Portsmouth BookFest – Upcoming Festival Highlights
Billed as a friendly and relaxed festival for all ages, Portsmouth BookFest has been running successfully for well over a decade now.
If you’re put off by the ‘bookish’ name, don’t be – because you honestly don’t need to be a bookworm to get involved! There’s plenty for everyone – from children’s entertainment to comedy and film – and much of it is either free or low-cost.
Once again this year, the programme includes a series of events for children during February half-term, followed by two weeks of activities for adults – including ‘meet the author’ talks by local writers and a few celebrities from further afield!
There’s also a range of workshops if you’re feeling creative, plus a selection of films screened by Southsea Cinema.
There’s a lot going on and the info can, frankly, be a bit of a challenge to wade through – so I’ve had a go at suggesting some top picks for this year’s festival!
Children’s Programme
Performance
This year’s headline event, The Tiger Who Came to Tea (18-20 February, various venues £3 but free for leisure card holders) is all but sold out unfortunately – at time of writing, there’s just one or two tickets remaining for leisure card holders at a few venues but you’ll need to be quick!
The good news is that there’s still some availability for Tigerboat Theatre’s fairy-tale story sessions (Friday 21 February, various venues, £5 but free for leisure card holders). Designed for children aged 2-5 and their families, you’re promised an interactive storytelling session with the help of some cute hand-crafted puppets! At time of writing, the morning session at Carnegie Library still has some free tickets for leisure card holders only; the first afternoon session at North End Library has some paid tickets only; and both types of tickets are available for the second afternoon session at North End Library.
Film
My top pick for older children aged 13+ is a screening of the film The Book Thief (Thursday 20 February, Guildhall Lens Studio, free of charge). It’s a powerful story centred around a girl growing up in Nazi Germany who shares her books with a Jewish man hiding in her basement.
This one also sounds interesting because it will be more than just a film screening – the young people behind it have been working to create an interactive and immersive experience for the audience as well.
Workshops
Among the workshops on offer, one which caught my eye is Soundtrack the Story (Friday 21 February, The Base Guildhall, free of charge, ages 11-16). Come to this cool mixing studio, and you’ll get the chance to create a soundtrack from a story and learn how to edit everything together! No experience is necessary, but to sign up you’ll need to join as a member of The Base (free of charge). Details can be found about halfway down this page. For more info about the full children’s programme, have a scroll through the list here.
Programme for Adults
Performance
Though this one isn’t part of the official programme, its timing couldn’t be better! Six Untold Stories (Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 February, The Dockyard Club, £10) is a celebration of the work of some of Pompey’s own talented local writers, performed by some of our best local actors.
Described as touching, engaging and uplifting, the event features six very different short stories with settings as diverse as a South African mountaintop and a Brighton café. There’s sure to be something for everyone and, knowing the quality of the writers and actors involved, I’m really looking forward to it!
Meet the Celebs!
This year’s out-of-town celebrities at BookFest are comedian Helen Lederer of Ab Fab and Naked Video fame (Central Library, Friday 28 February £16.50, info and tickets here) and broadcaster Simon Mayo (New Theatre Royal, Sunday 9 March £20, info and tickets here)
Helen is coming to Portsmouth as part of her one woman tour and will be talking about her hilarious new memoir Not That I’m Bitter. We’re told to expect lots of legendary funny stories, along with plenty of honesty about some of the challenges she encountered along her journey.
While Simon may be best known for his radio work, he is also a successful award-winning writer and joins the festival as part of the launch of his new book Black Tag. It’s described as a captivating contemporary thriller that takes us on a murderous family saga stretching back over centuries.
Alternatively, if you’re a fan of the TV series, you might fancy going along to Behind the Scenes of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ (Wednesday 26 February, Central Library, £8 but £4 for leisure card holders). This session features researcher, consultant, presenter and author Dr Nick Barratt who will give a fascinating talk about on his work on the programme.
Of course, there are also many local authors taking part at BookFest too – so why not scroll through the full programme and see what takes your fancy. I’ve attended one of these previously and it was really enjoyable!
Film
As part of the festival, Southsea Cinema is screenings four films based on different novels between 23 February and 9 March – and tickets are on offer at a special price.
My top picks are Sherlock Holmes and The Lost World – because they celebrate Portsmouth’s connections with writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the tickets cost just £1 to cover the booking fee, and both screenings include an introductory talk by our own local Sherlock Holmes expert Matt Wingett!
The other two films are more recent – sci-fi adventure The Wild Robot, and romantic drama It Ends With Us. Tickets for both of these are priced at just £5. You can view the screening dates here – and to book tickets, you’ll need to scroll down through Southsea Cinema’s chronological listing.
Workshops
Among the workshops on offer, I like the sound of Right Royal Tales (Saturday 1 March, New Theatre Royal £16). Led by two lovely local ladies Christine Lawrence and Jackie Green, the event kicks off with an exclusive backstage tour of the historic New Theatre Royal. It then continues onsite with an inspiring creative writing workshop where they will help you unlock your creative talents in a supportive environment, whether you’re already writing or want to have a go for the first time!
Finally, I’ve previously written about the inspiring book compiled by local group Pens of the Earth to support the conservation of our important Solent seagrass meadows. Group members Alison Habens and Sue Spiers will host a poetry workshop Solent and Other Oceans (Wednesday 26 February, The Green House £5.50) in the attractive surroundings of Victoria Park, to share the story behind the book and inspire you to create your own poetry about the sea or the wider environment.
