The actor, comedian and writer Richard Ayoade is set to headline the 2024 Off the Shelf Festival in Sheffield later this year. Ayoade was one of the seven events announced by the literary festival last week, in the first batch of events to be announced this year. The line-up also features entertainer Julian Clary, currently starring in the touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar and comedian Sara Pascoe.
In a set of announcements on their social media page last week, the festival announced the first two sets of guests for this year’s programme, announcing: “The cat’s out of the bag! We’re bursting with excitement to unveil […] mind-blowing headliners for [Off the Shelf 2024] don’t miss out on this epic lineup!”. This was followed one day later with their second announcement: “We’re dropping another INCREDIBLE lineup for you […] Tickets on sale NOW. Full programme announcement Wednesday 4 September”.
The Off the Shelf Festival is an annual literary programme featuring big names in the literary, entertainment, activism and political industries, each talking about their books and experiences in creating their works. Taking place throughout October, the festival welcomes guests and audiences alike to venues across the city of Sheffield, including at Sheffield Theatres and the University of Sheffield, with Ayoade’s event taking place in the Octagon Centre. Previous guests of the festival include environmentalist Chris Packham, dancer Shirley Ballas and (former Shadow) Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP.
Whilst only the first few events have been revealed, they include big names discussing their books from across both the fictional and non-fictional genres. Joining Ayoade, Clary and Pascoe, poet Jackie Kay returns with her book May Day, following her similar event last year, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga, and writers David Nicholls, and Asako Yuzuki. Each will be discussing their literary works, with a specific title linked to every guest’s appearance, from Clary’s Curtain Call to Murder, to Olusoga’s Black History for Every Day of the Year and Pascoe’s Weirdo.
The return of Off the Shelf, which was recently awarded funding by Arts Council England, is a long-awaited moment that many across the city and beyond have been anticipating for many months. The announcement of the first few events in this year’s series has proven to be an exciting development, with many taking to social media to express their feelings regarding the festival’s return. Whilst we have another few weeks to wait for the full series of events, these first few announcements have already begun to build the hype around the literary community as the festival appears on the horizon for another year.
The Off the Shelf Festival runs in venues across Sheffield from October 7th to November 3rd. The full lineup of events will be announced on September 4th. Tickets are available here. See our full coverage of the 2023 Festival here
