The T.S. Eliot Lecture 2024 Will Feature Ralph Fiennes

The ninth annual T.S. Eliot Lecture on December 15th at 6pm will feature Ralph Fiennes reading and then discussing his relationship with T.S. Eliot’s poem Four Quartets, marking the 80th anniversary of its first publication as a single volume in 1944. 

The reading will be introduced by Catherine Heaney and followed by a conversation with Ingrid Craigie. 

Ralph Fiennes first encountered Four Quartets during his childhood (part of which was spent in Ireland) via T.S. Eliot’s own recording; in 2009, working with Katie Mitchell, he recorded it for Faber & Faber, and in 2020 he committed its near-1000 lines to memory during lockdown and, with restrictions lifted, embarked on a nationwide UK tour concluding with six weeks in London’s West End, receiving extraordinary reviews.

Four Quartets is the culminating achievement of T.S. Eliot's poetic career, a meditation in time of war on the spiritual and philosophical themes which preoccupied him, but at the same time, his most intensely personal work, a masterpiece which continues to grow. “Sometimes great writers suffer from the zeitgeist but the poem continues to communicate,” says Fiennes, “The most common response the performance received was ‘My God, it’s so modern, it’s all about now!’ ” After his reading, Ralph Fiennes and Ingrid Craigie will discuss the poem, the relationship between performer and work, the challenges of poetic performance and many other aspects of a fascinating collision between  poet and interpreter – perhaps even exploring Eliot’s little-discussed but significant relationship with Ireland. It promises to be an unforgettable evening.

Ralph Fiennes made his feature film debut as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights in 1992. His film credits include Schindler’s List, The English Patient, The Constant Gardener, The End of the Affair, The Reader, Quiz Show, Oscar and Lucinda, Onegin, Spider, Sunshine, Strange Days and The Hurt Locker.  He played Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series and the role of 'M' in Skyfall, Spectre and No Time To Die. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2011 with Coriolanus in which he also starred in the title role. In 2013 he directed and starred in The Invisible Woman. His film The White Crow about Rudolf Nureyev was released in 2018.  Fiennes’ work at the National Theatre includes Antony And Cleopatra opposite Sophie Okonedo for which he received the Evening Standard Best Actor Award, Man & Superman, Oedipus, The Talking Cure, Six Characters In Search Of An Author, Fathers And Sons and Ting Tang Mine. For the Almeida he has appeared as Richard III for which he received the Evening Standard Best Actor Award, Richard II, Coriolanus, Ivanov, and Hamlet all directed by Jonathan Kent. Hamlet was presented at The Hackney Empire and then The Belasco Theater on Broadway where Fiennes received the Tony Award for Best Actor. he returned to Broadway in 2006 and received a Tony Nomination for his role in Brian Friel’s The Faith Healer following a run at The Gate Theatre Dublin.   Fiennes has been the recipient of many significant awards and nominations for his work on film and in the theatre. He was nominated for Academy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTAs for his roles in both The English Patient and Schindler’s List, winning the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the latter. He was also nominated for BAFTAs for The End of an Affair and The Constant Gardener . He was nominated for the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Coriolanus. Most recently he was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his leading role in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fiennes has also been honoured with the Variety Award for Film Achievement, The Richard Harris Award by the British Independent Film Awards and The Empire Film Legend Award.

 Ingrid Craigie is one of Ireland’s leading stage and screen actors. She is currently in rehearsal for a production of Juno and the Paycock at the Gielgud Theatre in London. She began her film career in the BAFTA award winning The Ballroom of Romance , directed by Pat O’Connor, followed by John Huston’s The Dead , Da opposite Martin Sheen, Circle of Friends and A Man of No Importance. She will soon be seen in the new TV drama series The Hardacres. Other recent television appearances include her IFTA nominated performance as Mary in the series Blood , David Hare’s Roadkill for BBC and the series Striking Out for RTÉ. Ingrid’s recent stage appearances include Dinner with Groucho by Frank McGuinness for b*Spoke in Dublin, Oxford and London, The Beauty Queen of Leenane for Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and Chichester Festival, The Duchess of York in Garry Hynes’ production of Richard III for Druid , the Abbey Theatre and the Lincoln Center NY, Sweet Bird of Youth at Chichester Festival, Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan in the West End and on Broadway, Brian Friel’s Wonderful Tennessee at the Abbey Theatre and on Broadway and Faith Healer at the Gate Theatre , directed by Jonathan Kent, with Ralph Fiennes and Ian McDiarmid. Awards include the Special Tribute Award at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the Trinity College Dublin Alumni Award for her contribution to Irish theatre.

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Catherine Heaney is a journalist and editor working in Dublin and London. She has written for magazines including The Week and The Gloss, and in publishing, has held roles at Fourth Estate and Faber Academy. She is a director of the Estate of Seamus Heaney, working with publishers, universities and cultural organisations in Ireland and internationally to preserve and promote her father’s work and legacy.