Recorded November 18th, 2025.

Rough Magic Theatre Company, in association with the Trinity Long Room Hub, presents Embracing Uncertainty: An Evening with Margaret Heffernan, Roy Foster and Tommy Tiernan.

In a world where change is constant, the future rarely unfolds as expected. How do we learn not just to endure uncertainty, but to harness it? Drawing upon her recent book Embracing Uncertainty: How Writers, Musicians & Artists Thrive in an Unpredictable World (2025), Margaret Heffernan makes the case that creative practice isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. She argues that business structures, government policy, leadership models must give space to ambiguity, flexibility and emotional stamina - the very qualities artists exercise daily.
In this unique event, acclaimed author, speaker, and entrepreneur Dr Margaret Heffernan joins eminent historian Roy Foster and broadcaster-actor-comedian Tommy Tiernan to explore how artistic practice offers vital lessons for corporate leaders, policy makers, and culture creators alike. By galvanizing our creativity, Heffernan puts artistic practice firmly at the centre of strategic thinking.

For artists, the evening will affirm practice: that creativity, failure and improvisation aren’t just expressive, they are survival tools. For business leaders and corporate or government sectors, this is a call to reframe unpredictability not as a threat, but as entering territory where innovation lives. When organisations embrace uncertainty, they open possibilities. They build resilience.

Learn more at www.tcd.ietrinitylongroomhub

Embracing Uncertainty

Opened in 2010, the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute is dedicated to advancing Trinity College Dublin’s rich tradition of research excellence in the Arts and Humanities, on an individual, collaborative and inter-disciplinary basis.

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