This year's Tetbury Book Festival kicks off this evening at 6pm with writer and film maker Ed Gillett introducing his latest book - Party Lines, Dance Music and Modern Britain
Followed at 8pm by the acclaimed film Vermeer - The Greatest Exhibition. (running time 90 minutes)
Exhibition on Screen film invites audiences to a private view of the exhibition, accompanied by the director of the Rijksmuseum and the curators of the show. A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As well as bringing Vermeer's works together, both the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis in the Hague have conducted research into Vermeer's artistry, his artistic choices and motivations for his compositions, as well as the creative process behind his paintings.
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6pm Ed Gillett - Party Lines, Dance Music and Modern Britain
Why are the authorities so keen to stop the young having fun? Party Lines helps answer that question. It is a buzzing, restless, bolshy, passionate book about the politics and history of dancing. It looks at the history of dance music in the UK since the 1980s, and explores its role in the social, political and economic shifts over that time. Brought to life with stunning clarity and depth, this is social and
cultural history at its most immersive and vital.
From the illicit reggae blues dances and acid-rock dance music festivals of the 1970s to the ecstasy-fuelled Second Summer of Love in 1988, how have we arrived at the increasingly corporate music culture of the post-Covid era?
Author Ed Gillett is a writer and film-maker whose highly-acclaimed documentary work and writing have appeared on the BBC, Channel 4, The Guardian, Frieze, DJ Mag and many others. He will be in conversation with Matt Thorne, a novelist, lecturer and author of the definitive biography of Prince.
8pm Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition
In the spring of 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opened its doors to the largest Vermeer exhibition in history. The show sold out within days of going on sale. The catalogue became a bestseller and had to be reprinted. Our first festival event this year is a screening of the acclaimed film of the exhibition, a privileged view, accompanied by the director of the Rijksmuseum and the curators of the show: ‘an improvement on the in-person experience: no fighting through crowds, or craning to see over a coach-party’s heads’.
With loans from across the world, this major retrospective brought together Vermeer’s most famous masterpieces including Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, and Woman Holding a Balance. In all, 28 of his surviving 35 works.
A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover the genius of Vermeer and his fascinating and mysterious life.
Reviews: “Breathtaking” The Times -- “This is more than an exhibition. It’s a miracle.” The Guardian -- “Even Vermeer probably never saw this many of his paintings together” -- Pieter Roelos, head of paintings and sculpture for Rijksmuseum -- “There will never be another Vermeer show as great as this one” Washington Post
Friday Pass - Special Offer
Save 10% when you book seats for both Friday Events
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Weekend Pass - Special Offer
Save 20% when you book seats for all Events this weekend
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Tetbury Book Festival Saturday 16th September
Starting at: 11am - Coffee, Cake and Persephone Books: a laid back chat with the publisher with refreshments on us. 1pm - Sally Bayley: The Green Lady - teachers, children, biography, fiction and history. 3pm - Barbara Burman: The Point of the Needle - Why Sewing Matters . 5pm - Tom Parfitt and Rebecca Lowe - Modern Odysseys in an Age of War . 7pm - Simon McBurney - Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
For more information about Events on Saturday
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Tetbury Book Festival Sunday 17th September
Starting at: 11am - Nature's Calendar with coffee and cake. A close up look at nature through the 72 Japanese microseasons with refreshments on us. 1pm - Claire Ratinon: Unearthed - On race, roots and how the soil taught me to belong. 3pm We have poets! Four of the best writers (Martha Sprackland, Joey Connelly, Susannah Dickey and Kandace Siobhan Walker) read and discuss their work. 5pm - Joanna Quinn: The Whalebone Theatre - we explore the brilliant inter-war novel. 7pm - Big Book Quiz: An evening of booky fun, raising money for charity and prizes for everyone
Plus at 2pm : special Workshop run by acclaimed graphic novelist Joff Winterhart - Drawing your Story (to be held at The Market Hall in the centre of Tetbury Town - parking available nearby in The Chippings or West Street)
Bonus Event with Helen Rebanks - Sunday 24th September: The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days
is a beautifully illustrated, honest and intimate meditation on the power of domestic life. Helen is many things as well as a wife: businesswoman, teacher, conservationist, working mother and cook. She lives with her family in the Lake District and has been cooking and baking for more than 30 years. Her love and enthusiasm for food and farming is completely infectious, and her recipes are delicious.
Helen will be discussing her engrossing and tenacious account both of the running a home, and of the tightly knit family team which has made their farm globally important with its innovations and drive towards sustainability.
