The Graham Greene International Festival is about to happen at Greene’s birthplace of Berkhamsted once again, and this year’s event, running from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd of September, is the 21st such garrulous gathering.
“It’s wonderful, isn’t it, how you always get what you pray for,” reflects Milly, beloved daughter of Wormold, the hapless intelligence agent in Graham Greene’s comic satirical masterpiece Our Man in Havana (1958). The theme for the 2019 Festival is described by Festival Director Martyn Sampson as Reflections on Greene: to give voice to the shades of reflectiveness and the reflections — and reflections on reflections — that present insights into the life and work of Greene. The programme of events could be compared to a veritable hall of mirrors, plentiful in perspectives and diverse in points of view, in which Festival-goers can pursue all manner of different leads and ideas.
Tickets will be on sale at the door for all events other than the meals, and online via the website: grahamgreenebt.org/tickets.
Season tickets, which offer a discount, are available for those who plan to attend all the talks and films. Friends of the GGBT can obtain a small discount on tickets by putting ‘Friends’ in the code box when purchasing.
THURSDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER
Railway Station (or Court House) and the Town Hall
Afternoon session (£5)
Berkhamsted Railway Station (or Court House)
2.15 Berkhamsted, The Greene Guide: a guided walk of approximately one hour, led by Brian Shepherd, with readings from A Sort of Life, The Human Factor and The Captain and the Enemy, by Judy Mead and Richard Shepherd. Meet outside the rear entrance to Berkhamsted Railway Station (the Platform 4 exit) for introduction. In the event of wet weather, there will be an illustrated talk with readings in The Court House.
Evening session
The Town Hall
(Supper and film £30; supper only £20; film only £10.)
5.15 Film Supper: 5.15 meet for drinks at pay bar, 6.00 waitress – served two-course supper with coffee; vegan/vegetarian option.
(Please book by Monday 9 September at the latest.)
7.15 (For 7.30 start.) Film: 21 Days (London Film Productions, 1940, 72 minutes), directed by Basil Dean, screenplay by Basil Dean and Graham Greene, and starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Introduced by Mike Hill.
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FRIDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER
The Town Hall, The Civic Centre
Morning session (£16)
The Town Hall
9.45 Greene & Sherry: The Fox & The Hound: a talk by Lucinda Cummings-Kilmer, who was research assistant to Norman Sherry, the first biographer of Greene
10.45 Break for tea and coffee
11.15 “It was our Bible”: US Vietnam War era Reporters (1965−1975) and the impact of Graham Greene’s The Quiet American: a talk by Professor Kevin Ruane of Canterbury Christ Church University.
Break for lunch
12.45 A repeat of Berkhamsted: The Greene Guide (£5). In the event of wet weather, there will be an illustrated talk with readings in The Town Hall.
Afternoon session (£16)
The Town Hall
2.30 Brighton Rock: Wrestling a Wonderful Story from out of a Book and onto the Stage: Bryony Lavery and Esther Richardson are interviewed by Mark Lawson.
3.30 Break for tea and coffee
4.00 The Priest in the Novels of Graham Greene: The Saint and the Sinner: A talk by Revd. Canon Emeritus Professor David Jasper of the University of Glasgow. The David Pearce Memorial Talk.
Evening session (£10)
The Civic Centre
7.30 Film night: Our Man in Havana (Kingsmead Productions, 1959, 111 minutes), directed by Carol Reed, screenplay by Graham Greene, and starring Alec Guinness, Ernie Kovacs, Burl Ives and Maureen O’Hara. Introduced by Quentin Falk.
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SATURDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER
Deans’ Hall and Old Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street)
Morning session (£17)
Deans’ Hall
9.45 Vicious Cities: Shadows of The Third Man in Our Man in Havana: a talk by Dr Chris Hull of the University of Chester and Dr James Clifford Kent of Royal Holloway, University of London.
10.45 Break for tea and coffee
11.15 What or who was The Third Man . . . and the vital question remains. . . .: Miles Hyman and Jean-Luc Fromental are interviewed by Dr Brigitte Timmermann.
Break for lunch
Mid-afternoon session (£17)
Deans’ Hall
2.00 The launch of the Graham Greene Film Review Competition: A presentation by Dr Creina Mansfield, Emma Clarke, Quentin Falk and Dr Jo Barnardo-Wilson.
2.30 Our Woman in Havana: Reporting Castro’s Cuba: a talk by Sarah Rainsford.
3.30 Break for tea and coffee
4.00 Politics and the Novel: a talk by Sir Vince Cable, former Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2017-19 and former Secretary of State for Business.
Late-afternoon session, including Birthday Toast (£15)
5.00 The Birthday Toast: by Jonathan Bourget.
5.30 Where is the line between true crime and crime fiction?: a talk by Geoffrey Wansell.
Evening session (£36)
Old Hall
8.00 Festival Dinner: three courses with wine and coffee; vegan/vegetarian option, with grace to be said by Revd. Canon Emeritus Professor David Jasper. (Limited to 60 tickets. Please book by Monday 9 September at the latest.)
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SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER
VIth Form Centre and Old Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street)
Morning session (£16)
VIth Form Centre, Castle Street
9.00 A Tour of the School & Archives: including a look at the Exhibition Room, the green baize door, Old Hall and the School Chapel. Meet outside Old Hall.
10.00 Scandinavians are terribly Scandinavian: Graham Greene’s friendship with Norwegian writer Nordahl Grieg: a talk by Johanne Elster Hanson. This talk will follow an introduction by Ian Thomson.
11.00 Break for tea and coffee
11.30 Graham Greene’s Hungarian Connection: a talk by Dr Tamás Molnár and Dr Ramón Porta.
Old Hall Lunch (£25)
1.00 Farewell Lunch: cold buffet, wine and coffee; vegan/vegetarian option. (Limited to 60 tickets. Please book by Monday 9 September at the latest.)
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The venues will feature exhibitions during the course of the Festival. The Graham Greene Trust Festival bookstall and Richard Frost’s second-hand bookstall will be open on the Friday and Saturday. Both will feature a large selection of books by, and relating to, Graham Greene. A free Festival brochure will be available during the Festival. It will include a full Festival programme, details of speakers and more. A Season ticket to all events, including both films but excluding meals, is available for £106. There is free admission to all Festival events (excluding meals) for under 21s. If you have any queries or problems with tickets, please email ticketing@grahamgreenebt.com or phone +44 7988 560496.
Friends of The Graham Greene Trust
You are cordially invited to become a Friend of the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust at: grahamgreenebt.org/membership
Benefits include receipt of a quarterly magazine entitled A Sort of Newsletter and a Festival discount of £2 per event (for up to five events).
Talking Movies 