More conversations, podcasts and poetry, plus your first wave of late-night Latitude!

Conversations, Podcasts and Poetry

Renowned Scottish author Irvine Welsh returns, presenting his latest novel, Resolution. This third instalment in the #1 Sunday Times bestselling crime series follows maverick investigator Ray Lennox, who moves from Edinburgh to Brighton to escape his past. However, an encounter with the enigmatic Mathew Cardingworth forces Lennox to confront long-buried memories and a haunting mystery involving foster care boys. Welsh is famed for his debut novel “Trainspotting,” which sold over a million copies and became an iconic film. He has authored thirteen more novels, including the bestseller “Dead Men’s Trousers,” and numerous plays and screenplays.

The Poetry Exchange explores the idea of poems as friends, inviting people from all walks of life to share how particular poems have touched their lives. Their first anthology, Poems As Friends: The Poetry Exchange 10th Anniversary Anthology,  features a selection of poems chosen by readers, each accompanied by personal stories of connection.

Salena Godden will read from her latest collection, Love, Grief and Fury. Godden, a veteran of the UK poetry scene, presents love poems for people and the planet, alongside powerful pieces of grief and fiery activism. Anoushka Warden, acclaimed writer for stage and screen, will also discuss her acclaimed debut novel I’m F*cking Amazing, a candid exploration of modern relationships and self-discovery.

Girls On Film, the acclaimed film review podcast from a female perspective hosted by film critic and broadcaster Anna Smith and produced by co-founder Hedda Archbold at HLA Agency, will feature Rachel Ramsay live from Latitude. Rachel, known for her co-directorial debut in the feature documentary Copa 71 has an impressive background in producing theatrically-released documentaries like End of the Storm (2020) and Sachin: A Billion Dreams (2017).

Further additions to the line up include Mixed Up, a podcast by Nicole Ocran and Emma Slade Edmondson, which offers unfiltered perspectives on mixed-race identity, covering topics from interracial relationships to media portrayals, Kaliane Bradley discusses her debut novel The Ministry of Time which combines time travel, romance, and a spy thriller, while Ruth Ivo’s novel Performance paints a visceral portrait of London’s nightlife, capturing the excesses and decadence of the city’s club scene. Kieran Yates, a journalist, broadcaster, and author, writes regularly on youth culture, housing, immigration, and politics for publications including the Guardian, the Independent, and VICE also joins the bill. Snippets from Jan Etherington’s award-winning Radio 4 comedy series Conversations from a Long Marriage, will be read by Helen Atkinson Wood and Angus Deayton.

Comedy

Joining the bill are the legendary The Comedy Store Players, whose improvisational prowess has been a West End staple for nearly 40 years, promising audiences a night of unpredictable, side-splitting fun.

Priya Hall, known for her “hilariously oversharing” style, will captivate with her warm and interactive performances, while Derek Mitchell, famed for his online sketches and role in Ted Lasso, brings his unique perspective on cultural absurdities. Additionally, Matt Bragg, with his unique, low-energy, deadpan style, will perform the best bits from his seven years on the comedy circuit.

Latitude’s Late Night Comedy line up is also set to sizzle this summer with an array of critically acclaimed acts. The award-winning poof prince of puppets, Lachlan Werner, brings his horrifyingly hilarious comedy after his debut show Voices Of Evil, sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Soho Theatre.

Additionally, the unique musical comedy Songs with my Father? featuring Mark Silcox and Luke McQueen, promises a mix of humour and heart. The cult classic The Late Nite PowerPoint Comedy Showcase is coming to Latitude after sell-out seasons across New Zealand and Australia and residencies at Comedy Republic. Featuring six comedians and hosted by Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh, this late-night showcase puts the ‘show’ back into show-and-tell with more slides than Wet’n’Wild.

Dance and Across the Arts

Latitude’s stunning Waterfront Stage is globally renowned for showcasing the best talent in dance productions and companies. This year marks the continuation of a powerful partnership with DanceEast, presenting an eclectic programme of world-class dance in all its forms. In addition to previously announced shows, DanceEast will also present Birds of the Four Seasons, a dance theatre production from award-winning hip-hop movement architects BirdGang Ltd. Inspired by the renowned Japanese painter Kanō Motonobu’s work of a similar name, it explores the profound relationship between BirdGang founder Simeon Qsyea and his father, Roosevelt Richard. DanceEast also presents Black Victorians, a powerful and moving dance performance by Artistic Director and Choreographer Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE that is inspired by nineteenth-century studio photographs of black men, women, and children. Exploring a complex but often forgotten black presence in pre-Windrush Britain, this performance calls attention to previously hidden figures and challenges historical and contemporary perceptions.

BAFTA nominee Yolanda Mercy also performs Failure Project, a comedy-drama about Ade, a successful writer whose seemingly perfect life starts to unravel. With a stash of five-star reviews Dancefloor Conversion Therapy will land at Latitude  and take audiences on “a sexy romp” that is “unmissably, unmistakeably brilliant.” Join dance floor anthropologist, Aunty Jonny for an edifying lecture on the history of radical music, sexed-up dance floors and the people your mother warned you about. The S.H.I.T Club (Supporting Husbands in Trauma) which premiered at INK Festival also comes to Latitude. It features four women, each of whom has a husband going through a serious health crisis, who meet, talk, cry, laugh and support each other.

During the festival, The Rogue Shanty Buoys are set to make waves at Latitude’s The Clearing with their bold and original take on sea shanties. Based in rural Suffolk, this professional folk group has garnered acclaim for their fresh and dynamic approach to folk music, performing traditional sea shanties and unique “shantyfied” covers of ’90s classics.

Late-night Latitude

Henham Park continues to electrify after dark, with the UK’s best club nights taking centre stage as our Comedy Arena transforms each night till the early hours.

Following the show, it’s time to join Aunty Jonny for the built-in afterparty Dancefloor Conversion Therapy. In their early 20s, Jonny helped start a church, went to Bible College and was preaching the Gospel in front of thousands of people, but since has become one of Australia’s most loved DJs, dance floor icons, queer party promoters and a disciple of Joy. –

See cabaret at its finest from The Cocoa Butter Club, who’ll start the festival weekend off by serving a spirited soiree celebrating performers of colour, featuring burlesque, live music, drag, voguing, hula hooping and much much more. The Yard, who are committed to showcasing work that dives into the wild, weird and wonderful parts of our past, present and future presents the ultimate after-parties Knickerbocker and Popola.

Massaoke returns with the world’s biggest mass sing-along party, featuring a live band – Rockstar Weekend – playing hairbrush anthems from across the decades. Guilty Pleasures invites attendees to throw their hands in the air and let pop music course through their veins, while Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ABBA After Midnight is all about ABBA. Club de Fromage, with its zany characters, huge sing-alongs, audience interaction, and non-stop dancing also returns.

Disco Shed is back, bringing with them a troupe of their best DJs to keep your feet stomping all night long with their massive beats. Latitude’s beloved Shack will also return to keep party-goers dancing until the early hours amongst the Faraway Forest with their audio-visual bass-thumping extravaganza.

With an eclectic mix of performances that push boundaries and defy expectations, Latitude promises an unforgettable celebration of music and the arts, where creativity knows no bounds. Get your tickets at the link below, and we’ll see you very soon…