Timber, a new festival weaving together the forest with arts and ideas, will take place this weekend in the heart of the National Forest in Derbyshire…
Archives for Literature
Attend a Regency Ball at Hampshire’s Jane Austen festival
Jane Austen Regency Week is an annual nine-day festival, held in Alton and Chawton, Hampshire, celebrating the much-loved author with talks, tours, dance workshops and period costume…
Mother’s ruin and Victorian scruffs at Broadstairs Dickensian Festival
Broadstairs Dickens Festival takes place in Kent this month, with quirky events including Mother’s Ruin Gin Tastings, Victorian Scruffs,and a Dickensian hat demonstration…
A mix of spoken word, theatre, music and illustration in Goldfish Bowl
Goldfish Bowl is a collaboration between The Paper Birds and former Young People’s Laureate for London, Caleb Femi, with a combination of spoken word, theatre, music and illustration…
Book Review: Twenty Theatres to See Before You Die
We’ve always included a lot of small and unusual theatre productions on Contrary Life, and so on hearing that someone had written a book about the weird and wonderful collection of theatres around Britain, we were eager for a read…
Wimborne’s Chained Library
Our latest Curiosity of the Week is one of the oldest and most unusual libraries in the country. The Chained Library at Wimborne Minster in Dorset was founded in 1686 and is the second largest library of its kind in the country…
Artificial Intelligence and sexism in the spotlight at The Book Club
The Book Club in London will be hosting a special 4th Estate Literary Salon on Monday 5th March, discussing sexism and Artificial Intelligence…
Untold Suffragette stories at Museum of London
To commemorate the centenary of the first women winning the right to vote, the Museum of London will be highlighting the untold stories of women in the Suffragette movement…
A four-day festival of death (and life) in a Bristol cemetery
Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol will be tackling the tricky subject of death, with a four-day festival of talks, walks, theatre and workshops…
An alternative guide to a quirky Valentine’s Day in London
Contrary Life is back again with An Alternative Guide to Valentine’s Day. We’ve dug out some great quirky events taking place in London this year…
Solve a crime through paintings at the Russell-Cotes gallery in Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes gallery and museum is inviting visitors to reconstruct a crime through paintings with their latest exhibition, A Question of Guilt, from 13th January 2018…
A cabaret of pestilence and guisers galore at storytelling festival
This year’s Scottish International Storytelling Festival will feature stories amongst the trees, immersive playrooms, Polish folktales and fireside stories…
Circus, beatbox battles and poetic storytelling at Juice Festival
This month, Juice Festival returns to the North East from Friday 20th to Saturday 28th October, for nine days of creative and eclectic workshops and events…
Punk rock fairytales and museum capers at Bloomsbury Festival
Bloomsbury Festival 2017 will take place from 18th to 22nd October with a trailblazing programme of science, literature, performance, music, theatre, dance and discussion…
Lakes International Comic Art Festival draws in the crowds
To celebrate the amazing world of comic artists, creators and writers, the biggest names in comic art are heading to Kendal for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival…