Southbank Centre News

From the award-winning creative team behind the company's hit shows ImMortal, tabu, and Bianco, LEXICON is a stunning production which brings together world class circus performers and musicians in a daring, free-spirited and mischievous take on contemporary circus.

One of the UK's most significant performance makers, Bryony Kimmings, returns to Melbourne to present the Australian premiere of her solo masterpiece, I'm A Phoenix, Bitch from 11 - 15 September, 2019. The powerful, dark and joyous tour de force about motherhood, heartbreak and finding inner strength combines personal stories with epic film and original pop songs.

Jacob's Pillow presents the highly-anticipated world premiere of THE DAY, featuring world renowned cellist Maya Beiser and legendary dancer Wendy Whelan with choreography by the groundbreaking postmodern dance artist Lucinda Childs and music by Pulitzer Prize-winning David Lang in the Doris Duke Theatre, July 31-Aug 4. Co-commissioned by Jacob's Pillow, the multidisciplinary work explores memory, life's journey, resilience, and survival of the soul through the shared language of music and dance. 

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced today that two new staff conductors will join the CSO in September 2019. Franc?ois Lo?pez-Ferrer will be the new Assistant Conductor for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival, and Wilbur Lin will be the new Assistant Conductor for the Cincinnati Pops and Conductor for the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra Philharmonic. They succeed Keitaro Harada and Gene Chang, whose successful tenures are completed this season.

Join world-class speakers and inspirational activists for the biggest and bravest WOW - Women of the World Festival ever.

The likes of Eve, Talib Kweli, Akala and Laura Mvula have been added to various events at Southbank Centre's seventh Africa Utopia Festival, presented in collaboration with Indaba X.

In a unique collaboration, a wide-ranging group of arts organisations and human rights charities commissioned Ai Weiwei to design a new flag in response to the real and present dangers of a world changing at break-neck speed and a community that has forgotten why human rights are so important, to offer hope and to educate generations to come about the absolute importance of universal human rights. Everyone across the country is invited to Fly The Flag for Human Rights between 24 and 30 June 2019 in events around the UK, with over 150 organisations involved.

Ministry of Sound have announced the return of their acclaimed orchestral tour The Annual Classical to London's Royal Festival Hall on October 4th.  

Internationally acclaimed Australian pianist, Sarah Grunstein, returns to the Sydney Opera House by popular demand, to perform two concerts in 2019. While Grunstein is distinguished for her interpretation of Bach's works, described by The New York Times as "tempestuous" and "imbued with a luminous calm', the praise she has received is not limited to her performances of this composer. Her two different 2019 recital programs include works by Beethoven as a prelude to his 250th birthday celebration, as well as Chopin, Schumann, and Debussy.

The Mother is a powerful, narrative dance production choreographed and directed by master storyteller Arthur Pita which has its London premiere at the Southbank Centre Queen Elizabeth Hall in June.  Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's dark tale, The Story of a Mother, this sumptuously designed production stars international dance superstar Natalia Osipova and award-winning contemporary dancer Jonathan Goddard.

Arthur Pita adapts Hans Christian Andersen's The Story of a Mother for Natalia Osipova and Jonathan Goddard in a contemporary dance work that is unblinkingly clear and ferocious in its storytelling.

The sumptuous and unforgettable romantic musical THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA makes its long-awaited London debut at the Royal Festival Hall, now through 5 July 2019.

The fifth edition of the biennial Shubbak Festival starts on the 28th June bringing exciting, bold, poignant and urgent work by over 150 Arab artists to London. This year's programme champions artists who embrace questioning the norm, commenting powerfully on the world we live in.

Weaving together poetic text and movement, Alexandrina Hemsley and Seke Chimutengwende come together to retell an Afrofuturist history of the universe from the big bang through to the universe's death. Seke and Alexandrina combine elements of science fiction with personal narrative to probe the holes in our understanding of the past, speculating on how to be with their bodies that carry histories of marginalisation and anti-blackness. Taking the personal and projecting it onto a cosmic scale, Black Holes explores the potential and problematics of Afrofuturism.

Today the full programme of events has been announced around Fly The Flag, a major new project marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and brand new images of Ai Weiwei with young people have been released.

Dante or Die announce two international touring dates for their hit show User Not Found.

Jean Paul Gaultier reflects on his decades at the forefront of fashion and talks about his forthcoming revue show, Fashion Freak Show in an 'in conversation event' with TV presenter Anita Rani at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday 23 July at 6pm.

Forced Entertainment has today announced the UK premiere of Out Of Order at Southbank Centre, where they are an Associate Company, in October, before visiting HOME Manchester and ACCA in Brighton. To Move In Time, a Tim Etchells and Forced Entertainment production, in collaboration with performer Tyrone Huggins (Black Men Walking, Opening Skinner's Box), will play at Summerhall in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer.

This Autumn, Southbank Centre showcases some of the most pioneering new artists using performance to challenge societal norms including dancer and choreographer Oona Doherty, performance artists Travis Alabanza and Nicola Gunn, and theatre makers Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence. Alongside these artists, Southbank Centre welcomes back three important companies experimenting with form and challenging the audience experience; Reckless Sleepers, and two Southbank Centre Associate Companies - Forced Entertainment and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. Winter sees offerings for all ages with the return of Circus 1903 with new acts for 2019 following its huge success last Christmas, the arrival of a new dynamic interpretation of Black Beauty, and a fresh show from favourites Fascinating A da.