Plus Charlie Higson, Rossie Holt, Salena Godden, Ben Moor, Gavin Pretor-Pinney and loads more

Actor Dominic West, Fast Show star and novelist Charlie Higson, comedian Rosie Holt and poet Salena Godden will appear at the Idler Festival this summer.

Also joining the bill are the brilliant Ben Moor, who will be reading and performing pieces from shows old and new, and the Cloud Appreciation Society’s Gavin Pretor-Pinney.

Plus undertaker Louise Winter on how we can rethink our approach to death; writer Daniel Rachel on the rebellious spirit of 2Tone Records; radical economist Guy Standing on taking back control of our time; poet Clare Pollard on the delights and dangers of fairy tales; and editor Rob Orchard on the value of slow news.

Walks are at the heart of the programme. Festival goers can join landscape designer Catherine Fitzgerald on a tour of Fenton’s walled gardens, follow writer Henry Eliot on a literary ramble around Hampstead, stroll across the Heath with Emily’s Walking Book Club, or take a philosophical wander with Mark Vernon.

Academy tutors will be leading workshops in the house. Learn Latin with Harry Mount and John Davie, try calligraphy with Susie Deane, learn to sing with Diana de Cabarrus or play the ukulele with Danny Wootton.

They join Zadie Smith, Rowan Williams, Olivia Laing, Tim Key and DJ Paulette.

Plus there’ll be agony aunts, bibliotherapy, beekeeping, foraging, drawing lessons, dancing, and more besides.

The Idler Festival takes place at Fenton House in Hampstead, 5-7 July 2024. Weekend tickets are on sale now. 

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