The Big Idea: Death

Friday 12 July The Big Idea: Death Curated by Vivienne Franzmann and Nick Payne Darian Leader Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, 2pm Psycho–analyst and author of The New Black and Mourning, Melancholia and Depression Darian Leader discusses death, mourning and human responses to loss. Free (but ticketed) Speed Deathing Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, 6.30pm So, what happens when we die? Six religious representatives compete for you vote with their ideas about what happens next in a series of speedy information packed 5 minute lectures. Compered by Vivienne Franzmann The representatives include:Venerable Ariyarathana (Buddhist) London Buddhist Vihara, Chiswick. Dr Gurnam Singh (Sikh) Principal Lecturer in Social Work, Coventry University.The Rev Rob Gillion (Anglican) Holy Trinity, Sloane Street. Girish Patel (Hindu), Neasdem Temple The Art of Dying Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, 8.30pm A new play about death, dying and the deceased. A mix of fact and fiction. Written and performed by Nick Payne. Directed by Michael Longhurst. Tickets £8 (or £5 per event) Late Night:Silk Street Jazz Band Royal Court Bar & Kitchen from 9.30pm In New Orleans, the jazz band is an integral part of a funeral, traditionally playing slow spirituals and hymns on a procession to the church or crematorium, then upping the tempo with jazz standards in a joyful and uplifting celebration of life. Free Entry "_There is just one certainty in life. Yes, you've guessed it. We are all going to die. We can delay, obstruct, toy with, retreat from, seek out, avert our eyes, divert our minds, but there are no givens but this, it is all going to end._ _It is arguable that there has never been a worse time to die in the Western World. We, as individuals, are less equipped to deal with the reality of death than ever before; I have to be young, look young, think young. I am important. I can be fixed. I must exist. By the time we face the reality of death, our minds have spent little time preparing for it._ “It is not the inevitably of death that is interesting, but what we do when death enters our lives, both as living people and dying people.” Vivienne Franzmann, Playwright