The Lives of Others: Hilary Mantel and Harriet Walter, RSL

Writer Dame Hilary Mantel and actress Dame Harriet Walter discuss the art of characterisation in literature and performance, chaired by playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker.

The novelist and actress join together in a conversation about how to create, portray and stage captivating characters in this unique Royal Society of Literature event on September 11, in partnership with Intelligent Life magazine . Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, as chair, makes up this very talented trio of women. 

A formidable novelist

Mantel became the first women to win the Booker Prize twice with Wolf Hall and then Bring up the Bodies, the first two novels in her literary-historical Thomas Cromwell trilogy. The hotly-anticpated final instalment, The Mirror and the Light is due to be published in 2015. The potentially arid subject of Tudor rule is made enthralling and diligently detailed through the expansive and vivid way in which Mantel resurrects these historical figures on the page. It's not just in literary circles that these characters have captivated, but also on stage, with the celebrated RSC adaptation of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. Mantel is also an outspoken journalist and fiercely eloquent speaker (who does't fear controversy if her comments about the Duchess of Cambridge are anything to go by). 

A stage stalwart 

Harriet Walter has played her fair share of Shakespearean heroines in an illustrious career with the RSC, where she is an Associate Director. Having charmed critics and been listed for the Drama Desk award for Outstanding Actress for her role of Brutus in an all-female production of Julius Caesar, Walters is due to star in the bold all female staging of Henry IV at the Donmar Warehouse this autumn. Her talent extends to modern theatre too: notably, her role of Lady Croom in the premiere performance of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia at the National Theatre. Her experience and scope extends further still with celebrated performances in films including Atonement, Sense and Sensibility and The Young Victoria. Such a broad scope of fascinating roles, and a reputation for strong opinions regarding the dearth of characters available for older women, will make Walters a fascinating speaker on the subject of characterisation. 

A script sensation 

With a sting of successful plays behind her Timberlake Wertenbaker now shares her expertise on the art of writing for the stage as an artistic adviser to RADA and as part of the council of the Royal Society of Literature. Her plays have won a whopping nine awards, including an Olivier, Evening Standard, and Drama Critic's Circle award for Our Country's Good.

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