TCCE’s Inside Out Festival Opening Debate: Failure – What’s it good for? Chaired by Helen Lederer

Please note: this event is now closed for bookings but tickets will be available on the door.

Nothing succeeds like Success. Or so we’re told. So bombarded are we by stories and images of successful people, products, projects and places that we can actually forget that Failure really does exist.

True to form and true to the spirit of Inside Out Festival’s annual Opening Debate, we are delighted to tackle and celebrate the tricky topic of Failure in all its thorny glory. In a manner that sets out to be both light-hearted and compelling, a number of brave panellists will offer their views on Failure with perspectives that may amuse, offend, comfort and inspire.

The audiences’ views on failure will also be warmly welcomed.

Chair: Helen Lederer

Helen is probably best known for her role as the dippy Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous where she appeared alongside Jennifer Saunders in all five series of the show as well as creating the ‘girl at the bar’ in Naked Video. However to many she is known for her unique brand of wit and observational humour. A prolific comedy writer with a bulging portfolio that includes writing and performing her own material, Helen enjoys the unique position of having starred in most top TV comedy and radio shows.

Helen was part of an exalted group of early 80’s comedians including French and Saunders, Rik Mayal and Harry Enfield who made their names at the London’s famous Comedy store. She was a guest on ITV’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ with her solo comedy act and in sketches with Harry Enfield as well as performing at the first ‘Just for Laughs’ comedy festival in Montreal along with Lenny Henry. TV appearances span such shows as One foot In The Grave, Casualty, Bottom Love Soup to Miss Marple. On BBC Radio, she is a regular panellist including The News Quiz, Just a Minute Quote Unquote, Open Book, A Good Read, Woman’s Hour as well as writing and starring in two comedies, All Change and Life with Lederer. Her columns include Woman and Home, The Independent, The Mail on Sunday, Daily Telegraph and she is current the ‘agony aunt’ for My Weekly.

Her theatre work includes following hot on the heels of Julie Walters in Educating Rita, playing Doreen in Alan Bleasdale’s Having a Ball as well as performing in The Vagina Monologues, Calendar Girls and The Killing of Sister George in London’s West End interspersed with many fringe theatre plays.

Panellists:
Professor Gavin Henderson CBE (Principal, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama)
Nick Catliff (MD, Lion TV)
Professor Clive Holtham (Cass Business School)
Dr Mitra Memarzia (artist and educator)
Dr David Berman (scientist, Queen Mary, University of London)

Main image credit: White Angel Birdman in flight – Birdman of Bognor 2010