THE THOMAS HARDY SOCIETY 23rd INTERNATIONAL & 50th ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL & CONFERENCE Dorchester, Dorset, UK PROGRAMME th PROGRAMME st SaturdaySaturday 14 23 rdJuly July - -Saturday Saturday 21 30 thJuly July 2018 2016 THE THOMAS HARDY SOCIETY 23rd INTERNATIONAL & 50th ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL & CONFERENCE 2018 Festival & Conference Committee Conference Chairman - Dr Tony Fincham Conference Co-ordinator - Mike Nixon (07812 677485) Academic Director - Dr. Jane Thomas Post-Graduate Convenor: Tracy Hayes Sponsorship - Marilyn Leah Catering - Mike Nixon Accommodation - Sue Clarke Tours Co-ordinator - Pat Withers 2 23 FESTIVAL and CONFERENCE BOOKING FORM 2018 Festival & Conference Foreword Name 1: Welcome to Dorchester – and welcome to the Thomas Hardy Society’s 23rd Inter- Name 2: national Festival and Conference! Address: This special Golden Jubilee Festival marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Thomas Hardy Society, the permanent progeny of that original 1968 event. As such, we have tried to return to our original roots with the initial weekend of Post/zip code: celebrations being based at Kingston Maurward College (Knapwater House) Email: Tel: where the first Hardy Festival took place. On the Sunday we are taking over the Member(s) of the Thomas Hardy Society: YES/NO college grounds for The Thomas Hardy Country Fair – a new and exciting venture – to be followed by an outdoor performance of The Trumpet-Major. Throughout ACCOMMODATION (Please tick/delete as necessary) the week of the Festival, we have a novel, diverse and stimulating programme – Please send accommodation information about:: but not forgetting the old favourites, including plentiful walks and tours plus a vig- Dorchester Surrounding area orous academic programme, in which greater prominence has been given to the Call for Papers speakers, all of whom will now be speaking in morning sessions; Hotels Inns/Pubs Guest/Farmhouses/Bed & Breakfast Self catering freeing up the afternoons for the enjoyment and exploration of Hardy’s Wessex. I understand that I must book and pay for this and be responsible for transport where necessary As always, the Festival and Conference draws together the disparate strands of Conference & Festival Fees Members of the Thomas Hardy Society £230 Hardyan interest – from the acclaimed academic to the lay enthusiast - to express Full-time student/early-career researcher+ members £ 50 through lecture, seminar, music, drama, film, walk and outing – and most espe- Non-members & guests of members £250 cially Poetry – the living vibrant world Thomas Hardy’s Wessex. Deposit per person on booking £ 70 Deposit per student member £ 10 Roger Thomas, the Chairman of the 1968 Festival, opened his Festival notes NB Deposit only refunded if cancellation received before 1st May thus: Day rate: £45 (members) £50.00 (others); Individual Lectures: £8.00 + Early-career researchers - those who have been awarded their PhD within the last 3 years but are not yet in a Let me enjoy the earth no less permanent academic post, and are unable to claim costs from an institution. Because the all-enacting Might The Conference and Festival membership fee includes attendance at all lectures, talks, seminars, That fashioned forth its loveliness poetry readings and evening entertainments as well as dinner on the first night and the farewell Had other aims than my delight. party. There are additional charges for the excursions and walks. As demand for Tickets is likely to be high, an early reservation for the 2018 Conference and Festival is recommended. To honour a man, to enrich life, to kindle joy – such were the feelings that inspired *please delete as necessary this Festival. I/we* enclose a cheque/bank draft* payable to The Thomas Hardy Society for £70 per person as a deposit and will pay the balance not later than1 June2018; OR I/We* wish to pay the deposit/in full* by credit card: Tony Fincham. Card type: VISA Mastercard Eurocard Card no. If you would like further information about the Festival & Conference The Thomas Expiry date: Name of card holder: Hardy Society or THS membership please contact: The Thomas Hardy Society Please also debit the balance of my/our* Conference fees & Walk & Tour fees on 1 June 2018 c/o Dorset County Museum, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XA Tel: (0)1305 251501; email: [email protected] Signed: ....................................................................................... Date: ................................. 