January 2023 Listings
To kick off 2023, TS Eliot Prize Shortlist Readings (15 January) showcases the best new and exciting poetry coming out of the UK and Ireland, read by the ten shortlisted poets for the year’s coveted prize. For music lovers, A Fresh Take on Beethoven sees 16-year-old violinist Leia Zhu give a unique spin on Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, whilst FUNharmonics Family Concert: The Colour Monster explores the messy and wonderful world of emotions with the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s interactive concert experience.
Catch the end of Winter Light (until 8 January), the Hayward Gallery's outdoor exhibition of light installations from internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, playfully exploring topics from the environment to identity. In the Purcell Room, the monthly live gig and spoken word night Out-Spoken (26 January) combines poetry with a stellar line-up of musicians and DJs spinning the best in reggae, soul and R&B. Meanwhile, DnB legends Fabio & Grooverider raise the Royal Festival Hall roof with two nights featuring The Outlook Orchestra (20 - 21 January).
EXHIBITIONS
ART & EXHIBITIONS | VISUAL ARTS | STRANGE CLAY: CERAMICS IN CONTEMPORARY ART
Until Sunday 8 January 2023, Hayward Gallery. Ticketed at £15. Free for members.
The first large-scale group exhibition in the UK exploring how contemporary artists have used the medium of clay in inventive ways. Featuring 23 international and multi-generational artists, the exhibition explores the expansive potential of clay through a variety of both playful and socially-engaged artworks including eccentric abstract sculptures, large immersive installations, fantastical otherworldly figures and uncanny evocations of everyday objects.
EVENTS
COMEDY | WOLF AND OWL LIVE
Friday 6 - Saturday 7 January, 8pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £24 – £30. For ages 16+. The event on Saturday 7 January is Speech-to-Text transcribed (STT).
Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis give a hilarious live, unedited version of their no-format podcast, Wolf and Owl. They’re solving problems, reminding you to do you, but most importantly doing it to the max.
PERFORMANCE | DOLLY PARTON’S SMOKY MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS CAROL
Until Sunday 8 January, 2.30pm, 3pm & 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £18.50-120. For ages 8+.
This event is British Sign Language interpreted on set dates. Audio Description and Touch Tours are available on set dates. See website for more information.
This Christmas, Dickens’ tale gets a Tennessee twist in an all-new musical with a soundtrack written by the Queen of Country herself, Dolly Parton. Please note that she will not be appearing live in this production. Set during the 1930s in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee, this heart-warming and truly unforgettable production imagines Ebenezer Scrooge as the owner of a mining company town, where his callous greed blinds him to the joys and gifts of the season.
Robert Bathurst plays Scrooge.
PERFORMANCE | HEY DUGGEE: THE LIVE THEATRE SHOW
Until Sunday 8 January, 11am & 2.30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £18.50-£28.50. This event is British Sign Language interpreted on set dates. Relaxed Performances are on Wed 28 Dec at 2.30pm and Thu 5 Jan at 11am.
Be part of the hit CBeebies show and join Duggee and the Squirrels in this vibrant interactive production bursting with music, puppets and barrels of laughs. The BBC and Studio AKA TV series Hey Duggee has won no fewer than six BAFTAs and multiple EMMYs, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see Duggee live on stage in this new production of the much-loved show.
LITERATURE & POETRY | FREE PROGRAMME | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | POETRY GAMES
Until Sunday 15 January, Tuesdays 12 noon - 6pm & Wednesdays-Sundays 12 noon-8pm, National Poetry Library. Free and unticketed. For all ages.
The National Poetry Library’s exhibition explores the connection between poetry and gaming with interactive works, digital and physical, designed by poets and game-makers in collaboration.
LITERATURE & POETRY | FREE PROGRAMME | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | POETRY GAMES CO-COMMISSION LAUNCH
Wednesday 11 January, 8pm, National Poetry Library. Free and ticketed. For all ages.
