Armando Iannucci: An Epic Poem for Our Times

Captioned

Emerging from the same BBC Radio production that launched the careers of Chris Morris, Stewart Lee and Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci has been at the forefront of British satire for over two decades. In Pandemonium he turns his eye to the pandemic and Brexit in the form of a mock epic poem. Iannucci pairs his sharp insight into politics, media and culture with his love of the truly absurd, to unmatched comedy effect. He speaks with Jenny Niven.

Book Festival News

Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival
Monday 26 August

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

John Pilger John Pilger Radical, passionate and often controversial, John Pilger is one of the most important free spirits in worldwide journalism and filmmaking. In these video highlights from his 2007 event, he talks about the long shadow of imperialism, hidden censorship and… Reverend Jesse Jackson (2015 Event) Reverend Jesse Jackson (2015 Event) One of the best-respected and most formidable civil rights activists of the 20th century, the Reverend Jesse Jackson worked for Martin Luther King in the 1960s. During his later political career, he specialised in high-profile international diplomacy… Lucy Hawking - pt2 Lucy Hawking - pt2 A young audience plays Who Wants to be a Cosmic Billionaire?, is showered by an asteroid storm and learns about the solar system with Lucy Hawking and her father Professor Stephen Hawking (via live audio link-up) in video highlights from this thrilling 200… Hilary Mantel: Inside the Head of Thomas Cromwell Hilary Mantel: Inside the Head of Thomas Cromwell More than a decade in the making, Hilary Mantel’s masterpiece is now complete with the publication of the final part of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy, The Mirror and The Light. As any student of 16th century England knows, Cromwell’s life ended abruptly… Tobias Kelly & Charlotte McDonald-Gibson: Radical Outsiders Tobias Kelly & Charlotte McDonald-Gibson: Radical Outsiders How much is your life shaped by your conscience? Journalist Charlotte McDonald- Gibson and academic Tobias Kelly ask us to imagine having views that set us apart. Kelly’s new book, Battles of Conscience, traces the histories of five beleaguered… Laura Cumming: Seeing the Light; Remembering a Life  Laura Cumming: Seeing the Light; Remembering a Life  Thunderclap: A memoir of art and life and sudden death is something of a companion piece to Laura Cumming's previous book, On Chapel Sands and equally luminous. It weaves together art critic Cummings’ love for Dutch art of the Golden Age, and her… Jeremy Atherton Lin: Coming Out, Going Out Jeremy Atherton Lin: Coming Out, Going Out For the past generation it has been possible for LGBTQIA+ people in most of Britain and the USA to go out in an open display of solidarity and sexual freedom that was long denied to those who came before them. The culture of the Gay Bar is the subject of… Simon Woolley: Shaking Up the Establishment Simon Woolley: Shaking Up the Establishment When Simon Woolley created Operation Black Vote in 1996, he inspired hundreds of thousands of people to participate in the democratic process. Raised on an impoverished estate in Leicester, he has become a political force to be reckoned with, the first… Aleksandar Hemon & Elif Shafak (2015 Event) Aleksandar Hemon & Elif Shafak (2015 Event) As a multilingual writer, does the language you choose to write in matter? Does it change who you are and who you are writing for? Does the omnipotence of global English dominate regardless? Elif Shafak is an acclaimed author who writes in both Turkish… Eileen Myles: 'They' Contain Multitudes Eileen Myles: 'They' Contain Multitudes Prolific poet and activist Eileen Myles is back with a “Working Life”, a new collection which captures the many dualities of human life: loneliness and companionship, travel and stasis, fear and wonder. Join us to hear Myles discuss the immense anxieties…