Rebecca Lucy Taylor (a.k.a Self Esteem) and More Set for Southbank Centre November Events
The festival also launches works from Thea Lenarduzzi and Holly Dawson (Sat 1 Nov), and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Sep. 25, 2025
This November, Southbank Centre's London Literature Festival will continue, featuring a day of curated events by Rebecca Lucy Taylor (a.k.a Self Esteem) (Sat 1 Nov). Taylor will be joined by Dolly Alderton for the launch of her debut book, A Complicated Woman, followed by an evening of music and poetry alongside multi-disciplinary artists Tom Rasmussen, Marged Sion, Travis Alabanza, Seraphina Simone, Kelli Blanchett and Pam Ayres. The festival also launches works from Thea Lenarduzzi and Holly Dawson (Sat 1 Nov), Olga Ravn (Sun 2 Nov), Zadie Smith (Sun 2 Nov) and Malala Yousafzai (2 Nov).
The Southbank Centre's brand new performance and dance series, KUNSTY launches in November (Wed 5 Nov - Sat 8 Nov). Platforming independent British artists working at the boundaries of dance, live art and cabaret, KUNSTY spotlights radical new works from artists including Bullyache (Wed 5 Nov), Harry Clayton-Wright (Sat 8 Nov) and Sung Im Her (Thu 6 Nov) as well as a special international guest performance from Justin Talplacido Shoulder (Fri 7 & Sat 8 Nov). In the Purcell Room, Wet Mess: TESTO combines movement, pre-recorded interviews and guttural sexuality to create a spectacle at the edges of drag, cabaret and performance (Fri 28 & Sat 29 Nov).
In the Hayward Gallery, Gilbert and George: 21st CENTURY PICTURES continues (Tue 7 Oct - Sun 11 Jan), highlighting the artists' pictures created since the start of the millennium, whilst outside, Mother Tongue - a monumental new sculptural commission by Spanish artist Teresa Solar Abboud - ‘gives the iconic brutalist site a surreal new look this Autumn'. The annual Koestler Arts exhibition returns, with poet and playwright Inua Ellams curating this year's show Night Owls and Abstractions (Fri 31 Oct - Sun 14 Dec) presenting over 200 works from people in the UK's criminal justice system. Music from the Criminal Justice System (Sun 30 Nov) presents an evening of music and conversation drawing influence from Night Owls and Abstractions.
EFG London Jazz Festival returns to the Southbank Centre, bringing Jazz music from across the world to the capital (Fri 14 - Sun 24 Nov). UK drummer, composer and producer Tom Skinner brings his deeply emotional music to the Queen Elizabeth Hall (Fri 21 Nov), Mulatu Astatke, the ‘father of Ethio-jazz' brings his farewell show to London (Sun 16 Nov), while the Aga Khan Music Awards Night (Sat 22 Nov) is presented in a festival context for the first time, featuring performances and short films from the winners of the 2025 awards.
The Autumn/Winter 2025/26 Classical Season continues, featuring performances from world-renowned classical pianist Evgeny Kissin (Mon 17 Nov), cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (Sat 29 Nov), Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Fazıl Say (Sun 30 Nov), and more.
The Southbank Centre Winter Market returns this November (Mon 3 Nov - Sun 4 Jan), transforming the Queen's Walk into a Winter Wonderland, lined with alpine-style chalets, twinkling lights and winter-themed pop-ups.
EXHIBITIONS
Literature & Spoken Word | Visual Arts | Free Programme | Iris Colomb: Try! Try! Try! Again!
Thu 24 Jul – Sun 4 Jan, Tue: 12 noon – 6pm, Wed – Sun: 12 noon – 8pm, National Poetry Library, Level 5, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For ages 16+.
Visual Arts | Gilbert & George: 21ST CENTURY PICTURES
Tue 7 Oct 2025 – Sun 11 Jan 2026, Tue – Fri, 10am – 6pm, Sat, 10am – 8pm, Sun, 10am – 6pm, Closed on Mondays. Hayward Gallery. Tickets £20. There is no age guidance for this exhibition but please be prepared to have age appropriate conversations with children about the content of the work.
Visual Arts | Free Programme | Val Lee: The Presence of Solitude
Tue 7 Oct 2025 – Sun 11 Jan 2026, Tue – Fri, 10am – 6pm, Sat, 10am – 8pm, Sun, 10am – 6pm, Closed on Mondays. HENI Project Space, Hayward Gallery. Free.
Visual Arts | Free Programme | Koestler Arts: Night Owls and Abstractions
Fri 31 Oct – Sun 14 Dec, Spirit Level, Level 1, Royal Festival Hall. Free.
EVENTS:
London Literature Festival | Performance & Dance | Families & Young People | Judith Kerr's Mog the Forgetful Cat
Wed 29 Oct – Sun 2 Nov, 11am & 2pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £16 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 3+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Self Esteem: A Complicated Woman
Sat 1 Nov, 1pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £20 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Thea Lenarduzzi & Holly Dawson: Stories We Tell
Sat 1 Nov, 1.30pm, Level 5 Function Room, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £14 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Nikita Gill: Hekate
Sat 1 Nov, 2.30pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £15 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 14+.
London Literature Festival | Gigs | Free Programme | Keep Singing, Singing, Singing Now
Sat 1 Nov, 2.30pm, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Fee. For all ages. Recommended for ages 8+. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Let's Talk About Romantasy: Ella Risbridger
Sat 1 Nov, 6.30pm, Level 5 Function Room, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £14 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | On Palestine & Kashmir: Isabella Hammad & Mirza Waheed
Sat 1 Nov, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £20 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | New Poets Collective Showcase
Sat 1 Nov, 7.45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £7 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Self Esteem Presents
Sat 1 Nov, 8pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £20 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
Classical Music | Talks & Debates | Free Programme | Philharmonia Debates... Music & Politics
Sun 2 Nov, 1.15pm, Level 5 Function Room, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For ages 11+. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.
Classical Music | Santtu Conducts Sibelius, Lindberg & Shostakovich
Sun 2 Nov, 3pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £12 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 7+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Olga Ravn: The Wax Child
Sun 2 Nov, 6pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £15 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Zadie Smith: Dead and Alive
Sun 2 Nov, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £20 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Poetry London: Autumn Readings
Sun 2 Nov, 7.30pm, Level 5 Function Room, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £14 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
London Literature Festival | Literature & Spoken Word | Malala Yousafzai: Finding My Way
Sun 2 Nov, 8pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £29.50 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
Literature & Spoken Word | Bob Geldof & Paul Vallely: The Real Live Aid Story
Tues 4 Nov, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £22 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
Free Programme | Archive Sessions: Origins of the Archive
Wed 24 Sep – Wed 26 Nov. 5 Nov, 4pm Archive Studio, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. 26 Nov, 4pm Sunley Pavilion.Free. For all ages. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.
Gigs | Free Programme | futuretense: Big Softy
Wed 5 Nov, 6pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Free. For all ages. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.
Kunsty | Performance & Dance | Tink and Abra Flaherty: Gen X Gen Z
Wed 5 Nov, 7pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £20 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 15+.
Classical Music | Brahms' Fourth
Wed 5 Nov, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £16 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 7+.
Literature & Spoken Word | Special Edition: Alchemy – Changing Perspectives
Wed 5 Nov, 8pm, National Poetry Library, Level 5, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £9 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 16+.
Kunsty | Performance & Dance | BULLYACHE: WHO HURT YOU?
Wed 5 Nov, 8.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £27 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 15+.
Kunsty | Performance & Dance | Sung Im Her: 1 Degree Celsius
Thu 6 Nov, 7pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £22 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 12+.
Classical Music | Wagner, Strauss & Tchaikovsky: Last Songs
Thu 6 Nov, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £17 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 7+.
Kunsty | Performance & Dance | Jenny Moore: Wild Mix
Thu 6 Nov, 8.15pm. Purcell Room. Tickets from £22 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 12+.
Kunsty | Performance & Dance | Cabrolé!
Thu 6 Nov & Fri 7 Nov, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Tickets from £27 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 18+.
Literature & Spoken Word | Families & Young People | Rug Rhymes: Autumn
Fri 3 Oct – Fri 5 Dec, National Poetry Library, Level 5, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £4. Admits one adult and one child. For ages 0 – 5. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.
Gigs | Free Programme | Simmer Down
Fri 7 Nov, 1.30pm, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free. Simmer Down is great for older adults and parents with young children, but all ages are welcome.
Kunsty | Performance & Dance | Courtney May Robertson: HUNTER
Fri 7 Nov, 7pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £17 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 18+.
Gigs | Nala Sinephro
Fri 7 Nov, 7pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £29.50 + £3.50 booking fee. For ages 14+. Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult.
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