Details of the lecture

In this lecture we will learn how the great film director Alfred Hitchcock used London, and how it influenced his life and his art. Still both instantly recognisable and widely acclaimed over 40 years after his death, Hitchcock’s greatest and bestremembered movies are usually selected from his Hollywood days. However, he spent almost exactly half his life in London and Essex, and the influences of these formative years on his later work were enormous. From his inventive use of London locations in the 1920s and ‘30s in classics such as The Lodger and The 39 Steps, to his inspired deployment on film of the West End’s theatre stars, Hitchcock never forgot the city. And as it helped shape his life and imagination, so he shaped it on the cinema screen.

Lecturer: Richard Burnip

Richard Burnip, theartssociety.org

Richard took a BA Hons in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester, followed by an acting diploma at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. He combines acting, writing and lecturing. He has lectured in many venues including the National Army Museum and the Museum of London, as well as presenting a variety of virtual lectures online. Richard has contributed to, among others, The Journal of Popular Film and Television, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, and the P G Wodehouse journal Wooster Sauce. A specialist in voice work, he has narrated numerous television documentaries and 180 audiobooks.