Olivia Laing on Art, Solitude, and The Lonely City at 10
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Scroll down for info on reserving a pre-show meal with Margins Cafe.
Olivia Laing is known as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature. Their work is renowned for its capacity to make abstract ideas feel precise, intimate, and beautifully thought through without ever talking down to the reader. Their books include the number one Sunday Times bestseller The Garden Against Time, Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency and, most recently, The Silver Book: a bewitching love story set during the making of Fellini’s Casanova and Pasolini’s Salò.
On June 23 Laing comes to Intelligence Squared for a one-off celebration of the ten-year anniversary of their seminal work, The Lonely City. Hailed as ‘a new kind of literature’ when first published, The Lonely City is both a personal quest to master the art of being alone, and an investigation into how artists have reckoned with isolation. The book asks questions that resonate in our increasingly digital and divided world. What does it mean to be lonely? How do we connect with others? Does technology draw us closer together, or keep us apart?
Join Laing live at Union Chapel alongside writer and curator Charlie Porter, as they reflect on the legacy of The Lonely City, the paperback publication of The Silver Book and what loneliness, intimacy, solidarity and connection mean in a world of rising fascism. Ask your questions in the audience Q&A, and have your book signed by Olivia in a post-event signing.
Book For A Pre-Show Dinner
Make your dinner reservation to eat at our Margins Cafe before the show!
You must have a general admission ticket for the show to gain entry for dinner.
Doors will open for early dinner ticket holders at 17:30.
The Margins Cafe serves delicious, freshly prepared food at gigs and events. All profits go towards The Margins Project, based here at the Chapel which works with people who face issues of homelessness and crisis.
Book Your Dinner Reservation HERE
More Information:
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The venue is seating only. All seats are unreserved and are taken on a first come first serve basis. Please arrive early before event door times if you have preferred seats. Due to the nature of our venue, please be prepared to queue for entry.
The venue is fully accessible, with use of ramps and the upstairs bar is accessible with use of a platform lift. Please email [email protected] with your accessibility requirements as soon as you purchase your ticket as requests are dealt with on a first come, first serve basis.
The bar is located on the first floor of the venue and will be open from the stated door time and remain open after the show.
Alcohol consumption will be limited to the bar area only, it is not permitted to take alcohol to the main chapel space. An array of soft drinks and snacks will also be available and are permitted in the main space - please note the Union Chapel bar and kiosk accept card payment only. Strictly no food or drink may be brought from outside into the venue. Water bottles must be emptied before entering the venue, with refilling stations available inside.
Seats for Margin's Cafe Early Dinners can be reserved via the links above. Margin's Cafe accepts both cash and card. If you have any queries about Margins Cafe, please contact [email protected]