia engages with some of
the biggest issues of our time. Chaired by Alan Moses, former Lord
Justice of Appeal and High Court Judge, currently Chairman of the
new Independent Press Standards Organisation.
Supported by EFG Private Bank
14 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
3.30pm Tickets £14
Montmartre in Paris and Walberswick in Suffolk have been magnets
for artists. Sue Roe’s In Montmartre charts the story of the birth of
Modernism in Paris through a fascinating cast of characters, including
Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Derain, Vlaminck, Modigliani and Gertrude
Stein. ‘In her entertaining account, Roe brings Montmartre’s heyday
to life’ (The Sunday Times). Esther Freud’s Mr Mac and
Me is set in Walberswick in the era of WWI. Told
through the eyes of a naive local boy, it describes
the eventful period that the architect and designer,
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, spent in Walberswick.
Chaired by Olivia Laing, author of To the River, The
Trip to Echo Spring and the forthcoming The Lonely City;
the last two books revolve around the lives of artists.
Supported by Nira Wright
Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 15
FRIDAY 22 MAY
SATURDAY 23 MAY
LITERATURE OF LOSS
THE ART OF CURATORSHIP
Colm Tóibín with Claire Armitstead
Julia Peyton-Jones and Charles Saumarez Smith
6pm Tickets £16
with Dinah Casson
Supported by Rathfinny Wine Estate
12pm Tickets £14
Image © John Swannell
The literature of loss has a rich history. Colm Tóibín’s new
book, Nora Webster, is infused with the grief he suffered
following the death of his father, though told through the
perspective of a mother. The setting is his home town in
Ireland at a time of political and personal turmoil. Many of
the events in the novel are autobiographical, though filtered
through fiction. Colm Tóibín is a multi-award winning writer.
His other books include Brooklyn (soon to be released
as a film) and The Testament of Mary. Chaired by Claire
Armitstead, Head of Books, Guardian and Observer.
Modern curatorship creates opportunities to set the cultural agenda.
No one could have pushed traditional boundaries more imaginatively
than Julia Peyton-Jones, Director of the Serpentine Galleries. Under her
regime, the Serpentine Galleries have become one of the most exciting
cultural hubs in London. The temporary Summer Pavilions, designed by
innovative architects and artists, are always a talking point. Charles
Saumarez Smith has headed three august institutions: The National
Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy. What
talents do contemporary curators require? Chaired by Dinah Casson
whose design company specialises in creating museum installations.
Supported by Sotheby’s
SATURDAY 23 MAY
FRIDAY 22 MAY
BEAUTIFUL IDEAS
Tom Stoppard in conversation with Richard Eyre
8pm Tickets £20
Tom Stoppard has been compared to the Bard and has been called
our greatest living playwright. His plays, from Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead to Jumpers, Travesties, The Real Thing, Arcadia
and Rock ‘n’ Roll, are utterly distinctive, informed with wit, verbal
pyrotechnics and intellectual jousting. His films include Shakespeare
in Love and Parade’s End for television. He has also written many
stage adaptations and translations, which reflect his European
roots. Born in Czechoslovakia, he moved to England as a
child. His latest play, The Hard Problem, opened in January
at the National Theatre. Richard Eyre was the Director
of the National Theatre for 10 years, where he
directed Stoppard’s The Invention of Love.
Supported by The University of Sussex
LIVES OF THE ARTISTS
Hans Ulrich Obrist with Simon Martin
2.30pm Tickets £14
Vasari’s Lives of the Artists (1550) is the foundation of art-historical
writing. Who better to produce a modern version than Hans
Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director of the Serpentine Galleries and
one of the most powerful and charismatic figures in the
contemporary art world? In his Lives of the Artists, Lives
of the Architects, he conducted an unparalleled series of
interviews with 19 of the world’s leading artists, including
David Hockney, Oscar Niemeyer, Gilbert and George,
Zaha Hadid, Louise Bourgeois and Richard Hamilton.
Hans Ulrich Obrist gives an illustrated talk on who is in and
who is out. Chaired by Simon Martin, Artistic Director,
Pallant House Gallery.
Supported by EFG Private Bank
Image © Matt Humphrey 2015
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Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 17
SATURDAY 23 MAY
SUNDAY 24 MAY
UNIVERSAL MAN
MY FAMILY AND OTHER ECCENTRICS
Richard Davenport-Hines with Simon Keynes
Selina Hastings and Sofka Zinovieff with Juliet Nicolson
5pm Tickets £14
12pm Tickets £14
This evening is dedicated to one of the most influential figures associated
with Charleston, John Maynard Keynes, the revolutionary economist whose
ideas continue to reverberate today. He lived at Charleston for long periods
before moving to Tilton, just a stroll across the path. Richard DavenportHines’ thematic new biography of Keynes focuses on the man behind the
economics: a Cambridge Apostle; a connoisseur of the arts; a statesman; an
intellectual; a Bloomsbury insider; the husband of a member of the Ballets Russes. Richard Davenport-Hines
will discuss Keynes’ multi-faceted attributes and interests with his great nephew Simon Keynes.
We cherish eccentrics, but what is it like if they are family members?
Selina Hastings’ The Red Earl is a homage
to her father, the 16th Earl of Huntingdon: an
aristocrat who became a revolutionary, ran off to
the South Pacific and worked as Diego Rivera’s assistant.
Sofka Zinovieff’s The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me
is an account of the scandal-filled lives of a group of 1930s aesthetes,
who frequented Faringdon House in Oxfordshire. The roll call included
Mitfords, Betjemans, Dali, Gertrude Stein and Stravinsky. Sofka, the
granddaughter of Lord Berners’ lover, brings the Faringdon circle to life.
Chaired by Juliet Nicolson, social historian, novelist, critic and memoirist.
Supported by EFG Private Bank
SATURDAY 23 MAY
Supported by Charlotte Street Hotel
THE ECONOMIC
CONSEQUENCES OF AUSTERITY
Amartya Sen with Liz Forgan
SUNDAY 24 MAY
7.30pm Tickets £14
THE LOVERS OF AMHERST
We are honoured to introduce the inaugural recipient of the Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes
Prize. Amartya Sen teaches economics and philosophy at Harvard University and until 2004 was
Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. His awards include the Nobel Prize for Economics; the Bharat
Ratna (India); Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur (France); the National Humanities Medal (USA);
Honorary Companion of Honour (UK). He is known for his commitment to welfare
economics and social justice. The title of his talk, The Economic Consequences of
Austerity, is a reference to Keynes’s seminal paper, The Economic Consequences of
the Peace, written while he was resident at Charleston. Chaired by Liz Forgan.
Supported by EFG Private Bank
The new global prize was set up to award an individual of exceptional
talents in the spirit of John Maynard Keynes’ work and legacy. Panel of
advisors: Dame Liz Forgan (Chair); Keith Gapp, Head of Strategy and
Marketing, EFG International; Simon Keynes, Professor of Anglo-Saxon,
University of Cambridge; Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing;
Chair of The Charleston Trust; Professor Michael Proctor, Provost of
King’s College Cambridge; and Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor
of Political Economy and author of award-winning Keynes biography.
18 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
William Nicholson and Juliet Stevenson
2.30pm Tickets £16
William Nicholson’s new novel, The Lovers of Amherst, interweaves the stories of a young,
contemporary researcher into the life and work of the reclusive
American poet, Emily Dickinson, with that of the poet’s milieu during
a turbulent period in the 1880s. The story from the past revolves
around an illicit love affair conducted by Emily Dickinson’s married
brother, in which the poet colluded. The theme stems from
William Nicholson’s long-standing fascination with Emily
Dickinson’s work as well as his interest in the wellsprings and
consequences of erotic passion. Emily Dickinson’s poetry will
be read by the renowned actress, Juliet Stevenson.
Supported by Caffyns Land Rover, Lewes
Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 19
SUNDAY 24 MAY
MONDAY 25 MAY
RHYTHM OF SILENCE
BOHEMIANISM
AND CREATIVITY
London Conchord Ensemble and
Action to the Word with Juliet
Stevenson
SUNDAY 24 MAY
THE LANGUAGE
OF FASHION
Bella Freud,
Roksanda IIincic and
Justine Picardie
5pm Tickets £16
Clothes have ‘more important offices than to
merely keep us warm. They change our view of the
world and the world’s view of us’ (Virginia Woolf).
Fashion is an important signifier, as Virginia Woolf
recognised. Justine Picardie, Editor-in-Chief of
Harper’s Bazaar, gathers a group of top designers to
discuss the language of fashion.
Bella Freud is a London-based designer, known for her cult sweaters
with quirky slogans. After leaving school to work with Vivienne
Westwood, she launched her eponymous label in 1990 and has
since collaborated with the likes of Barbour and Christian Louboutin.
Roksanda IIincic is a Serbian born, London-based designer, known for her
bold use of colour, luxurious fabrics and clean, elegant lines. She launched
her own label after graduating from Central St Martins and opened her first
stand-alone store last year.
Vic Gatrell, Fiona MacCarthy,
Antony Penrose with Frances Spalding
8pm Tickets £18
12pm Tickets £14
‘I am writing to a rhythm,
and not a plot’ (Virginia
Woolf on her novel,
The Waves). London
Conchord Ensemble
is joined by actors
from Action to the
Word in this thoughtprovoking performance
piece which explores
connections between
two iconic works,
both written within a
year of each other (1931-32). Virginia
Woolf’s The Waves, her self-termed ‘playpoem’,
and Benjamin Britten’s haunting Phantasy
Quartet are married in a musical and physical
exploration of the power of silence and solitude.
Virginia Woolf’s words are read by celebrated
actress Juliet Stevenson. This groundbreaking
new co-commission by the Charleston Festival
and Rathfinny Wine Estate, where Conchord
is the resident music ensemble, inhabits the
transcendent world between music and language.
The link between Bohemianism and creativity is
so strong that many have thought that if you lead
a wild life the art will surely follow. Where better
to discuss this than Charleston, an epicentre of
Bohemia? Vic Gatrell’s The First Bohemians is a
rip-roaring story about Covent Garden in the
mid 1700s where the nation’s most significant
artists, actors and writers congregated. Fiona
MacCarthy is a cultural historian whose work
has encompassed Byron, William Morris and Eric
Gill. Antony Penrose is the son of the American
photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller
and the surrealist artist Roland Penrose. Their
home at Farley Farm House was host to a wide
range of artists, including Henry Moore, Picasso,
Max Ernst and Miró. Frances Spalding has written
extensively on Bloomsbury.
Supported by Pelham House Hotel
Supported by Rathfinny Wine Estate
Put on your frocks and zoot suits for a big night out!
Supported by Charlotte Street Hotel
Image © Lee Miller Archives, England 2015. All rights reserved.
20 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
Shuttle
Ticketsbus
from
to/from
www.brightonticketshop
every event from Lewes
tel. 01273
train 709709
station | 21
MONDAY 25 MAY
MONDAY 25 MAY
THE SECRET HISTORY OF
WONDERLAND
THE YOUNG
OLD POSSUM
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst and
Vanessa Tait with Nicolette Jones
Robert Crawford
2.30pm Tickets £14
Only one writer can claim to have influenced as
diverse a band of people as John Lennon, William
Empson, the Surrealists, Prince Philip, Tim Burton
and sundry mathematicians and philosophers.
It is, of course, Lewis Carroll.
This year is the 150th anniversary since the
publication of Alice in Wonderland. Both Robert
Douglas-Fairhurst, who has written a new biography
of Lewis Carroll, and Vanessa Tait, whose novel is based
on the relationship between Carroll and the Liddell
family, have had access to new material which sheds
light on the story behind Alice.
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst’s biography delves beneath the fairy
tale to uncover the complex interaction between the quiet
academic, Charles Dodgson, his second-self, Lewis Carroll, and
his dream child who would never grow up, Alice Liddell.
Vanessa Tait is the great-granddaughter of the original Alice
who inspired Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Her novel,
The Looking Glass House, draws on memorabilia and stories
handed down to her from Alice Liddell. Vanessa Tait
grew up with Alice’s belongings and photographs
taken by Lewis Carroll. She has transmuted this
personal archive into a novel seen through the eyes
of the Liddells’ governess. Chaired by Nicolette Jones,
critic and children’s literature specialist.
Supported by Jane Miles
22 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
5pm Tickets £14
The great American poet T.S. Eliot is
closely linked to Charleston. His epochdefining poem, The Waste Land, was
originally published by Leonard and
Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press. He
remained a close friend of the Woolfs
(even though Virginia nailed his sense of English
decorum by describing him as the man in the
four-piece suit) and visited Charleston with them.
This year marks 50 years since his death. Robert
Crawford’s new biography, Young Eliot: From St
Louis to The Waste Land, charts how Eliot started
out as a subversive outsider and became the most
celebrated poet of the century. ‘The story it tells
of the great poet’s early life is enthralling’ (The
Observer). Robert Crawford is a prize-winning poet
and a Professor of Literature at St Andrews.
