insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 21 - November 2016 | Page 25

EVENTS

Antarctica // 15 Nov

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest place in the world. Most of the
continent is covered by ice over a mile thick, wind speeds can reach
199 miles per hour, temperatures can fall as low as -89.2°C, and even
the Sahara desert gets more rain. As well as penguins, Antarctica is
home to a few scientists, engineers and medical professionals all at the
top of their game. Every day is about survival. Every day is about saving
the planet. So obviously what the continent really needed was an artist
in residence. Artist and sculptor, Chris Dobrowolski, left his Colchester
home to join the British Antarctic Survey where, for three and a half
months, Chris lived and worked alongside the scientists, medical
professionals, researchers and crewmembers, trying to experiment
creatively while trying to survive. He discovered that sometimes it’s very
difficult to justify your position as an artist while everyone around you is
a hero. Even if you can build a sledge out of gilt picture frames.

This unmissable live event will take a candid look into the mind of Alan
Bennett, Britain’s best-loved writer, who, at 82, shows no signs of
slowing down. The event will include a screening of new documentary,
Alan Bennett’s Diaries, followed by an exclusive Q&A with Alan Bennett
from his local library in Primrose Hill. Inspired by his acerbic and
often hilarious diaries, the film shows Alan as he’s never been seen
before – following him to New York, the scene of his early triumph in
Beyond The Fringe, to accept an award from the city’s public library; to
Shepherd’s Bush to record an episode of Private Passions for Radio 3;
to his local community-run library in Primrose Hill; and to the village in
Yorkshire he calls home. Intimate encounters filmed over the course of
a year reveal a writer who is bemused by his own popularity and is still
as angry and irreverent in his 80s as he was in his 20s.

7.30pm. Price: £10
Brighton Dome, Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UE
www.brightondome.org / 01273 709709

8pm. Price: £13
The Picture House, High Street, Uckfield TN22 1AS
www.picturehouseuckfield.com / 01825 764909

Alan Bennett’s Diaries with Live Q&A // 16 Nov

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