2023 South Bank Culture Round Up
From world-class festivals and ground-breaking art exhibitions to spectacular theatre shows and must-see concerts, there's always something exciting happening in South Bank.
Here's a round-up of the biggest shows, festivals and events to look forward to in South Bank in 2023.
FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS
ALADDIN SANE: 50 YEARS
Thu 6 Apr – Sun 28 May
The Southbank Centre celebrates the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's iconic 1973 album Aladdin Sane with a host of events that includes a two-month long exhibition (6 Apr - 28 May), talks and discussions, club nights, poetry readings and live music performances.
KING CHARLES III CORONATION WEEKEND
Sat 6 May – Mon 8 May
The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort will take place just across the river at Westminster Abbey on Sat May 6. The UK is enjoying a bank holiday weekend especially for the occasion and across the city visitors can look forward to plenty of coronation-themed activities and activations.
RIVER STAGE
Fri 9 Jun – Sun 2 Jul, National Theatre
The National Theatre's free outdoor festival, River Stage, is back for summer 2023 with a packed programme of live music, performance, dance and installations happening over four consecutive weekends. Each weekend is curated by a different team. Curators include with queer performance hub The Glory, Arab cultural festival Shubbak, Hackney's youth-led Empire’s Young Producers and the dance-focused James Cousins Company who are known for their immersive experiences. FIND OUT MORE
CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS’ MELTDOWN FESTIVAL
Fri 9 Jun – Sun 18 Jun, Southbank Centre
This year’s curator of Southbank Centre’s annual, award-winning Meltdown festival is French phenomenon Christine and the Queens. For his Meltdown, Christine and the Queens invites artists who have influenced his musical identity, and those who continue to shape it today including Sigur Ros, Django Django and Warpaint. There are also two performances by the curator themselves on the Royal Festival Hall stage the curator themselves and, so, Christine and the Queens will take to the Royal Festival Hall stage not once, but twice, on 17 and 18 June. In addition to ticketed shows, the festival includes two weekends of free outdoor gigs, performances and other activities. FIND OUT MORE
LONDON LITERATURE FESTIVAL
19 Oct – 29 Oct, Southbank Centre
Uniting readers of every age to celebrate the written and spoken word, the London Literature Festival sets prestigious authors alongside rising literary stars and cultural observers and is the city’s longest running literature festival.
WINTER FESTIVAL
November and December
Christmas in South Bank wouldn’t be the same without Southbank Centre’s famous Winter Festival which brings plenty of festive magic to the Queen's Walk with a host of exciting pop-ups, light art installations and of course a Christmas markets
THEATRE
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
Throughout 2023, County Hall
The popular Agatha Christie mystery Witness for the Prosecution celebrates its 6th anniversary in 2023. This gripping and intense adaptation of the Agatha Christie play takes place inside the former debating chamber of the Greater London Council at County Hall. FIND OUT MORE
SYLVIA
27 Jan – 8 Apr, The Old Vic
This revolutionary new hip hop musical celebrates the life of Sylvia Pankhurst – feminist, activist, pacifist, socialist, rebel – and the lesser-known Pankhurst at the heart of the Suffragette movement, who changed the lives of working women and men across the world. FIND OUT MORE
PHAEDRA
1 Feb – 8 Apr, National Theatre
Writer-Director Simon Stone reimagines Seneca’s famous Greek tragedy in a modern setting in this striking new play about power, lust and loneliness starring Janet McTeer (Ozark) in the title role. FIND OUT MORE
ROMEO AND JULIE
14 Feb – 1 Apr, National Theatre
A modern love story inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Two Welsh teens raised a few streets apart – but from entirely different worlds – crash into first love and are knocked off their feet. FIND OUT MORE
DANCING AT LUGHNASA
6 Apr – 27 May, National Theatre
A fierce, heart-breaking drama set in rural 1930s Ireland. Brian Friel’s Olivier Award-winning play is an astonishing evocation of a family’s world on the brink of change. FIND OUT MORE
DIXON AND DAUGHTERS
15 Apr – 3 Jun, National Theatre
A powerful new play about family and forgiveness, starring Liz White (Anatomy of a Scandal) and Andrea Lowe (Sherwood). Over a tumultuous two days a family is forced to confront not just their past but themselves. FIND OUT MORE
THE MOTIVE AND THE CUE
20 Apr – 15 Jul, National Theatre
Sam Mendes directs this new play by Jack Thorne. Based on the making of Burton and Gielgud’s infamous Hamlet, the play presents a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity. FIND OUT MORE
GROUNDHOG DAY
20 May – 12 Aug, The Old Vic
Directed by Matthew Warchus, with book by Danny Rubin, and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, this Olivier-Award-winning musical is a charming remake of the classic 1993 Bill Murray. Andy Karl reprises his multi-award-winning role as the cynical TV weatherman Phil Connors in this darkly comic, feel-good show. FIND OUT MORE
DEAR ENGLAND
10 Jun – 11 Aug, National Theatre