Supported by
Old Possum’s Practical Trust
MONDAY 25 MAY
MATCHBOX THEATRE
Michael Frayn with Michael Farthing
7pm Tickets £16
Michael Frayn’s writing career has never been
predictable. He began as a satirical journalist
and became a novelist and playwright. His
plays move effortlessly from comic genius
(Noises Off) to intellectual and philosophical
(Copenhagen). His new book, Matchbox
Theatre, consists of thirty sketches to be
played in the theatre of the imagination. They
are imbued with Frayn’s distinctive sense of
farce, with human interactions fraught with
miscommunication. There is also plenty of
hilarious theatrical parody. Michael Frayn will
discuss his playlets with Michael Farthing,
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex
and actor manqué.
Supported by
The University of Sussex
Shuttle bus to/from every event from Lewes train station | 23
2 - 24 May 2015
Guest Director:
Ali Smith
Where ‘poetry meets music meets
theatre meets dance meets thought
meets sculptural meets rhythm
meets fiction meets the natural
world.’ Ali Smith
brightonfestival.org 01273 709709
brightonfestival
brightfest
GIFT VOUCHERS
Charleston gift vouchers are now
available for our Shop, Café and What’s
On events – available to purchase
online, by phone or in person.
CITY BOOKS
City Books are proud
to be a sponsor of
Charleston Festival and
the official bookseller
Visit our independent
shop in the Regency
Brunswick area of
Brighton & Hove
CITY BOOKS, 23 WESTERN ROAD, HOVE. EAST SUSSEX BN3 1AF
TEL: 01273 725306 • WWW.CITY-BOOKS.CO.UK
24 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
Proud supporters
of the Charleston Festival
and the short story
SHORT
STORY
STNMAST2008
AWARD
Practitioners of the craft of private banking
EFG is the marketing name for EFG International and its subsidiaries. In the UK: EFG Private Bank Limited, Leconfield
House, Curzon Street, London W1J 5JB, T + 44 20 7491 9111. EFG Private Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
EFG Private Bank Limited is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Registered in England and Wales no. 2321802.
Registered office as above. Member of EFG International. www.efginternational.com
EFG - Short Story Award - 132 x 194 mm - quadri - publication: Charleston Festival
programme 2015 (06.01.2015)
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals
| 25
CHARLESTON SHOP
CHARLESTON
A unique setting for a unique festival
Nestled in the South Downs, Charleston
was the country meeting place for the
writers, painters and thinkers known as the
Bloomsbury group. The house and garden will
be open as usual during the festival. House
tours can be booked online in advance, or at
the Charleston Shop upon arrival.
All proceeds from shop sales
contribute to the upkeep and
maintenance of the house and
gardens.
You can also shop online
www.charleston.org.uk/shop
www.charleston.org.uk/visit
CAFFYNS LAND ROVER
UNRIVALLED EXPERIENCE
landrover.co.uk
Land Rover sales, servicing and maintenance.
Whatever you need, we’ve got it covered.
Contact Caffyns Land Rover today on 01273 473186.
Caffyns Land Rover
Brooks Road, Lewes BN7 2DN
www.caffyns.lewes.landrover.co.uk
Official Fuel Consumption Figures for the New Discovery Sport range in mpg (l/100km): Urban 38.2 (7.4) – 40.4 (7.0), Extra Urban
49.6 (5.7) – 50.4 (5.6), Combined 44.8 (6.3) – 46.3 (6.1). CO 2 emissions 166 – 162 g/km. The figures provided are as a result of official
manufacturer’s tests in accordance with EU legislation. A vehicle’s actual fuel consumption may differ from that achieved in such tests and these figures are for
comparative purposes only.
11312
26 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 27
L OT S R E C E N T LY S O L D AT
THE LEADING AUCTIONEERS IN THE SOUTH EAST
FREE Fine Art and
Antique Valuations
Call our experts on
0800 881 5689
www.gorringes.co.uk
15 North Street ~ Lewes ~ BN7 2PD
• Design • Print Management
• App and Web Development • Point of Sale
• Direct Mail • Public Relations
For more information call: 01273 723 948
Email: [email protected] www.mcrmedia.co.uk
11 English Business Park, English Close, Hove, East Sussex BN3 7ET
28 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 29
Hurst
Hurstpierpoint College
Pre-Prep | Prep | Senior School | Sixth Form
an Associate Partner of the Charleston Trust
Frills
Thrills
The National Art Pass. Free entry
to over 200 galleries and museums
across the UK and half-price entry
to the major exhibitions.
