IN CONVERSATION: JOHN SARGEANT AND TERRY WAITE

You don’t have to be (or have) a father but here’s an unusual but memorable idea for Father’s Day – a ticket to see and hear a remarkable double act. One-time hostage Terry Waite and the BBC’s former politico John Sargeant will be in conversation on the stage of the Theatre Royal in Bury. Television, radio journalist and broadcaster, John Sergeant is one of the foremost journalists and political experts in the UK (who of a certain age can forget his bold doorstepping of Mrs Thatcher?). As the Beeb’s former political correspondent covering the hottest of hot spots around the globe, he has a wealth of stories to tell and is never less than a riveting raconteur. In later life he won fame in a very different world – as the audaciously bad but hugely popular contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (is there a special medal for dad dancing?) and guest slots on Have I Got News For You.

Sargeant’s friend Terry Waite CBE comes from a very different world. Senior theologian and roving envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury, he is perhaps best known for being held captive for four years in Lebanon. Most of that time was spent in solitary confinement and his disappearance became world news.

Waite comes with a local connection. Following his release, he was elected a fellow commoner at Trinity Hall, Cambridge where he wrote his first book, Taken on Trust, an account of his captivity in Lebanon which became a best-seller in the UK and internationally. Terry decided to devote himself to study, writing, lecturing and humanitarian activities. His second book, Footfalls in Memory, a further meditation on his captivity in Lebanon, was published in the UK in 1995 and also became a best-seller. His most recent book, published in October 2000, Travels with a Primate (great title), is a humorous account of his journeys with his former boss, Archbishop Robert Runcie.

He is patron of several organisations including Storybook Dads, a UK charity which allows prisoners to send recordings of themselves reading bedtime stories to their own children, to help stay connected to some of the 200,000 children affected by parental imprisonment each year.

As the theatre’s PR says ‘With the lives that these two legends have led so far – this is one conversation you won’t want to end!’ That has my backing! The on stage chat is a fundraising event in support of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

Booking

An evening in conversation with John Sergeant and Terry Waite CBE

Sunday 20 June 7.30pm

Tickets are on sale now at www.theatreroyal.org