Bridport Literary Festival: Day 1

In 2024 The Bridport Literary Festival celebrates its 20th year.  The Festival was spawned from the Bridport Prize, established in 1973 and one of the first significant international literary awards for short story writing and poetry.   In 2004 a group of literary loving locals – including the then director of the Bridport Arts Centre, the director of the Eype Centre for the Arts and the director of BridLit – got together to ‘brew’ the idea of a celebration of literary voices. Under Tanya Bruce-Lockhart’s direction, the Festival has grown and expanded over the years and events take place at venues throughout the town and West Bay, attracting audiences from across the County and beyond.

The Festival became a registered charity in 2011 and is dependent upon the generosity of Sponsors and Donors and the Friends of the Bridport Literary Festival to sustain a high standard of programme of events while trying to keep ticket prices affordable. Once a prosperous centre of the rope and net making industry, Bridport has now reinvented itself to become a centre of excellence for Culture and the Arts.

This year Dorset County of Culture’s pilot initiative has designated Bridport as  Bridport Town of Culture with a programme of events running from July to December. BridLit is very much a part of this initiative and welcomes to the festival all those who read books and love literature.

Day One: Sunday 03 November

Event 1 | Will Hutton |  This Time No Mistakes

12 noon at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY

Tickets: £15.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Will Hutton

In what has been a year of upheaval and challenge, with a General Election and new British Government, journalist and academic Will Huttonsets out a clear analysis of where both the left and the right have gone wrong over the course of the last century and how we can now rebuild a new, better Britain. Hutton discusses the consequences of past failures and a future based on change. Obligations to a wider society are all taken into account by making capitalism work and ensuring that environment is supported by research and education.

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Event 2 | Cider with Jesse |  Ciderhouse Rebellion

12 noon at Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay DT6 6EL

Tickets: £20.00 for ticket only or £38 for ticket plus one course lunch from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Ciderhouse Rebellion

Cider With Jessie sees The Ciderhouse Rebellion duo (Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger) joined by Adam’s daughter, the poet Jessie Summerhayes. They collectively create an immersive and expansive collection of folk-poems, woven between and around spontaneously created music. Come and enjoy their latest work, Tales of Colonsay, inspired by stunning landscapes, awe-inspiring seascapes.  A brand new journey in spoken word, deeply connected to the land.

Event 3 | Giles Milton |  The Stalin Affair

2pm at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY

Tickets: £15.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Giles Milton

In the summer of 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, shattering what Stalin had considered an ironclad partnership with the Fuhrer. The Allied reaction was twofold: delight that there was now a second front, and fear the Red Army would be defeated. In the wake of the Nazi invasion, writer and historian, Giles Milton, explores how a select team of British and Americans, by befriending Stalin, could keep the fraught Allied alliance on track and forge a path to victory.

Event 4 | John Lewis-Stemel |  England

4pm at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY

Tickets: £15.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online John Lewis-Stempel

John Lewis-Stempel’s magnum opus is a five year project that offers an intimate account of the landscapes that define England. Described by The Times as ‘Britain’s finest living nature writer’ he weaves a tapestry of distinctive habitats which together create a country unique for its rich diversity of flora and fauna. Immersing himself in twelve quintessential places, he explores each for their singular atmosphere: the feel of the winter wind; the sounds of daybreak; the solace of twilight. In beautiful prose, and detailed wildlife observation, Lewis-Stempel captures the essence of England.

Event 5 | Dame Harriet Walter |  She Speaks

6pm at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY

Tickets: £15.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Harriet Walter

Dame Harriet Walter is celebrated as a stage and film actress as well as more recently for her television portrayals in Succession and Killing Eve. Having played most of Shakespeare’s female characters, in her new book She Speaks, Harriet audaciously reads between the lines and lets these female characters speak their minds. Sometimes playfully and sometimes searchingly, and with brilliant insight, she imagines what Lady Macbeth, Gertrude, Cleopatra, Juliet and Ophelia were really thinking and reveals that Shakespeare is very much a man for all times as well as his time.

Bridport 24 Town of Culture | Bank of Dreams & Nightmares |  Resonate

7pm at Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NR

Tickets: £5.00 / Under 19’s Free from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Resonate

Following up the incredible success of last year’s event, The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares are proud to be back for another performance of Resonate. This year they are working with the poet Anthony Anaxagorou and 12 young writers from around West Dorset, to present a performance of spoken word pieces. This is a chance to hear all the creativity and salient issues from the young local talent that surrounds us, which is a focus for this year’s Town of Culture.

More information about the festival can be found at http://www.bridlit.com