Buy yours today at artfund.org
Hurst is proud to sponsor two Charleston Festival events:
Andrew Roberts with Jenny Uglow
Nicholas Hilliard, Miniature Portrait of Sir Walter Ralegh,
c.1581–4, © National Portrait Gallery, London, ArtFunded 1959.
Reg charity nos 209174 and SC038331. The National Art Pass
is issued to Art Fund members, subscriptions start from £60.
Shami Chakrabarti with Caroline Lucas
Outstanding education for boys and girls aged 4 to 18 years
Hurstpierpoint College Hurstpierpoint West Sussex BN6 9JS
30 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
www.hppc.co.uk
Admissions 01273 836936
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 31
HARVEYS of LEWES
SUSSEX BREWERS SINCE 1790
Come and study with one of the most
experienced and successful Creative
Writing teams in the UK. We have a
long track record of student success.
• MA in Creative Writing
• PhD supervision
All of our courses are taught by practising novelists, short
story writers and dramatists, including Professor of Creative
Writing, Alison MacLeod who was longlisted for the 2013
Man Booker Prize.
Your community, your University
32 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
www.chi.ac.uk/english
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 33
Educating mind,
body, heart & soul
‘Excellent Academic
Achievement’
‘Excellent Pastoral Care’
‘Excellent spiritual,
moral, social and cultural
development’
Inspectorate Report 2012
Open Mornings:
Friday 20 March, Tuesday 28 April 2015
• New Sixth Form Centre
• Oxbridge Success
• Full & Weekly Boarding
01435 874642
[email protected]
The Old Palace, Mayfield,
East Sussex TN20 6PH
www.mayfieldgirls.org
34 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
An independent Catholic boarding
and day school for girls aged 11 to 18
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 35
C H A R L E S TO N
CENTENARY PROJECT
“Charleston is an extraordinary rich historical deposit and the only
thing of its kind; if we destroy the past the future will not forgive us.”
Quentin Bell
Charleston is truly unique, but like many arts
organisations we face numerous challenges. We need
to protect the house and site for the future, become
more self-sufficient and provide a far greater, more
enjoyable year-round experience to those who visit.
To address these challenges, we have launched the
Centenary Project which will not only revitalise
Charleston, but also help restore the site to how it
was in the times of Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and
the Bloomsbury group. To achieve this, we will:
• Rebuild the Old Granary to become our Creative Learning Studio
• Restore the two Grade II listed barns, equipping them for versatile usage and with a
new Auditorium
• Build a new Gallery and a new Collections Store with Research Studio
• Build a new Café with a Hidden Courtyard Garden
• Create a new Access Road and Car Park, diverting traffic away from the house
• Improve visitor facilities and create a larger shop
Through this ambitious project we will also be able to run an annual programme of workshops,
exhibitions, seminars, talks and events, as well as a new education programme.
Thanks to the generosity of many, we have already raised nearly £5m towards our £7m target.
We hope that you will also join us to help realise our vision and together, we can preserve the
past yet build for the future.
For further information on how you can support our Centenary Appeal, or to make a donation,
please contact Nick Rose on 01323 815 141 or [email protected]
Great Walstead is an independent co-educational school,
creating a successful future for your child.
Where the possibilities and the grounds are endless.
