Off the Shelf Festival of Words Sheffield 13 October - 3 November 2012 Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor 02 Introduction Welcome to Off the Shelf Festival of Words - 21 this year! From humble beginnings it has grown in size and prestige to become one of Sheffield’s best loved events and a festival with a growing national profile. Off the Shelf takes place in over 80 venues city-wide and this year we are working with more community groups than ever before. We are also delighted that the brilliant performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah is this year’s guest curator. To celebrate our coming of age, look out for our digital feature with new work created by 21 poets from the city. We are very grateful to all our sponsors and supporters including the festival’s Platinum Sponsor Civica and Arts Council England. Create some time for books, words and new ideas and enjoy the wonderful and diverse programme on offer. Cllr Isobel Bowler Paul Billington Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure Director Culture and Environment Sandi Toksvig Dan Snow Benjamin Zephaniah Richard Wilson Pg 4 Events Pg 24 Diary of Events Pg 36 Workshops Pg 38 Events for Children and Young People Pg 42 Events for Schools Pg 44 Exhibitions Pg 45 Competitions Pg 47 Booking Information Jackie Kay 03 How to Book Your Tickets Tickets for all events - including Showroom Cinema and University of Sheffield events - unless otherwise stated, can be purchased through our one stop box office The Arena Ticket Shop, as well as from Sheffield Theatres Box Office and City Hall Box Office, on line, by telephone or in person. The Showroom and University of Sheffield Students’ Union Box Office can only sell tickets for events taking place at their own venues. A booking fee applies for transactions made on line, by telephone or by credit card - please see details for each box office outlet on 47 No booking fee will be charged for purchases made in person using cash at any of the box office outlets. Tickets can be bought up to 1pm on the day of each event (may vary at weekends) at the Arena Ticket Shop, Sheffield Theatres, Sheffield City Hall. After this time they will be on sale on the door 30 minutes before the event start time subject to availability. Please check Off the Shelf website or call 0114 273 4400 to check late availability. Those tickets on sale from the Showroom Cinema or University of Sheffield Students’ Union remain on sale up to the start time of the event, subject to availability. An Optimist’s Tour of the Future is a wonderfully Weds 19 Sept 7pm Q readable and enthralling portrait of where we’ll be when we grow up – and why it doesn’t have to be An Optimist’s Tour of the Future with scary. Mark Stevenson Off the Shelf Festival of Words in partnership with Creative Lounge, The Workstation, MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival Paternoster Row, S1 Tickets £7.50/£5.50 (cons) When unexpectedly confronted with his own Mon 24 Sept 7pm Q mortality, Mark Stevenson - a writer, deep-thinker, and stand-up comedian - began to ponder what Last Shop Standing - the rise, fall and the future holds for our species. He travelled the rebirth of the independent record shop globe in search of answers getting to grips with the Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, S1 potential of nanotechnology, the possibilities of Tickets £7.50/£5.50 (cons) biotech, had his genome profiled, glimpsed the Uncertified - no admittance to under 18 years next stage of human evolution and tried to make sense of what’s in store. Last Shop Standing, a 60-minute documentary (and a book), lifts the lid on an industry in tatters - an astonishing 540 UK record stores have closed since 2008. Graham Jones worked in record retailing during the years of plenty and witnessed the tragic decline of a business blighted by corruption and corporate greed. Taking a tour of the last remaining independent record shops in Britain he has gathered stories of inspiring success and miserable failure along with anecdotes about industry figures, musicians and shops including contributions from Richard Hawley and Sheffield’s own Record Collector shop. Is there hope yet, as vinyl edges back into fashion and some of the great British public are rediscovering the wonder of the independent record shop? The film will be introduced by Graham Jones and there will be a Q&A after the screening. In collaboration with Showroom Cinema 04 Sheffield Food Festival 14 –16 September 2012 A free, three-day urban festival of food, cooking and growing packed with juicy activities and events to whet the appetite. For information visit www.sheffieldfoodfestival.org Organised by Sheffield City Council Major Events Service in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University and Hallam Business School. Mon 8 Oct 2pm