Southbank Centre

04/11/2024

★★★★★ "It’s hard to imagine a more viscerally thrilling performance... From the breathtakingly intimate dynamics during Berio’s Wasserklavier to the astonishingly crisp articulation of Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor, this concert was a masterclass in clarity and poise" Yuja Wang Víkingur Ólafsson

From the breathtakingly intimate dynamics during Berio’s Wasserklavier to the astonishingly crisp articulation of Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor, this concert was a masterclass in clarity and poise

31/10/2024

🗣️ ‘I’ve been able to find my way back to enjoying his music… but its tinged… it will never be like it was before’

In the latest edition of our Artist on Artist series, writer and performer Vanessa Kisuule explains her complicated relationship with Michael Jackson.

👉 Read here:

Vanessa Kisuule – poet, writer and performer – explores the changing nature of her fandom of pop superstar Michael Jackson.

30/10/2024

‘For an adaptation like this, the first thing is to decide how much of the story to give away.’

Ever wondered how a book is adapted for the stage? 📖 📣

So’ve we.

So we asked Kevin Barry to tell us about the processes and challenges of bringing his novel The Heart In Winter to our Purcell Room for London Literature Festival:

Author Kevin Barry details how he adapted his fourth novel, The Heart In Winter from the page to the stage.

29/10/2024

‘When someone tells you your work meant something to them, that it took them to an emotional place, you can’t ask for more than that’

🪭 A former burlesque dancer, Ruth Ivo has now brought her previous life to the page with the fictionalised memoir, Performance. Get a look into her creative process with How I Create: https://southbankc.re/3UqN8Fk

When was the last time someone's art took you to an emotional place? 🥲

The former showgirl turned author shares the tricks and techniques of her creative process.

27/10/2024

According to Kiran Millwood Hargrave her earliest ambition was to be a cat 🐈 Luckily, she eventually realised that her calling was actually to write!

Read the full introduction to the children's author, novelist, poet and playwright ➡️ https://southbankc.re/3YkV7oz

What was your earliest childhood ambition? 💭

Get an introduction to the hugely successful children's author, novelist, poet and playwright.

26/10/2024

Our Red Benches are the perfect spot for a photo op ❤️ 🤳

Each of Jeppe Hein’s (Jeppe Hein Studio) witty reinventions of the park bench is different from the next! Based on research into ‘personal space’ and inspired by New York benches, the Modified Social Benches challenge the amount of space and distance we place between one another.

You’ll find them dotted around outside our buildings from Queen’s Walk on the riverfront to Mandela Walk - make sure to tag us in your pics on them like this lovely lot did:

📸 IG: filmshooterx
📸 IG: 10f.collective
📸 IG: cidtravelphotography
📸 IG: claresturges
📸 IG: chaudry_shaz
📸 IG: vercoda
📸 IG: codysmoving

25/10/2024

Our has kicked off with a bang 🎉 📚 The longest-running celebration of the written and spoken word of its kind in the capital is back with the usual line-up of prestigious names alongside rising literary stars.

Still to come we have co-curator Ghetts, Rupert Everett, Florence Given, Hanif Kureishi and many, many more!

Take a look at the brilliant guests who opened the festival:

📸 1 + 4. Keanu Reeves and Keith Clayton discuss The Book of Elsewhere with Samira Ahmed, marking the opening night of the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival on 22 October.

📸 2. Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, discusses her husband’s fearless memoir, in conversation with Emily Maitlis.

📸 3. Joelle Taylor performs at the edition of Out-Spoken

20/10/2024

We've all done it, and if you haven't...then you need to go find the singing lift in our Royal Festival Hall 🎶

16/10/2024

We’re finalists in The Lovie Awards! 🎉

We’re thrilled to have been selected for two categories, Social Media (Arts, Culture & Lifestyle) and Best Writing (Editorial) for our online magazine.

If you have enjoyed our content lately, help us win and vote for us below 🏆

👉 Vote for Social (Arts, Culture & Lifestyle) here:
https://lnkd.in/dCKMtbhX

👉 Vote for Best Writing (Editorial) here:
https://lnkd.in/dxDV95xF

Voting closes tomorrow!

12/10/2024

Views from the Royal Festival Hall 👀 ✨

Our beautiful auditorium has been a beacon for arts and culture for over 70 years and remains a place for you all to make magical memories seeing your favourite artists!