Please contact the Registrar on 01444 483528 or visit www.greatwalstead.co.uk
36 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
www.charleston.org.uk/centenary
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 37
AT A GLANCE
F RIE ND S O F
HOW TO BOOK
C H A R L E S T O N
Tickets available from Brighton
Dome Ticket Office from
Monday 23 February 2015
FRI 15 MAY 1pm
RAISING THE ROOF - Jamie Fobert, David Gentleman, Simon Jenkins and Julia Barfield
FRI 15 MAY 3.30pm
QUITE A GOOD TIME TO BE BORN - David Lodge with John Mullan
FRI 15 MAY 6pm
FAMILY ROMANCES - David Nicholls and Polly Samson with Alex Clark
FRI 15 MAY 8pm
HER HISTORY - Antonia Fraser with Jon Snow
SAT 16 MAY 11.30am
PERFECT WIVES - Virginia Nicholson with Julia Somerville
SAT 16 MAY 1.45pm
MORTAL LESSONS - Henry Marsh and Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Brighton Dome Ticket Office
10am - 6pm, Monday - Saturday
SAT 16 MAY 4pm
WATERLOO - Andrew Roberts and Jenny Uglow
In person: 29 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UG
SAT 16 MAY 6.15pm
MONTY DON IN CONVERSATION - Monty Don with Kate Kellaway
SAT 16 MAY 8.15pm
BLOOMSBURY RE-IMAGINED - Amanda Coe and Priya Parmar with Frances Spalding
By Phone: 01273 709709
SUN 17 MAY 12pm
CASE HISTORIES - Jeremy Hutchinson, Helena Kennedy and Thomas Grant
SUN 17 MAY 2.30pm
MAGNA CARTA - Shami Chakrabarti and Robert Tombs
SUN 17 MAY 5pm
BATTLE OF THE BULGE - Antony Beevor
SUN 17 MAY 7.30pm
WOOLF WORKS - Wayne McGregor and Uzma Hameed with Rupert Christiansen
WED 20 MAY 1pm
BUNNY - Henrietta Garnett and Sarah Knights with Anne Chisholm
WED 20 MAY 3.30pm
ANGLOS AND SAXONS - Miranda Seymour and Giles Waterfield
WED 20 MAY 6pm
WAR REQUIEM - Maggi Hambling with Nicolette Jones
WED 20 MAY 8pm
HOW TO BE BOTH - Ali Smith with Alexandra Harris
THURS 21 MAY 1pm
BEHIND THE FAÇADE - Anne de Courcy and Claudia Renton with Nicolette Jones
THURS 21 MAY 3.30pm
POLITICAL PIONEERS - Anita Anand, Caroline Lucas and Abi Morgan
THURS 21 MAY 6pm
FAR FROM THE TREE - Neel Mukherjee and Andrew O’Hagan with Susie Nicklin
THURS 21 MAY 8pm
AMNESIA - Peter Carey with Alan Moses
FRI 22 MAY 1pm
THE IMPROBABILITY OF LOVE - Hannah Rothschild with Charles Saumarez Smith
WHAT’S ON
FRI 22 MAY 3.30pm
WALBERSWICK AND MONTMARTRE - Esther Freud and Sue Roe with Olivia Laing
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES FOR ALL
FRI 22 MAY 6pm
LITERATURE OF LOSS - Colm Tóibín with Claire Armitstead
FRI 22 MAY 8pm
BEAUTIFUL IDEAS -Tom Stoppard in conversation with Richard Eyre
SAT 23 MAY 12pm
THE ART OF CURATORSHIP - Julia Peyton-Jones and Charles Saumarez Smith with Dinah Casson
SAT 23 MAY 2.30pm
LIVES OF THE ARTISTS - Hans Ulrich Obrist with Simon Martin
SAT 23 MAY 5pm
UNIVERSAL MAN - Richard Davenport-Hines with Simon Keynes
SAT 23 MAY 7.30pm
THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AUSTERITY - Amartya Sen with Liz Forgan
SUN 24 MAY 12pm
MY FAMILY AND OTHER ECCENTRICS - Selina Hastings and Sofka Zinovieff with Juliet Nicolson
SUN 24 MAY 2.30pm
THE LOVERS OF AMHERST - William Nicholson and Juliet Stevenson
SUN 24 MAY 5pm
THE LANGUAGE OF FASHION - Bella Freud, Roksanda IIincic and Justine Picardie
SUN 24 MAY 8pm
RHYTHM OF SILENCE - London Conchord Ensemble and Action to the Word with Juliet Stevenson
Join us as a
Friend of Charleston
Upgrade to the Omega Group and enjoy four
free Charleston Festival events, as well as
invitations to exclusive events and talks.
Join online at www.charleston.org.uk or
call 01323 811626
CHARLESTON
2015
All Event ticket is available to Friends of Charleston only
(subject to availability).
The Brighton Dome applies a £2 booking fee plus
postage to tickets ordered by phone or online
Artistic Director: Diana Reich
Festival Manager: Carolyn Chinn
with Frances Spalding
MON 25 MAY 5pm
THE YOUNG OLD POSSUM - Robert Crawford
MATCHBOX THEATRE - Michael Frayn with Michael Farthing
38 | Tickets from www.brightonticketshop tel. 01273 709709
PRICES:
Individual ticket prices are listed beside
each event.