Q Tues 9 Oct 7.30pm Q Meet the Author Marjorie Dunn The Hollywood Songbook Stannington Library, Uppergate Road, S6 Firth Hall (Firth Court), University of Sheffield, Admission free. To book Tel. 0114 293 0489 Western Bank, S10 Local novelist Marjorie Dunn talks about her book Tickets £8.50/£6/£3 (cons) from Sheffield Arena The T’alli Stone and what life was like in Sheffield Ticket Shop Tel. 0114 256 5567 between 1797 and 1818. www.sheffield.ac.uk/concerts Born in Leipzig in 1898, Hanns Eisler is one of the most fascinating composers of the twentieth Mon 8 Oct 7.30pm Q century. Das Hollywooder Liederbuch is a powerful musical diary of his experience of exile and Sandi Toksvig Live! My Valentine anxiety in Second World War-torn Europe based Directed by Pip Broughton on poems by Brecht, Shakespeare and others. Crucible Theatre, Norfolk Street, S1 Winner of the Lieder Prize at the 1997 Cardiff Tickets £19/£16.50 (cons) Singer of the World Competition Christopher Sandi Toksvig - comedian, novelist, actor, Maltman (baritone) performs with Julius Drake broadcaster, show-off and international treasure – (piano). is embarking on her first major UK solo tour for Organised by the Department of Music, years to celebrate publication of her new novel University of Sheffield Valentine Grey . Sandi promises a witty evening of stand-up, stories and fascinating facts. In collaboration with Sheffield Theatres Weds 10 Oct 6.30pm Mon 8 Oct 7.30pm Q Meet the Author - Anne Zouroudi Broomhill Library, Taptonville Road, S10 The Youth Word Up Admission free. To book Tel. 0114 273 4276 Young People and Benjamin Zephaniah Acclaimed crime novelist Anne Zouroudi shares Suitable for adults and young people aged 13 years the inspiration behind her Greek Detective series The Bull of Mithros. and over. Parental guidance applies – See Page 38 including latest title, for details. The University of Sheffield in collaboration with the City presents: Festival of the Mind 20 –30 September 2012 Over 30 activities and events showcasing the city’s cultural strengths with performances, talks and demonstrations on the themes of magic, space, identity, city and craft. For full details visit www.shef.ac.uk/festivalofthemind 05 Weds 10 Oct 7.30pm Q Sat 13 Oct 11am – 3pm Q Robin Ince’s Bad Book Club BookSwap Memorial Hall, Sheffield City Hall, Winter Garden, Surrey Street, S1 Barkers Pool, S1 Tickets £10/£8 (cons) Admission free. No need to book Witness the resurrection of the giant killer crabs, Drop in to our ever popular BookSwap. Please immerse yourself in the Antarctic romance of bring any books you would like to swap – they Mills and Boon, discover ‘the secrets of picking must be in good condition – and choose from the up sexy girls’ when you join comedian Robin Ince varied selection on offer with books for adults and as he reveals the books that have gained entry into children, fiction and non-fiction. Books are his bad book club. swapped one for one. Recycle, replenish and Robin Ince has just finished the sold out Uncaged replace reading material! Monkey tour and a new series of Radio 4’s Infinite With the kind support of Oxfam Monkey Cage with Brian Cox. Robin has won three Chortle awards, the Time Out award for outstanding contribution to comedy and his Bad Sat 13 Oct 11am – 3pm Q Book Club was nominated for the best live show at the British Comedy Awards. Live Words and Dead Poets Open Mic In association with Lakin McCarthy Entertainment Winter Garden, Surrey Street, S1 With the kind support of Sheffield City Hall Hosted by Matt Black and Guests Admission free Thurs 11 Oct 7.30pm Q Celebrate the launch of Off the Shelf with writers Linda Hoy from the Read Regional scheme and an Open Mic. Come and read poems, tell stories, play Quaker Meeting House, 10 St James Street, S1 songs, do stand-up or whatever. Tickets £8/£6 from theeffectbook.com or from Read as a ‘Dead Poet’ between 12 noon and 1pm Quaker Meeting House and meet other dead poets! Drop in or call 0114 What happens when we die? Does life have a 253 6722 to confirm your place. purpose? Does God exist? The Effect by Sheffield author Linda Hoy, explores time-travel, parallel worlds and life-after-death to show how cutting- Sat 13 Oct 1.30 – 4pm Q edge science validates what mystics and spiritual leaders have been telling us for centuries. Writers’ Group Fair A community event Central United Reformed Church, 60 Norfolk Street, S1 Fri 12 Oct 7.30pm Q Admission free. No need to book More details 0114 236 6225 Peter Carpenter, Catherine Smith and Ever fancied having a go at writing or joining a Blake Morrison writer’s group but unsure where to start? Find out University of Sheffield, Humanities Research what is on offer from the many local groups and Institute, Gell Street, S3 classes at this friendly and informative fair and Tickets £7.50/£5.50 (cons) find what would suit you.