Performers 2009

Hanif Kureishi CBE is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker. His screenplay My Beautiful Laundrette was nominated for an Academy Award and his book The Buddha of Suburbia won the 1990 Whitbread Award for best novel. His 2006 screenplay Venus received Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and in 2008 he was appointed CBE. His latest book Something To Tell You – “a vital, teeming, panoramic, immersive novel” (Time Out) – was published last year. Read more ...

One of Granta’s 20 Best Young British Writers. British Book Awards Author of the Year 2003. Waterstone’s Author of the Year 2003. Winner of the Somerset Maugham prize and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 2002. Shortlisted for the Orange, Man Booker and Mail on Sunday/John Llewelyn Rhys prizes… Sarah Waters’ impressive list of literary achievements is too long to list in full here – but suffice it to say we’re thrilled to welcome her to the Port Eliot Festival this year. Read more ...

With worldwide sales of over 10 million, Jung Chang is responsible for exposing Communist China from beneath the veil to the Western world and beyond. Her autobiography Wild Swans, which was banned in her native China, is held up as a benchmark in family saga. Read more ...

Alain de Botton is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and public speaker, whose books have sold in millions around the world. Described as a “philosopher of everyday life”, he has covered subjects from art to architecture and from love to travel. Read more ...

Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House (Bloomsbury, 2008) – hailed as "a classic" by John Le Carré – won the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction in 2008, and has been storming the book charts this year. She also wrote the bestselling The Queen of Whale Cay, a biography of British power boat racer Betty ‘Joe’ Carstairs, winner of the 1998 Somerset Maugham award and shortlisted for the 1997 Whitbread Biography award. Read more ...

With Romeo Stodart, lead singer of The Magic Numbers, already confirmed to play a set with folk songstress Kathryn Williams, we're pleased to announce that the whole band will now also be joining him at the festival for a sizzling Saturday night set on the Cabaret Stage. Read more ...

UK indie folksters Noah and the Whale will be mixing it up at this summer's festival with a set full of fun, fun, fun in the sun! With a Top 10 single ('5 Years Time' hit number 7 in the UK charts in summer 2008) under their belts and a frisky, sing-along-sound that belies the darker undercurrent of their lyrics, the London based four-piece promise to bring something a little special to their performance at Port Eliot. Read more ...

Responsible for Smash & Grab, London’s most infamous Thursday night knees-up, as well as breathing new life into Camden’s cult Barfly venue and BBC 6 Music’s Saturday afternoon slot, this lip-glossed, pencil-skirted duo are the undisputed ambassadors of contemporary music. Read more ...

Alt-rockers with a story to tell in every song, British Sea Power have been turning heads with their otherworldly sounds and unusual venues – Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall to name one – since their inception in 2001. We can’t wait to welcome them to Port Eliot this year, where they’ll be doing something completely different: a low-key acoustic set and even a spot of birdwatching. Read more ...

Boston-bred Evan Dando is the founding member and legendary front man of The Lemonheads. He also performs as a solo artist and released his first album, Baby I’m Bored, in 2003. His songs blend open-heartedness and good humour with and an aura of mystery and hypnotizing abstraction. Described as eclectic and affecting, Evan Dando’s collection ranges from bittersweet country rock to sly, pure pop rock. Read more ...

Showcasing the best emerging comedy talent – including Edinburgh Festival previews – the Hog Wild Comedy Club flaunts humour like a feather-bower, tickling the audience under the chin and inviting everyone in with their no-holds-barred humour. Bringing a little piece of the London comedy circuit to Cornwall, Hog Wild are sure to win over the crowds with their eclectic members and mouth-watering mirth. Read more ...

Murray Lachlan Young made his name as a writer performer in the rock clubs and underground cabaret venues of London in the mid 1990s. His unique blend of dark satirical stand-up verse and prose shot to fame in 1996 when, signing to EMI, he became the first ever poet and spoken word performer to be given a £1 million record deal. Read more ...

Mik Artistik's Ego Trip is a strange and beautiful beast of a band comprising Mik Artistik on preposterous posturing and vocals (no grandad should be able to move like that!), Benson Walker – a big beaming lighthouse of rockabilly funkiness – on bass and vocals, and the boney sonic dabbler Johnny Flockton on guitar. Read more ...

Writer, musician, composer, nightclub host, actor and all-round legend, Richard Strange has played a key role London’s cultural life for the last 30 years. The Sex Pistols, Joy Division and The Jam supported his first proto-punk band, The Doctors of Madness, in the 1970s. Since then, Richard has remained as diverse as he has prolific; working with Tom Waits and William Burroughs, writing numerous articles and books, and appearing in films like Batman and Gangs of New York. Read more ...

Found in Translation has been described as “a quest of arbitrary limits and new frontiers, written in the tradition of Luke Rhineheart’s The Dice Man and Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure: one part literary lecture, one part multimedia performance, and with a hefty dose of cutting-edge satire.” Read more ...

Former reporter for Radio 4’s The Food Programme, contributor to the Independent on Sunday and food columnist for the Daily Express, Rose Prince is the author of three highly acclaimed food books, The New English Kitchen, The Savvy Shopper and The New English Table. She’ll be doing special cookery demonstrations in the Big Kitchen at this year’s festival, including collaborations with Peter Brears and the Pengelly Sisters. Read more ...

For the fourth year there will be fish in the Walled Garden, brought to you by top chef, Chris Sherville (who'll also be doing a cookery demo in our Big Kitchen). Enjoy a feast of fishy things in the beautiful surroundings of this historic garden, which is also one of the festival's main performance spaces. Read more ...

Plymouth's favourite Thai noodle bar will be coming to Port Eliot to tempt you with their funky Thai noodle boxes filled with the freshest, fragrant ingredients to make your mouth water. Read more ...

Considered by many to be one of the finest seafood restaurants in Cornwall, Trawlers' cuisine is modern European using first class ingredients sourced from excellent Cornish suppliers. Executive Chef Proprietor Mark Napper will be doing a cookery demonstration in the Big Kitchen on Sunday afternoon. Read more ...

Welcome to the theatre of food. Based in Devon, The Food Groove creates an appetising ambience with a combination of exotic international aromas, tasteful tunes and delicious, fresh, locally-sourced vegetarian and vegan food – mixed live in giant pans by dancing cooks. Read more ...

Dominic West is better behaved than The Wire’s Jimmy McNulty, but his portrayal of the bulldozer-like Baltimore detective has garnered him cult status, critical acclaim and huge numbers of admirers on both sides of the Atlantic. Read more ...

Drawing influences from the British music scene past and present, Luella Bartley has been turning heads on catwalks and opening wallets in boutiques since her 2000 debut show Daddy, who were The Clash? From the coffee aroma alleyways of Milan to the steaming manholes of New York City, Luella’s self-titled brand has global recognition Read more ...

Flying into Port Eliot on the back of a dragon to the hypnotising melodies of The Wicker Man is the Museum of British Folklore. Well not quite, but there is definitely magic in the air…This incredible caravan-based museum is currently on a national tour and houses an impressive collection of artefacts, ephemera, costumes and images that document not only the history, but the living tradition of Britain’s folklore. Read more ...

The Garden of Delights is a place to find relief from stress, get rested and be pampered. In separate tents in this beautiful garden you will find traditional Thai massage, Indian head massage, Ayurvedic yoga massage, and a special combination of reflexology, Kerelite foot massage, aromatherapy, and Thai massage. Read more ...

When the sun sits low in the sky, in a place where orange trees grow, where tall walls hide stories untold and words unwhispered, you will find us: Telltales. Read more ...