Performance Anxiety podcast - live

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2023 on Saturday 28 October at Church House, London.

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION

Performance Anxiety is a podcast that analyses the film, television, theatre and comedy performances that everybody is talking about.

So many contemporary discussions about performance have become politicised – argumentative, overwrought, joyless and indifferent to the art itself. Hosts Alex Dale and film expert Dr Maren Thom love the art of performance, and think the most radical way to understand it is to enjoy it. In previous podcasts, they have discussed Pedro Pascal and lumbersexualism, Immanuel Kant and Guardians of the Galaxy, Barbie and the culture wars and whether it matters if an Irish actor played Oppenheimer.

Listen as they give the art of performance the love and understanding they think it really deserves. In this special live recording at the Battle of Ideas festival, Alex and Maren are joined by writer and broadcaster Timandra Harkness to discuss the thinking behind the podcast, before analysing the performance of the moment.

SPEAKERS
Alex Dale
designer and writer; podcast host, Performance Anxiety

Dr Maren Thom
lecturer; writer; acting and vocal trainer; podcast host, Performance Anxiety

CHAIR
Timandra Harkness
journalist, writer and broadcaster; presenter, Radio 4's FutureProofing and How to Disagree; author, Big Data: does size matter?