Discover the surprising ways that maths lies beneath the surface of human creativity in music, art, architecture and our sense of beauty.
PubSci is a ‘pay-what-you-can’ event. Your contributions are what keeps it going. Please consider contributing via Eventbrite when booking.
Beneath the music, architecture, design and even literature we humans create are patterns which arise from the seemingly unrelated world of maths — but where would we look, and how might we find them?
On Wednesday 18th November, PubSci is delighted to welcome Professor Marcus du Sautoy to explore the unexpected links that inspire artists and mathematicians alike.
The blueprints of this hidden code are everywhere: from the prime numbers and symmetry, to the fractals and hyperbolic geometry upon all of which nature builds the wonders of our universe — and so do human artists and designers. From neolithic stone circles to modernist architecture, from Bach to Radiohead, and from Shakespeare to Dada, it’s always there.
Our guide to this hidden marvel is Mathematician, author, broadcaster and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Marcus du Sautoy who has spent a lifetime exploring such connections. His latest book, Blueprints: How mathematics shapes creativity, looks to art, music, design and literature to uncover the key mathematical structures that underpin both human creativity and the natural world.
Join us at the Old King’s Head on Wednesday 18th November 2026 for what is sure to be a unique, and hugely popular evening. We strongly recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
Copies of Blueprints will be available to buy on the night, which Marcus will be happy to sign.
The venue is PubSci’s regular home, The Old King’s Head near Borough Market, which offers a great range of drinks, has a happy hour before 7pm, and opens the kitchen serving classic pub grub especially for us.
Doors open at 6.30 for a 7pm start. Talks run for ~45 minutes and are followed by a Q&A session. The nearest tube is London Bridge — full address below and on the booking page.
How to Book Tickets
PubSci talks are pay-what-you-can: You can make a contribution when booking on Eventbrite or contribute cash on the night. PubSci has no other source of funding. There are two ticket options:
Book for one + Support PubSci (max 1 ticket) if you prefer to contribute when booking – this option also reserves you one spot at the event. You may need to scroll down to see this option on Eventbrite.
Book without donating (max 4 tickets) if you prefer to put cash in the pot on the night.
If Book without donating is sold out, scroll to check Book for one + Support PubSci
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About our speaker
Marcus du Sautoy is professor of mathematics and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford (a chair previously held only by Richard Dawkins).
He’s a fellow of New College Oxford and a keen jazz musician and amateur footballer, for which he wears shirt 17 – a prime number. In fact all the players in Recreativo Hackney wear prime numbers on their shirts!
As a mathematician, his research seeks to understand the world of symmetry by using a tool from number theory called zeta functions. Outside the world of mathematical research, Marcus du Sautoy is a highly celebrated populariser of science and mathematics.
He delivered the 2006 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures under the title The Num8er My5teries and in 2009 he was awarded the Royal Society‘s Michael Faraday Prize for “excellence in communicating science to UK audiences”. He writes regularly for The Times, Independent, and The Guardian, and has appeared multiple times on BBC Radio 4 including, Today and In Our Time as well as BBC 6 Music with Lauren Laverne.
Among his extensive TV work, Marcus has written and presented several BBC series, including “The Story of Maths” (exploring the history of mathematical thinking across different cultures), Precision: The Measure of All Things, and The Code, and was a regular contributor to Dara O’Briain’s series ‘School of Hard Sums’.
Marcus is the author of nine popular science books on topics such as prime numbers and music, AI and art, and the limits of human knowledge. His latest book, Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity, was published by Fourth Estate in 2025.
Blueprints was a Financial Times “What to Read 2025” book and a Waterstones “Book of the Year” – you can read an extract here. Blueprints came out in paperback earlier this year and will be available to buy on the night.
Marcus du Sautoy was appointed OBE for Services to Science in the 2010 New Year Honours and was a 2026 International Booker Prize judge, for which he read 128 books in seven months.
PubSci is delighted to welcome Marcus as our speaker for November 2026, our final event for this year.
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See the rest of our current programme
To make sure you don’t miss out on future events, subscribe to our Google Calendar to be the first to know when new talks are scheduled, and follow PubSci’s events on Eventbrite to be notified when tickets are available. You can also sign up to our own mailing list on any page on this site.
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PubSci is entirely funded by audience contributions and has no other income.
As a Pay-What-You-Can event, we don’t charge a fixed price for our talks, so anybody who wants to come can come. Think of it as “Free, with a donation”, which can be made when registering on Eventbrite or by putting a few pounds in the beer mug which is passed round on the night. You can also contribute digitally through our TipJar. Please help PubSci continue putting on events.
We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, although it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the function room of a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access.
Check out the Future Events page where you can also subscribe to our Google Calendar so PubSci events automatically appear in your own Calendar. You can find all our links on our LinkTree.
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PubSci is organised and hosted by science communicator, Richard Marshall, assisted by Mike Lucibella. It usually takes place on the third Wednesday of the month, upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit).
Join us every month except December for your regular helping of Sipping, Supping & Science.
Address:
The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA
