About this Event
Owen Hatherley and Johny Pitts join author Nathalie Olah in a panel discussion exploring themes of nostalgia, cinematography, British identity and race.
Their conversation is framed through the lens of the influential, often complicated work of playwright and screenwriter Dennis Potter. Together, they consider how Potter’s television dramas challenged conventional narrative expectations within a shifting post-war cultural landscape. The panel discusses the relevance and resonances of his work in relation to contemporary British identity, media and the nation's relationship with its past.
This event takes place as part of Very High Frequency, an exhibition and public programme exploring the legacies of television dramatist Dennis Potter. Frequently lauded as one of Britain’s most pioneering television dramatists, Potter’s Brechtian techniques brokered a meaningful and daring relationship between experimental theatre, modernist literature and broadcast television.
The programmes accompanying Very High Frequency offer an opportunity to critically reflect on Potter’s relevance to contemporary culture as a figure whose influence across theatre, media, art and popular culture appears indivisible from his belief that television could be a powerful vehicle for artistic expression.
About Owen Hatherley
Owen Hatherley writes about politics and aesthetics for the Guardian, the London Review of Books and others. He received a PhD in 2011 from Birkbeck College, University of London, for a thesis published in 2016 as The Chaplin Machine (Pluto Press, 2016). He is the author of many books, including Militant Modernism (Zer0, 2009), A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain (Verso, 2010) and Landscapes of Communism (Penguin, 2015). His most recent books are The Alienation Effect (Penguin, 2025), Modern Buildings in Britain: A Gazetteer (Penguin, 2022) and Artificial Islands (Repeater, 2022), and he was the editor of The Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs (Open City, 2020).
About Nathalie Olah
Nathalie Olah is an author with an interest in visual culture and subaltern aesthetics. Her books include Bad Taste (Dialogue Books, 2023) an exploration of the intersection between consumerism, class, desire and power; Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas (Tate Publishing, 2023) and Steal as much as you can (Repeater Books, 2019). Her writing has been published widely in periodicals including ArtReview, The Guardian, Tribune, Jacobin and The Times Literary Supplement.
About Johny Pitts
Johny Pitts is a writer, photographer, and broadcaster known for his work exploring African-European identities. He is the curator of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) award-winning Afropean.com, and the author of Afropean: Notes from Black Europe. Currently, he co-hosts the Open Book literature programme for BBC Radio 4 and as a National Geographic Explorer, is the creator of the Afropean podcast funded by National Geographical Society. In recognition of his work, he has received the Jhalak Prize, the Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing, the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding, and the European Essay Prize. In 2025 he received the EM Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Access
This event takes place in the Event Studio and is seated. If you have any questions or need assistance with your visit, please feel welcome to contact us at +44 (0) 20 7622 1294 or [email protected]. Read Studio Voltaire's full access information here.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Studio Voltaire, 1A Nelsons Row, London, United Kingdom
GBP 3.00 to GBP 5.00
