March Speakers Announced!

Lost HQ is delighted to announce that after months of searching, plotting and planning we have confirmed all of our fantastic speakers for our March events.  As ever, they are a truly eclectic bunch of thinkers, innovators and true originals ready to share their ideas with you.  We’re delighted to be welcoming them to the Lost Stage!

March 21st 2012 (7.30 pm – Midnight)

Prof. Anthony Dickenson:  A leading voice in the field of Neuro-pharmacology and the mechanisms of pain and how it’s controlled.  His mind-bending talk will be about changing the brain ‘from without to within’, looking at the mechanisms of mind-altering substances both in clinical and recreational contexts and discussing the differences between ‘older’ established drugs and some of the newer ‘designer’ varieties.

Mark Forsyth:  Mark Forsyth, author of The Times Bestseller, The Etymologicon, and writer of The Inky Fool blog.  Mark is genuinely obsessed with the origin and meanings of words: his new book is a circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English language.  Among many other notable achievements, Mark has dated the word ‘crap’ to 50 years earlier than anyone has found a citation for it and explained more unusual English phrases than perhaps anyone else.  He will be talking about when ‘misused’ words suddenly become an accepted and ‘correct’ part of the English language.

Simon Singh:  Simon is an author and journalist specialising in science and mathematics.  He is the author of Big Bang, a history of cosmology, Fermat’s Last Theorem– the first mathematical book to be a UK No.1 bestseller, and The Code Book, a history of codes and codebreaking from Ancient Egypt to the Internet.  He is a key figure in The Libel Reform campaign and his talk will start with a history of the universe and conclude with the importance of the freedom of speech.  How he links the two is a topic of much debate!

Andrew Shoben:  Andrew Shoben is a professor of public arts and the founder of Greyworld, a world-renowned artists’ collective creating art in public spaces.  His primary objective is to create public art that involves the human in an urban context through the mediums of installation, sculpture and multiples. His recent work includes ‘Trafalgar Sun’ which provided a much-needed dose of sunshine for Londoners passing through Trafalgar Square, and the Clockwork Forest, an untold fairytale in the forests of England.

Kerstin Rodgers: At the forefront of the underground food movement for many years, Kerstin is the founder of ‘The Underground Restaurant’ – a supper club, paladare, anti-restaurant, guerrilla dining, shebeen, home restaurant concept that became an immediate success.  Her blog marmitelover.blogspot.com and her Twitter presence @msmarmitelover have earned her the accolade of ‘one of the 1000 most influential Londoners’, and with her new book, ‘Supper Club: recipes and notes from the underground restaurant’, as well as a host of other projects including ‘The Underground Farmers and Craft market’ for would-be food entrepreneurs, she’s at the forefront of the food revolution.  We’re so pleased she’s joining us to share some tasty insights (and hopefully a few recipes) from her world of underground dining.

OperaUpClose with Robin Norton-Hale:  Robin is an Olivier Award-winning director of OperaUpClose: an ‘artistic revolution’ that takes opera out of large auditoria into small, intimate venues, bringing audiences far closer to the experience.  She is responsible for directing and writing the new librettos for La Bohème, Barber of Seville and Don Giovanni.  Her talk will be followed by excerpts from the 2011 Olivier Award-winning production of La Bohème (Anthony Flaum playing Rodolfo, Elinor Jane Moran playing Mimi with Elspeth Wilkes playing the piano).  We’re delighted (and rather smug) that we managed to source a baby grand for the occasion!

 

March 22nd 2012 (7.30 pm – Midnight)

Guido Fawkes (aka Paul Staines): A prominent and acidic political blogger who doesn’t believe in impartiality or pretend to it.  His blog has frequently been voted the most popular independent blog in Britain, campaigning against political sleaze and hypocrisy (and mocking those involved).  He’s frequently broken stories that went on to dominate newspaper pages and was recently summoned to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry.  His blog is read widely in the Westminster political village and in newsrooms.  He’s here to share insider info and make mischief at the expense of those currently making the headlines.

Luke Jerram:  Luke has created a number of extraordinary art projects which have excited and inspired people around the globe.  His celebrated street pianos installation ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ has toured over 25 cities around the world.  Much of his work is fuelled by the fact that he is colourblind.  He studies the qualities of space and perception in extreme locations.  Works such as ‘Retinal Memory Volume’, ‘Sky Orchestra’ and his glass microbiology sculptures have emerged from exploring the edges of perception.  His book, ‘Art in Mind’ tracks much of his perceptual research.

Shaun Usher:  Shaun is a copywriter from Manchester who made his name through his wonderful blog ‘Letters of Note’ (soon to be a book).  It’s an online homage to offline correspondence where he attempts to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos for everyone to enjoy.  The success of his blog has seen him described as ‘the internet’s cultural magpie’and a vast Twitter following has put him on the ‘Independent Voices’ list of influencial users 2011.  He also runs the blogs ‘Lists of note’ and ‘Letterheady’. He’s promised to prepare a smorgasbord of his most interesting discoveries to share with us on the evening.

Steve Wheen:  Hackney-based Steve is a ‘guerrilla gardener’ who uses potholes as his canvas to create miniature gardens.  Part art project, part labour of love, part experiment, part mission to highlight how shit our roads are – the pictures and gardens he creates are designed to put a smile on peoples’ faces while alerting them to potholes!  We’re thrilled that we dragged him away from the blossoming streets of London for long enough to share his work with us!

Dr. Cath Mercer:  A leading sex statistician, she runs the ‘National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles’, from which she has published extensively and presented nationally and internationally.  Her insights from the UCL Centre for Sexual Health into what Brits get up to behind closed doors give her a unique understanding of the nation’s sexual habits (and exploits!), which she is keen to share with those who can ‘bare’ to listen!

Shitfaced Shakespeare with Cpt. Chris Snelson:  Chris is the director of Tax Deductable Theatre Company whose incredible series ‘Shitfaced Shakespeare’ has become a notable success.  He will be attempting to explain the idea behind this fabulously outrageous project.  His talk will be followed by intoxicating performances (quite literally!) by actors attempting a rendition of Shakespeare classics.  Expect a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream featuring genuinely drunk Hermia with plenty of swearing, trouser-pulling and bum-licking.  We are taking out special ‘shitfaced’ insurance just for the purpose of their 12-minute stint!

…a last minute change to the lineup meant that Shitfaced Shakespeare was replaced by the incredible Bellatrix: World Champion Female Beatbox Champion. She gave everyone a lesson in the art of noise…followed by a an incredible performance of her (quite frankly unbelievable) vocal skills! Boom.

Introducing all the speakers on the night will be the The Lost Founder Julian K-S. He’ll be sharing a few interesting observations from Lost HQ, but as ever, he’ll keep it short, sweet and let his speakers do the talking.