The Festival of Lying

Project: A live and webcast public event in the English Lake District, celebrating and debating lying in all its forms.

Date: 16/09/00
Collaborators: Anna Best & Simon Poulter
Commissioner: Grizedale Arts

The Festival of Lying is one of three projects (with David Shuttleworth - Rally Hopeful& Limo Day) that emerged from a Grizedale Arts residency in 2000 with artists Simon Poulter and Anna Best.
The Festival was a one-day live event and webcast originating from our discovery of the Cumbrian pub sport of 'lying' - a kind of topical tall tale-telling.
We tracked down some of the most successful competitors in the local annual World's Greatest Liar competition and developed a number of collaborative lies with them. These were delivered to a live audience in Grizedale Theatre, the culmination of a day's programming around lying which included talks by speakers including a magician, journalist and the broadcaster/writer Jon Ronson.
The project website includes video footage from the day and background to the project.