Thanks to everyone who shared their photos from a visit to our venue:
📸 1 IG: mkg_ng
📸 2 IG: jamie_s_journey
📸 3 IG: twoblueelephants
📸 4 IG: dj_mystikle_blue
📸 5 IG: viewfromseat
📸 6 IG: yollsthetravellingsloth

Tag us in your pics so we can share!

10/10/2024

It’s believed that as many as one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year 🧠 🌍

This World Mental Health Day, revisit the many talks and events from a wide range of personalities who have faced difficulties with their mental health; from anxiety to depression, to struggling to find their place in a complex world.

We’ve surfaced some of these talks from our archives, to show you that not only is it good to talk and share, but that mental health can affect any one of us, in many different ways. You are never alone.

👉 WATCH + LISTEN:

Revisit clips and podcasts from our archive – featuring Simon Amstell, Ruby Wax, Rob Delaney and Matt Haig – that encourage openness on mental health.

07/10/2024

The late great Tommy Cooper was many things, but would you consider him an inspirational stage performer? Forced Entertainment's Tim Etchells does.

Artist on Artist is our new series in which we ask an artist to tell us about a notable figure who they've loved, admired or been inspired by. Read the first installment here: https://southbankc.re/4esWE2E

:🎭 Forced Entertainment celebrates 40 years with two standout shows this weekend, find out more at the end of the article!

Tim Etchells, Artistic Director of experimental performance company Forced Entertainment, shares his admiration of comedian and magician Tommy Cooper.

06/10/2024

Looking for a place to catch up with friends or a space to work? We've got you sorted 💛

05/10/2024

Not very many performers can claim the title ‘pianist, composer and technologist’, but you've not met Zubin Kanga 🎹 ⌨️

Zubin has been redefining how musicians can interact with new technologies so we just had to ask him ‘what is the future of the piano?’

💭 Find out his answer...

Pianist, composer and technologist Zubin Kanga on his creative process, including expanding initial ideas and successful multi-tasking.

04/10/2024

Look around your home, how could you transform it into a work of art? 👀💡 5, Rue Saint-Benoît by Haegue Yang consists of eight sculptures made of aluminium Venetian blinds, light bulbs and cabling, built to represent the artist’s own apartment.

Each piece in this work has the same dimensions as an appliance or piece of furniture found in Haegue Yang's own apartment such as a kitchen table, a water heater, a washing machine, a shower stall and a stove.

The title of the piece is taken from the address of the late French novelist and playwright Marguerite Duras’s Parisian apartment. By conceptually overlapping the details from her own apartment with that of a historical figure, Yang places herself in dialogue with Duras across time and space ⏳

Through the warm hue of light, and the obstruction and privacy of the blinds, 5, Rue Saint Benoit speaks to the feelings generated in Duras’s works, particularly in her memoir where she describes a potent absence and longing for her husband who is away at war.

OPENING SOON:
📅 Haegue Yang: Leap Year opens Wed 9 Oct - book an advance ticket now



📸 Photo: Ulrike Baumgart
Courtesy of Studio Haegue Yang

01/10/2024

Happy International Day of the Older Person 👴🫶 Listen to this brilliant poetry reading from Anthony M. Baker of Well Versed on why he continues to write as an elderly man…

Well Versed is a collective of ordinary, extraordinary older people who make and share poetry for connection, escape, solace, witness, protest and fun!

You might have heard that getting old is bad… If you wish to resist this socially normalised self-sabotage, come and join All Change at the National Poetry Library tomorrow evening 📝

LAST FEW TICKETS REMAINING: https://southbankc.re/3zHQX1F

28/09/2024

Magical moments caught at the Southbank Centre ✨ 📹 From our talented performers to our smiling visitors, the vibes are always right on our site!

Make sure to tag us in your photos so we can share your precious moments

Thanks to everyone who shared these snaps:
📸 1 IG: lisakinglondon
📸 2 IG: anthonyhoang75
📸 3 IG: zaes_world
📸 4 IG: shellygrotto
📸 5 IG: happyjulien4
📸 6 IG: azeemamag shadrach4real
📸 7 IG: miroefuches
📸 8 IG: choccy78
📸 9 IG: marti.nremy

27/09/2024

Could you define yourself with a 10 track playlist? 🎶

That’s the challenge we set for Scottish Ensemble ahead of their concert in our Queen Elizabeth Hall this Sunday.

From Anna Meredith to Shostakovitch, take a listen to what they went for, right here 👉

Innovative strings orchestra Scottish Ensemble share a 10 track playlist of tracks which best embody their musical approach.