Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) would be appalled by his contemporary reputation.  A fiercely proud polymath and intellectual, the posthumous publication of his sexually frank memoirs utterly eclipsed his many other claims to fame.

In a lavishly illustrated talk, the historian, actor and dramatist Ian Kelly will illuminate Casanova’s travels, focusing on his adventures around Georgian Soho. Librettist, mathematician, trainee priest, lottery winner, Casanova was much more than just a sensualist but his memoirs brought him two centuries of notoriety and changed forever the way we think and write about ourselves - and about sex.
Ian Kelly
Ian Kelly’s ‘Casanova’ was named Sunday Times Biography of the Year. In 2017 Northern Ballet based their production of ‘Casanova’ on Ian's biography and it premiered at Sadler's Wells when it was awarded an 'Outstanding Achievement in Dance' by Broadway World.. It was also turned into a best selling audiobook read by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Ian Kelly’s other works include the West End hit play Mr Foote’s Other Leg, biographies including Beau Brummell, Antonin Carême (Cooking for Kings) Samuel Foote (Winner, Theatre Book of the Year 2013) and Vivienne Westwood and also screenplays on Robert Burns and George F. Handel. Mr Foote's Other Leg, directed by Sir Richard Eyre, ran at the Theatre Royal Haymarket 2015-2016.