22 (Reg. Charity No:254248) 3 Festival & Conference Programme Notes Festival & Conference Walks & Tours Booking Form The Wessex Consort, A Memorial Concert Please complete in BLOCK CAPITALS & make cheques payable to the Thomas Hardy Society at Kingston Maurward College from 9.00 - 10.15pm on Saturday 14th July Full details of coach tours and walks will be found on pages 5 and 6 This 12 voice choir of professional singers was founded by Dorset composer Graham Stansfield in 2014. Graham sadly passed away recently, and this concert is dedicated to him. It will be conducted by Andrew 1. Sun tour ‘...that wild weird western shore’ . King, the distinguished early music specialist. The programme is wide-ranging as the choir specialises in in a Coach Tour to St Juliot, Cornwall £......... variety of singing styles - from classical, to gospel and a cappella. Ticket includes lunch .........Tickets @ £32.00 2. Mon walk A Casterbridge Walk ..........Tickets @ £5.00 £......... 3. Tues tour The Fiddler of the Reels ..........Tickets @ £12.00 £......... The New Hardy Players present ‘The Trumpet-Major’ 4. Weds tour Thomas Hardy’s Reredos, Windsor ..........Tickets @ £28.00 £......... at Kingston Maurward College at 7.30pm on Sunday 15th July 5. Weds walk Exploring Egdon Heath ..........Tickets @ £12.00 £......... Thomas Hardy’s historical romance ‘The Trumpet-Major’ is presented in a colourful new production directed by Tim Laycock with Penny Levick. Featuring Harlequi- 6. Thurs tour The Far From the Madding Crowd ..........Tickets @ £12.00 £......... nade dancers from Dorchester Ballet directed by Lucy Bishop, newly composed music by Alastair Simpson, and country entertainments for all to enjoy. With a host 7. Thurs walk The Old Neighbour and The New: ..........Tickets @ £5.00 of colourful characters, and set against the background of the threat of invasion, A Hardy/Barnes Walk £......... the Battle of Trafalgar and the glowering presence of Old Boney (Napoleon Bona- 8. Thurs Tour Lock ‘em Up! Shire Hall Court & ..........Tickets @ £6.75 £......... parte), this rollicking and richly comic adaptation was first performed by the Hardy Players in 1908, resurrected by Dorchester Drama in 1978, and is now brought up Cells to date by the New Hardy Players – don’t miss it! 9. Fri walk A Walk Round Jude’s Shaftesbury ..........Tickets @ £12.00 £......... This is an open-air production, so bring a picnic and a rug or a chair and hope that the sun shines! 10. Fri walk ‘The Strange House’: The poetry of ............Tickets @ £5.00 £......... Max Gate Tickets: A Portrait of Tess/Mr Hardy’s War: £5.00+£6.30# Thomas Hardy and the Remarkable Thornycrofts in Peace and War. # National Trust - non-members admission charge - payable at venue TOTAL £ At The Corn Exchange at 7.30pm on Monday 16th July. TO HELP WITH CATERING, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING: The story of Hardy’s warm relationship with the Thornycroft family; from his friendship with the Are you vegetarian? (please indicate) YES / NO sculptor Hamo Thornycroft and his beautiful wife Agatha (a model for Tess), to his war service in A meal on the first and last evenings is included in the cost for Full Conference Members London and Dorchester and his influence on the only, but is available for all others at a cost of £10.00 for the first evening and for the last. It is young Siegfried Sassoon (also a Thornycroft), told important that we know your wishes in advance, as admission will be by ticket only. through their letters, diaries and other writings. An entertainment by Andrew & Marilyn Leah, featur- If Full Conference Members are unable to attend either meal, please let us know, as follows: ing Tim Laycock, Alistair Chisholm and the Leahs. I am *able/not able to attend the meal on the *first/last evening. I am not a FULL Conference Member, but wish to attend the “first/*last evening meals Treasures of the Thomas Hardy Archive. meals and enclose my cheque for £____________ Signed_________________________ In the United Church at 2.00pm on Wednesday 18th July. Helen Gibson is Honorary Curator of the Thomas Hardy Collection in the Dorset County Museum. She was involved in writing the successful bid for Please detach and return this form, together with your deposit of £70 or full payment to: the inscription of the Hardy Archive and Collection to the UNESCO Memory The Thomas Hardy Society, c/o Dorset County Museum, High West Street, of the World Register of Important Literary Heritage. Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XA, UK Helen holds an MA in English Literature from the University of Kent. She is a Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1305 251501, or Mike Nixon: +44 (01305 837331; Mobile: 07812 677485 member of the Hardy Society’s Council of Management. Email: [email protected] Website: www.hardysociety.org 4 21 Friday 20th July (cont) No.10: Walk ‘The Strange House ‘- the poetry of Max A.H. & M. Leah 1.30pm Gate A walk from the United Church, Dorchester to Max Gate where John Hayes (NT house manager) will give a talk about the house and Andrew and Marilyn Leah, with Furse Swann, will read some