As the Malvern Festival of Ideas draws to a close, join us for a cathartic, comic, and quietly hopeful finale with John Crace, the Guardian’s legendary parliamentary sketch writer and author of The Bonfire of the Insanities: How Does This Government Thing Work Again?

In an age where politics often feels like farce, Crace offers a lacerating yet oddly comforting tour through the wreckage—chronicling the absurdities of power with wit, weariness, and a deep belief in the value of bearing witness. Through satire, he helps us name the madness, laugh through the despair, and ask: what now?

This session is more than a retrospective. It’s a reckoning with the role of satire in public life, a meditation on civic sanity, and a reminder that even in the ashes of dysfunction, seeds of change can be sown. Expect sharp commentary, unexpected tenderness, and a communal exhale as we close the festival with laughter, reflection, and a toast to resilience.

Followed by audience Q&A.