The National Theatre presents a new play by James Graham about the England men’s football team starring Joseph Fiennes as Gareth Southgate. Described as “a captivating examination into the complex psychology of the much loved “beautiful game”. FIND OUT MORE
THE FATHER AND THE ASSASSIN
From September, National Theatre
The smash hit play about the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi returns to the National Theatre stage with Paul Bazely playing Gandhi. FIND OUT MORE
FILM
SIGHT AND SOUND GREATEST FILMS OF ALL TIME
January – March, BFI Southbank
Starting in January and running through March, BFI Southbank is screening all 100 films featured on Sight and Sound's recent Greatest Films list. A brilliant opportunity to watch some of the great masterpieces of world cinema on the big screen. FIND OUT MORE
COUNTDOWN TO OPPENHEIMER: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN ON FILM
26 Feb – 25 Jun, BFI IMAX
The BFI IMAX counts down to the release of Nolan’s highly-anticipated biographical film Oppenheimer on 21 July 2023 with screens of all of Nolan’s major feature films, including an all-night film night featuring The Dark Knight trilogy screened back-to-back. FIND OUT MORE
FILM ON FILM
8 – 11 Jun, BFI Southbank
The inaugural edition of the BFI’s new film festival dedicated to celebrating the art of film and film projection. The festival spans film formats including 16mm, 35mm and 70mm as well as rare nitrate and comprises screenings of new and vintage film prints from the BFI National Archive’s collection that can only be seen on film. FIND OUT MORE
BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
4 – 15 Oct, BFI Southbank
This annual film festival presents more than 100 new feature films from around the world (including several World Premieres) screening at the BFI Southbank and at partner cinemas across London and the UK.
CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER
Mon 16 Oct – Sun 31 Dec
The BFI presents its most ambitious archive cinema programme since The Genius of Hitchcock in 2012. The series celebrates the creative genius of the writer-producer-director team Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger with screenings of their most iconic films, and lesser known treasures, as well as a major exhibition. The full programme of screenings and events will be announced in June.
EXHIBITIONS
MIKE NELSON: EXTINCTION BECKONS
22 Feb – 7 May, Hayward Gallery
The first major survey of work by internationally acclaimed British artist Mike Nelson. The ground-breaking exhibition features sculptural works and new versions of the artist’s key, large-scale, psychologically charged and atmospheric installations – many of them on show for the first time since their original presentations. FIND OUT MORE
POETS IN VOGUE
17 Feb – 25 Jun, Southbank Centre
This free exhibition presents the fashion worlds and poetic works of seven women poets including clothing belonging to Sylvia Plath and the clothes-performances of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. FIND OUT MORE
CURTIS HOLDER - THE MAKER’S: PORTRAITS FROM BACKSTAGE
Until 7 Nov, National Theatre
Created by the NT’s first artist in residence, these intimate, multi-layered pencil portraits capture the expertise of a range of ‘makers’ at the National Theatre celebrating the dynamic creative forces that exist behind the scenes. FIND OUT MORE
ENSLAVEMENT: VOICES FROM THE ARCHIVES
Until 4 Apr, Lambeth Palace Library
This small but powerful exhibition at the Lambeth Palace Library examines the historic links between Queen Anne’s Bounty (one of the Church Commissioners’ predecessors) and transatlantic chattel slavery through documents from the library's massive archives that includes 18th Century letters written by enslaved people. FIND OUT MORE
PRIVATE & PUBLIC: FINDING THE MODERN BRITISH GARDEN
22 Mar – 25 Jun, Garden Museum
This colourful exhibition celebrates the abundance of British artists working in the interwar years whose art was inspired by gardens, including works by Charles Mahoney, Evelyn Dunbar, Eric Ravilious and Ithell Colquhoun. FIND OUT MORE
DEAR EARTH: ART AND HOPE IN A TIME OF CRISIS
21 Jun – 3 Sep, Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery presents a timely group exhibition how international contemporary artists are helping to reframe our responses to the climate crisis and our sense of connection with the natural world.
HIROSHI SUGIMOTO: TIME MACHINE
11 Oct – 7 Jan 2024, Hayward Gallery
A comprehensive survey of the internationally renowned artist and photographer, featuring selections from all of Sugimoto’s major photographic series, as well as lesser-known works that illuminate his innovative, conceptually-driven approach to making pictures.
FAMILY FUN
HAMLET (PRIMARY THEATRE)
20 Mar – 28 Mar, National Theatre
Funny, suspenseful, energetic and spooky, Jude Christian’s 65-minute-long adaptation of the Shakespeare classic is gripping stage entertainment for younger audiences, aimed at kids aged 8 to 12. FIND OUT MORE
JUDITH KERR’S MOG THE FORGETFUL CAT
11 Jul – 29 Jul, The Old Vic
The Wardrobe Ensemble adapt Judith Kerr’s beloved and iconic stories for the stage, in a lively and enchanting production with songs, live music and a menagerie of creatures little and large. FIND OUT MORE
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL
26 Jul – 27 Aug, Southbank Centre
An exciting new production featuring irresistible characters, magical choreography and dazzling costumes; this deep-sea pearl of a show is set to make a splash with audiences young and old.
