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William Dalrymple – How Ancient India Transformed the World

• Monday 16th June 2025
• Box Office & Bars: 6:30pm / Doors: 7:00pm / Show: 7:30pm 

_OVERVIEW:

The historian and co-host of the chart-topping podcast Empire, William Dalrymple, shares the rarely told story of India’s role as a cultural and scientific superpower of the ancient world.

One of Britain’s greatest living historians, William Dalrymple is known across the globe for his ability to bring the extraordinary history of the Indian subcontinent to life, whether through award-winning, bestselling books like Return of a King and The Anarchy, or his chart-topping podcast, Empire.

Now he joins us to tell the story of how, from 250BC to 1200AD, India transformed the world: exporting religion, art, science, medicine, and language along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific, creating a vast and profoundly important empire of ideas.

Like ancient Greece, ancient India came up with a set of profound answers to the big questions about what the world is, how it operates, why we are here and how we should live our lives. Out of India came holy men, monks and missionaries as well as pioneering merchants and artists, astronomers, healers, and scientists. Indian ideas crossed political borders and influenced everything they touched, from the statues in Roman seaports to the Buddhism of Japan, the poetry of China to the mathematics of Baghdad.

Don’t miss this chance to hear the story of how India became the great intellectual and philosophical superpower of ancient Asia.

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Tickets: £30.00 / £33.00 / £36.00 (+ Booking Fees) 

• 14+, under 16s to be accompanied by a ticket buying 16+.
• The Forum is predominantly an evening entertainment venue for adults where alcohol is served, and music can be loud.
• The Forum or its staff can never act as Loco Parentis under any circumstances.
• The Venue reserves the right to change this policy.
• The Venue reserves the right to refuse entry.  

 

Please Note:

• Audience members may be encouraged to stand up and dance, please be aware when booking seats.
• Box Office is open on performance days approx. 1 hour prior to the performance for purchasing and collecting tickets. ​

Access:

• There is a lift for wheelchair users from Reception to the Lower Foyer with access to the Stalls.
• There is a second lift with access to the Upper Foyer and Ballroom bars.
• The Balcony is stair access only. 
• Wheelchairs can be accommodated next to the end of row seats of rows F to K in the Stalls only. Wheelchair companion seats are located in the last seat of the relevant row directly next to the wheelchair spaces.
• Also available are Essential Companion tickets to accompany Registered Disabled patrons who are not wheelchair-bound.
• Haze, strobes, and/or flashing lights may be in use during the show.