By NEW HUMANIST
Added: Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 UTC

UPDATED:

Richard Dawkins to appear alongside top scientists, comedians and musicians at atheist festive celebration in London 19 & 20 December 2009

Following last year’s sold-out success the Godless variety show Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People returns to the London stage for a six-night run. Organised by comedy impresario Robin Ince as a benefit for the Rationalist Association, and described by The Times as “Robin Ince’s unique mix of variety night and Royal Institution Christmas lecture”, Nine Lessons features a galaxy of atheist stars - science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh, the Guardian’s Mr Bad Science Ben Goldacre, pseudoscience-debunker Richard Wiseman, popular writer Marcus Chown and Richard Dawkins, alongside the cream of British comedy talent - Al Murray, Dara O Briain, Stewart Lee, Shappi Khorsandi, Richard Herring, Josie Long, Barry Cryer, Chris Addison, Natalie Haynes and Robin Ince. All backed by an Orchestra, and, on selected nights Britain’s’ first humanist choir. Five of the six nights at the Bloomsbury Theatre sold out within weeks, so a grand finale night has been booked into the spacious HHMV Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday December 20. Tickets are £25 and some are still available here
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1700434EA45653FC?artistid=973189&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=51

Should atheists be celebrating Christmas? Interviewed backstage at last years show Professor Dawkins said -
“Christmas is thought to be a time when atheists turn into Scrooges and Grinches, that’s completely untrue. There’s nothing wrong with an atheist celebrating Christmas. We don’t believe in the religious part of it of course, but that’s the same as reading a novel. You don’t have to believe in the existence of the characters to enjoy the book.”
Richard Dawkins

For those unable to make it to London in December a DVD filmed at the shows in 2008- featuring Richard Dawkins reading from Unweaving the Rainbow, will be available as a free gift to all New Humanist subscribers in the New Year. Don’t miss out, subscribe here http://newhumanist.org.uk/subscribe

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http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2009/11/mark-steel-added-to-nine-lessons-bill.html

We're pleased to announce that comedian Mark Steel has just been added to the bill for Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People at HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday 20 December. We're looking forward to seeing Steel to bring a spot of angry socialism to the godless proceedings at Hammersmith. He wasn't on the bill last year, but he did make a contribution to our advent podcasts series – why not revisit that and hear his suggestion for an annual celebration of the life of French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat, in place of the Baby Jesus.

Steel joins a fantastic bill that already features Richard Dawkins, Al Murray, Dara O Briain, Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden, Simon Singh, Richard Herring, Robyn Hitchcock, Ben Goldacre, Chris Addison, Brian Cox, Shappi Khorsandi, Baba Brinkman, Martin White's Mystery Fax Machine Chamber Orchestra, all hosted by Robin Ince.

Tickets are selling fast, but there are still some available – if you haven't already booked, be sure to do so now to avoid disappointment. Tickets are priced £25 or £27.50, and are on sale now from the box office on 08448 444 748 or via the Ticketmaster website. The show is produced in association with the Rationalist Association and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Mustard Seed Secular School in Uganda.

With 5 nights at the Bloomsbury Theatre already sold out, this is your last chance to see Nine Lessons this year – with a line-up like this, you wouldn't want to miss out, would you?

TAGGED: ATHEISM, MOVIES

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