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Press Releases
Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival returns to Liverpool
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Free Thinking – ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Merseyside's festival of ideas – returns to Liverpool for a weekend of debates, talks, performance and conversation from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 November. At the heart of this year's festival is one of the 21st century's most contested ideals: freedom.
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Free Thinking presents some of the world's leading thinkers from the arts, science, politics, philosophy and technology in front of a live audience.
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This year's contributors include Albie Sachs, tracing his story from exile fighting apartheid to judge in South African's Constitutional Court, and Anne Owers, the chief inspector of Britain's prisons, who delivers a talk re-assessing the implications of denying people their liberty as punishment for crimes.
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Radio 3's Night Waves presenter Philip Dodd will host a public debate to consider: "Are we freer than we think?" and in the final debate of the weekend, hosted by Radio Merseyside's Roger Phillips, leading figures will ponder the condition of freedom's twin idea: equality.
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The events throughout the weekend also celebrate the diverse world of ideas. Alongside freedom there is a rich mix of other themes.
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Oscar-nominated film director Mike Figgis asks: "Is there too much culture?"; Philip Collins, Tony Blair's former speechwriter, delivers a talk on political communication; award-winning dancer and choreographer Siobhan Davies reflects on the power of communication without words; and Peter Butler, the surgeon due to perform Britain's first face transplant, discusses the issues surrounding the controversial procedure.
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Abigail Appleton, Head of Speech, Radio 3, says: "³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 is delighted to be back in Liverpool where passionate audience involvement was such an important part of the success of the launch of Free Thinking last year. We believe this year's festival will offer audiences at the events and listeners nationally a terrific range of imaginative and original thinking around big ideas."
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Free Thinking will be held at FACT (Foundation for Arts and Creative Technology), Radio Merseyside's performance space and the recently-refurbished Small Concert Room at St George's Hall.
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The festival will be recorded for broadcast on Radio 3 and Radio Merseyside. An evening of programmes will be broadcast on Radio 3 on Sunday 11 November, followed by a week of special programmes every night. All the broadcasts will be available to listen again at bbc.co.uk/radio3.
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Phil Roberts, Acting Managing Editor, Radio Merseyside, said: "I'm delighted that once again Liverpool is hosting this extraordinary festival. I can't think of a better place to stage it. Liverpool has always been a culturally vibrant place, and right now everyone is gearing up for Capital of Culture 2008. It's a unique collaboration between ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Merseyside and Radio 3 and we're excited to be involved."
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Audience participation is central to the weekend's events. Following its success last year, Speed Dating With A Thinker returns with Liverpudlian experts trying to seduce members of the public with their ideas in one-on-one encounters.
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Once again Liverpool's pioneering group Philosophy In Pubs joins the festival, taking the discussions out of the debating chambers and into the bar.
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Orange Prize short-listed novelist Xiaolu Guo and writer and psychoanalyst Adam Phillips will feature in the festival's own book club, Books At Breakfast, hosted by The Reader Magazine.
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Live performance features throughout the festival programme. Three newly-commissioned short plays will be performed in the public areas of the festival venues. Poet Ian McMillan hosts a high-octane evening from Radio 3's cabaret of the spoken word, The Verb.
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In its first venture out of the studio, Radio 3's Words And Music will be performed by actors and musicians in front of a live audience, for an evening of poetry, prose and music inspired by the theme of freedom.
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For further information and details of how to get involved with Free Thinking visit bbc.co.uk/freethinking.
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Notes to Editors
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The first Free Thinking festival was held in Liverpool last year (3-5 November 2006), focusing on ideas for the future, with contributions from Brian Eno, Phil Redmond, AS Byatt, Howard Jacobson and Linda Grant.
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A complete programme of events will be published nearer the festival.
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