This June at the Southbank Centre will be a celebration and an immersion into all things fantastic. The highly anticipated Meltdown festival curated by Grace Jones takes place with musicians from near and far, showcasing eclectic sounds and momentous artistry, as well as a free public programme of events. Opening this month at the Hayward Gallery is In the Black Fantastic - the UK's first major exhibition dedicated to the work of Black artists who use fantastical elements to address racial injustice and explore alternative realities. And marking Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee we embrace the “official” and the “alternative” with punk, performance, dance, music and parties as part of a special Jubilee programme. During Refugee Week (20-26 June) and Windrush Day (22 June) we also recognise the significant journeys people make, through sharing art, culture and more. EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS OUTDOORS | ART & EXHIBITIONS | FREE PROGRAMME | CHIHOI: THE TRAIN Until 19 June, Riverside Entrance Foyer, Level 1. Free and unticketed. A slideshow of selected artworks from Hong Kong artist Chihoi’s graphic novel, based on a story written by Taiwanese poet Hung Hung, which evokes a dreamlike train journey. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/chihoi-train?eventId=899680 INDOORS | ART & EXHIBITIONS | VISUAL ARTS | IN THE BLACK FANTASTIC 29 June – 18 September, from 11am, The Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery. Ticketed, £13.50, concessions available. Myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism are all sampled, reimagined and recontextualised in In the Black Fantastic. Encompassing painting, photography, video, sculpture and mixed-media installations, the exhibition creates immersive aesthetic experiences that bring the viewer into a new environment somewhere between the real world and a multiplicity of imagined ones. While some artists disrupt our understanding of the past, others invite us to imagine fantastical futures. In this exhibition, fantasy becomes a zone of creative and cultural liberation and a means of addressing racism and social injustice by conjuring new ways of being in the world. In the Black Fantastic is curated by Ekow Eshun and features the artists Nick Cave, Sedrick Chisom, Ellen Gallagher, Hew Locke, Wangechi Mutu, Rashaad Newsome, Chris Ofili, Tabita Rezaire, Cauleen Smith, Lina Iris Viktor and Kara Walker. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/black-fantastic INDOORS | ART & EXHIBITIONS | FREE PROGRAMME | FUTURE CITIES Until 18 September, National Poetry Library, Level 5, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall. Free and unticketed. This exhibition of visual art and poetry speculates what our future cities will look like. At the heart of Future Cities are four works of contemporary art, and four responses by poets – all brand new commissions. The contributing artists are Graham Gussin, Alek O, Prem Sahib and Janice Kerbel. Their featured works explore romanticised landscapes, utopian ‘home climates’, found objects, intimacy, desire and community. The poetry is by Selina Nwulu, Astra Papachristodoulou, James Wilkes and Aea Varfis-van Warmelo – some of the UK’s most exciting poets, whose words open up new possibilities for imagining the spaces we might one day live in. The artworks in Future Cities are on loan from the Arts Council Collection. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/future-cities?eventId=907120 OUTDOORS | VISUAL ARTS | ART & EXHIBITIONS | FREE PROGRAMME | THE HOP Until 2 October, open 24 hours, Hayward Gallery Terrace. Free and unticketed. A luminous public canopy almost four metres high grows from the side of the Hayward Gallery. Bradley’sThe Hop is an art installation inspired by a piece of overlooked local history: until the 1960s, every year thousands of working class families from Lambeth travelled away from the pollution of London for a working ‘holiday’ in the Kentish hop fields. Bringing in the hop harvest – or ‘hopping’ – was hard manual labour, but it was also a transformative time away from city life, and a space for new experiences and new relationships. Using her signature material of coloured Plexiglas, Bradley’s commission echoes the geometry of Kent’s unique hop growing structures, designed to expose the crop to the maximum amount of sunlight. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/hop?eventId=905091 FOOD & STALLS OUTDOORS | SOUTHBANK CENTRE FOOD MARKET Friday 4 February - Sunday 18 December, from 11am, Southbank Centre Square, Belvedere Road. Free and unticketed. With a huge choice of street food and drinks, the Southbank Centre Food Market is a must-visit; Visitors will find the authentic taste of Ethiopia, Thailand, Venezuela or beyond, there are also plenty of sweet treats also on offer. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/southbank-centre-food-market?eventId=902316 OUTDOORS | SOUTHBANK CENTRE SUMMER POP-UPS Friday 29 April - Sunday 18 September, from 11am, Queen’s Walk. Free and unticketed. Dig into summer on the South Bank: the site’s riverside food and drink pop-ups are back. Riverside pop-ups from Truffle, Oh My Dog!, SNOG, Elephant Juice and The Hop Locker will appear along the Queen’s Walk, serving up a range of fresh food and cold drinks all summer long. Meanwhile Jimmy’s BBQ Club returns to their usual spot offering the ultimate 6-course BBQ menu, a riverfront bar, guest chef takeovers, and even more experimental BBQ cooking techniques. For the first-time, Dookies Grill will launch a vibrant pop-up outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall bringing joy with their fiery Caribbean flavours. And new concept Sundowners will serve a variety of homemade frozen cocktails to be enjoyed from a foliage-filled spot beside the Thames; visitors can expect good vibes and great drinks. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/visit/cafes-restaurants-bars/ EVENTS INDOORS| CLASSICAL MUSIC | VERDI REQUIEM: ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY 150TH ANNIVERSARY Wednesday 1 June, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed £15 - £57. The Royal Choral Society celebrates 150 years of music-making with a performance of one of the great choral masterpieces, Verdi’s Requiem. The Royal Festival Hall provides the ideal setting to perform this magnificent work. It is the perfect prelude to the four-day celebrations marking the Platinum Jubilee of the Royal Choral Society's Patron, HM The Queen. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/verdi-requiem-royal-choral-society-150th-anniversary?eventId=832587 INDOORS | JUBILEE | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | PUNK ALLEY Wednesday 1 June 2.30pm, Thursday 2 June 11.30am & 2.30pm, Friday 3 June 11.30am & 2.30pm, Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Ticketed, Adult £12, Child £9. Create punk songs, write placards and play music that channels your inner anarchist in this show from the foot-stomping Lazurr Tuts. Presented by Moxie Brawl, Punk Alley is loud and wild. Lazurr Tuts are a guitar-wielding punk band made up of 'misfits and outcasts’. They’re in the business of making music and speaking out, and you have been invited into an exclusive rehearsal. Punk Alley is a show full of heart that creates a vibrant and fun space for young people to explore their voice and what’s important to them. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/family-young-people/punk-alley INDOORS | JUBILEE | CLASSICAL MUSIC | ROYALTY ON SCREEN: A JUBILEE CELEBRATION Wednesday 1 June, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed, £15 - £30. The King’s Speech, The King and I, The Last Emperor and The Queen: royalty from all corners of the world and all eras of history has fascinated film-makers since the dawn of cinema. BBC Radio 2 and the BBC Concert Orchestra bring a concert of music with a distinctly royal flavour from the big and small screen, as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/royalty-screen-jubilee-celebration?eventId=880640 INDOORS | JUBILEE | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | FREE PROGRAMME | STEP HOP HOUSE WITH FOLK DANCE REMIXED Thursday 2 June, 12pm & 2.30pm, Riverside Terrace, Level 2. Free and unticketed. Head out on the dancefloor for an afternoon colliding traditional and hip-hop dance to magical effect. Maypole, clogging and ceilidh meet street, house and breakdance, with a hint of African and Bollywood thrown in, all to a live soundtrack of fiddle and beatboxing. Watch the Step Hop House performance, presented by Folk Dance Remixed, then join in with two workshops: Ceilidh Jam (12.30pm) and Street Dance the Maypole (3pm). https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/family-young-people/step-hop-house-folk-dance-remixed?eventId=908272 INDOORS | JUBILEE | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | PARTY Thursday 2 June 1.30 & 3.30pm, Friday 3 June 10.30am & 1.30pm, Saturday 4 June 10.30am & 1.30pm, Blue Room, Level 1, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, Adult £8, Child £6. Afonso is headed to a party, and your little ones are invited. Heartfelt, provocative and full of quirky humour, Party features striking designs and a glorious soundtrack, immersing you in the warmth of a Portuguese summer and taking you to a place where difference is something to celebrate. Presented by Half Moon. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/family-young-people/party?eventId=899194 INDOORS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | DREAM HOUSE QUARTET Thursday 2 June, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, £15 - £55. The Labèque sisters’ piano duo and composer-guitarists Bryce Dessner and David Chalmin come together in a concert of mesmerising new and recent works, this event is their Southbank Centre debut. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/dream-house-quartet?eventId=888583 INDOORS | LITERATURE & POETRY | PJ HARVEY IN CONVERSATION: ORLAM Thursday 2 June, 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed, £15 - £25. PJ Harvey recites poems from her new book, Orlam, and joins poet Paul Muldoon in conversation. Orlam is not only a remarkable coming-of-age tale, but the first full-length book written in the Dorset dialect for many decades. This is a non-music event. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/pj-harvey-conversation-orlam?eventId=901412 INDOORS | JUBILEE | PERFORMANCE & DANCE | DUCKIE’S ‘OFFICIAL’ ROYAL COMMAND PERFORMANCE Friday 3 June, from 12 noon, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, £5. Duckie presents a right royal knees-up from London’s most glamorous nightclub in the daytime, The Posh Club - a performance, dance and social club for older people held weekly in Hackney, Crawley, Brighton, Hastings and sometimes the Elephant & Castle. Join Prince Azara, Lady in Waiting Rhys’ Pieces and grand guests from the noble principalities of Hackney and the Elephant & Castle for an aristocratic afternoon tea. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/performance-dance/duckies-official-royal-command-performance?eventId=908450 INDOORS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY LIVE Friday 3 June, 7pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, £20 -£55. Watch one of the greatest science fiction films of all time with the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Voices performing its extraordinary soundtrack live. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/2001-space-odyssey-live?eventId=892449 INDOORS | JUBILEE | GIGS | NU CIVILISATION ORCHESTRA: THE QUEEN’S SUITE Friday 3 June, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed, £25 - £30. Nu Civilisation Orchestra performs a selection of Duke Ellington’s compositions, including The Queen’s Suite, inspired by his meeting with Her Majesty The Queen. The show is presented by Tomorrow’s Warriors, and led by gifted pianist, composer and musical director Peter Edwards. The orchestra also plays Edwards' original piece Above and Beyond the Horizon. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/gigs/nu-civilisation-orchestra-queens-suite?eventId=902218 INDOORS | JUBILEE | PERFORMANCE & DANCE | DUCKIE’S ‘ALTERNATIVE’ ROYAL COMMAND PERFORMANCE Friday 3 June, 10.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Ticketed, £10. For ages 18+ The group behind LGBTQI+ club Duckie presents this event. Starring Marie Lloyd, Travis Alabanza, Midgette Bardot, Thick & Tight, Vidya Patel and Lasana Shabazz, and featuring (just out of retirement) Bette Bourne as HRH The Queen. There’s also dancing ‘til late with DJs Readers Wifes. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/performance-dance/duckies-alternative-royal-command-performance?eventId=904641 INDOORS | JUBILEE | CLASSICAL MUSIC | THE PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATION Saturday 4 June, 2.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, £19.50 - £54. Her Majesty The Queen’s reign is marked with fitting splendour by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Choral Society and the Bach Choir. They’re accompanied by a distinguished line-up of soloists for a concert of majestic music to celebrate The Queen’s 70-year reign. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/platinum-jubilee-celebration?eventId=834495 INDOORS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | THE MUSIC OF ZIMMER VS WILLIAMS Saturday 4 June, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, £17.50 - £49.50. Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Gladiator) and John Williams (the Star Wars series, Jaws) are responsible for many of the most memorable scores in the history of film. Relive the magic and power of their best scores at this event, where selections from the scores are performed by the London Concert Orchestra and conductor Anthony Inglis and accompanied by a thrilling laser and firework show. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/music-zimmer-vs-williams?eventId=812563 INDOORS | JUBILEE | LITERATURE & POETRY | DANNY BOYLE’S PISTOL: COMPLETE SERIES SCREENING Sunday 5 June, 1pm, Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Free but ticketed, for ages 16+. In an exclusive live screening, watch the full six-episode new series from Academy Award®-winning director Danny Boyle, Pistol, which charts the rise of the Sex Pistols and the punk revolution in Britain. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/danny-boyles-pistol-complete-series-screening?eventId=910731 INDOORS | JUBILEE | GIGS | FREE PROGRAMME | THE FRANKLYS Sunday 5 June, 6.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Free and unticketed. Having played Isle of Wight Festival and Download, The Franklys wield their dark, heavy riffs to create an awesome live show. Carving their own sound that combines their love for indie, punk and Swedish rock, and vocals that tease of riot grrrl, The Franklys own the stage with a dynamic performance. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/gigs/franklys?eventId=911187 INDOORS | JUBILEE | TALKS AND DEBATES | PISTOL AND PUNK: DANNY BOYLE IN CONVERSATION Sunday 5 June, 7.30pm. Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed, £15, for ages 16+. Academy Award®-winning director Danny Boyle discusses Pistol, his new series produced by FX Productions, and the punk revolution with Julien Temple, Maisie Williams, John Cooper Clarke, and chair Andrew O’Hagan reflecting on the wider punk movement and how its legacy impacts on our cultural life 45 years later. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/talks-debates/pistol-and-punk-danny-boyle-conversation?eventId=910740 INDOORS | JUBILEE | GIGS | FREE PROGRAMME | VANITY ROSE Sunday 5 June, 8.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Free and unticketed. Witty lyrics and a raw, thorny sound propel Vanity Rose’s punk and new wave – and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Vanity Rose’s influences include Marc Bolan, Iggy Pop, The Sex pistols, Blondie, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Romeo Void, Kate Bush, The Cramps and PJ Harvey. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/gigs/vanity-rose?eventId=911184 INDOORS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | SCHIFF PLAYS BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTOS NOS.2 & 1 Monday 6 June, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed, £10 - £80. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment welcomes back the revered pianist for the first in a three-night series of Beethoven's Piano Concertos. This performance begins with Piano Concerto No.2, followed by Piano Concerto No.1, as this is the order in which Beethoven is thought to have written them. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/schiff-plays-beethoven-piano-concertos-nos2-1?eventId=827161 INDOORS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | SCHIFF PLAYS BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTOS NOS.3 & 4 Wednesday 8 June, 7pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed, £10 - £80. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's second performance in this three-night series with Sir András Schiff opens with the dark and moody Piano Concerto No.3. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.3 is famed for its rhythmic, military march opening. His Fourth is an altogether more joyful and lively piece. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/schiff-plays-beethoven-piano-concertos-nos3-4?eventId=827172 INDOORS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | SANTTU CONDUCTS MAHLER Wednesday 8 June, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed, £13 - £65. Santtu-Matias Rouvali crowns his first season as the Philharmonia’s Principal Conductor with the great Resurrection Symphony.
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