All Day ticket prices are listed below:
£51 - Sat 23 May (4 events per day)
£53 – Sun 17, Wed 20, Thurs 21, Mon 25 May
(4 events per day)
£55 – Fri 15 May (4 events per day)
£59 – Fri 22, Sun 24 May (4 events per day)
£70 – Sat 16 May (5 events per day)
All Events* ticket: £475 (37 events including
reserved seating, VIP parking, and an invitation
to a Festival drinks reception).
*
THE SECRET HISTORY OF WONDERLAND - Robert Douglas-Fairhurst and Vanessa Tait
with Nicolette Jones
MON 25 MAY 7pm
Priority Booking via Charleston from
16-20 February 2015 for Friends of
Charleston and Omega members only.
Requests submitted by post or email.
Friends membership starts at just £39.
For details call 01323 811626 or email
[email protected]
Enjoy all the benefits of membership including
free entry to Charleston, Festival priority
booking, Canvas newsletters, Friends events
and discounts on What’s On events.
MON 25 MAY 12pmBOHEMIANISM AND CREATIVITY - Vic Gatrell, Fiona MacCarthy, Antony Penrose
MON 25 MAY 2.30pm
Online (24hrs): www.brightonticketshop.com
WWW.CHARLESTON.ORG.UK
The Charleston Festival is a fundraising event in aid of the
Charleston Trust (Bloomsbury in Sussex), a registered charity (no.
1107313) and a non-profit making company limited by guarantee
and registered in England & Wales (no. 5212725). Registered office:
Charleston, Firle, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 6LL.
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals | 39
C H A R L E S TO N – A U N I Q U E S E T T I N G
GETTING HERE
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Charleston is halfway between Brighton
and Eastbourne, only 6 miles east of Lewes,
off the A27.
Events: Events take place in a traditional
marquee in the grounds of Charleston and last
just over an hour, unless otherwise stated.
Give yourself plenty of time: Access to
Charleston is via a single lane farm road and
traffic flow will be controlled at peak times.
We recommend you arrive at least 30 minutes
before each event.
Bookshop/author signings: Run by City
Books, the Festival bookshop stocks a wide
range of related titles. Most events will be
followed by a book signing session.
Rail: Services run regularly from London Victoria,
Brighton and Eastbourne to Lewes station. Taxis
are available at Lewes station.
By road: Look out for signs along the A27 and
allow some additional time for parking. Car parking
is in fields so practical footwear is recommended.
As on-site parking is limited visitors are encouraged
to car share where possible or consider using the
minibus shuttle service.
Local information: For accommodation and
other local information contact the Lewes Tourist
Information Centre on 01273 483448.
Lewes
Glyndebourne
Selmeston
Berwick
Monks
Firle
Station
House
Charleston
Brighton
Berwick
A26
Church
Newhaven
London
Alfriston
Eastbourne
A23/M23
Brighton
Charleston
Charleston Shop: Open throughout the Festival
and stocking a varied range of Bloomsburyinspired books, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, prints
and gift ideas.
Food & Drink: Quench your thirst and satisfy
your grumbling belly with a visit to Charleston’s
historic barn where the Festival Café will serve a
selection of delicious cakes, drinks and light bites.
For something more hearty, hot food options
including Spanish tapas, crêpes and stone-baked
gourmet pizza can be enjoyed in the atmospheric
barnyard. Drinks and cake will also be available
from the Festival Bar inside the main marquee.
All open one hour before the first event until the
start of the last event.
Picnic area: There are many nice spots to
picnic at Charleston and we politely request
that furniture is only used in designated areas
to protect the delicate historic planting in
the gardens.
Access: There are designated disabled parking
spaces. The marquee, bar and bookshop are
accessible to wheelchair users though some
surfaces may be slightly uneven. An induction loop
is fitted in the marquee. For further information
or assistance please call 01323 811626 or email
[email protected]
W W W. C H A R L E S T O N . O R G . U K
For up-to-date information on all events please refer to our website. The information in this brochure was correct at
the time of going to press. Charleston reserves the right to alter the programme if necessary.
Brochure design by www.wheeldesign.co.uk
Minibus shuttle service: Cuckmere
Community Bus operates a shuttle service from
Lewes train station direct to Charleston for all
events. For timetables and information visit
www.charleston.org.uk/festivals.