Join these play events for a hands-on exploration of the National Poetry Library’s world-famous collection, try some new games, and go deeper into the Poetry Games exhibition. This event launches a new poetic work - a co-commission between Poetry Games and interactive art advocates Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | A FRESH TAKE ON BEETHOVEN
Thursday 12 January, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £15-40. For ages 7+.
Orchestra London Mozart Players kickstart 2023 with 16-year-old violinist Leia Zhu giving a fresh take on Beethoven’s Violin Concerto under the baton of opera conductor Leslie Suganandarajah. Zhu will be in conversation with Suganandarajah before the performance.
FREE PROGRAMME | ARCHIVE DROP-IN
Friday 13 January, from 11am, Archive Studio, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free and ticketed. Recommended for ages 18+.
Try your hand at archiving as you help us organise our Southbank Centre Archive collections - 1.4 kilometres of memories about performances, exhibitions and events from the creation of the Southbank Centre site in 1951 to the present day.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | MIOS PLAYS RODRIGO
Friday 13 January, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £14-65. For ages 7+.
Teaming up American conductor Karen Kamensek, Guitarist Miloš Karadaglić and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conjure up Spain and Mexico in works by Aaron Copland and Gabriela Ortiz. Plus a wonderful surprise: a celebration of musical colour and grace, specially written for Karadaglić by David Bruce, a composer who always speaks straight from the heart.
CLASSICAL | THE LAST WALTZ
Friday 13 January, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £10-45. For ages 7+.
Youth orchestra Odyssey Festival Orchestra explores the clash of high art music and jazz in the 1920s through four orchestral works by Maurice Ravel and George Gershwin, with actors reading contemporary texts to illuminate the music in this historical and cultural context.
CLASSICAL | GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA
Saturday 14 January, 3pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £19.50-£39.50. For ages 7+.
Swing back in time with Glenn Miller’s own arrangements of favourite wartime chart toppers and hits from the 1940s including ‘Little Brown Jug’, ‘Moonlight Serenade’ and ‘American Patrol’. Special guest vocalists include Mark Porter, Catherine Sykes, Ray Wordsworth and John James.
CLASSICAL | THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALE WITH SIMON ARMITAGE
Saturday 14 January, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets at £15-36. For ages 12+.
The Poet Laureate narrates his witty and enchanting retelling of the Middle English debate poem, with bird-themed music performed by the City of London Sinfonia. The poem is brought to life in this special staging, with the author narrating and actors playing the owl and nightingale.
CLASSICAL | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | OAE TOTS: TRAVEL WITH THE OAE - PACK YOUR BAGS!
Sunday 15 January, 10:30am and 12pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £3 (child) and £12 (adult). For ages 2 – 5.
Sing, stomp and clap along with your little ones as you journey across Europe in this lively concert with composer Raph Clarkson and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | ERIC LU: CHOPIN, SCRIABIN, SCHUBERT
Sunday 15 January, 3pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £15-£45. For ages 7+.
Renowned classical pianist Eric Lu sets Mozart alongside melancholic Schubert and crystalline Chopin for a concert of piano giants.
LITERATURE & POETRY | TS ELIOT PRIZE SHORTLIST READINGS
Sunday 15 January, 7pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £12-15. For ages 16+. This event is British Sign Language interpreted (BSL).This event will be made available as a live stream.
The heart-and-mind-expanding opener of the literary year, hear the best new poetry coming out of the UK and Ireland read by the ten shortlisted poets for this year’s coveted prize in an event hosted by poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | RACHMANINOV’S FIRST
Wednesday 18 January, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £14-65. For ages 7+.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra plunges us into a world of gothic melodrama: dark, turbulent and burning with unrequited passion, featuring the UK premiere of Kinan Azmeh’s jazz-inspired Clarinet Concerto – music infused with the sounds of his native Syria, and performed by the composer himself.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA & KINAN AZMEH
Wednesday 18 January, 10pm, Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £20. For ages 7+
In an intimate, late-night event, clarinettist/composer Kinan Azmeh performs his music alongside musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra.This late-night event follows the evening’s main concert, which features the UK premiere of Azmeh’s Clarinet Concerto.
CLASSICAL | LAMBETH ORCHESTRA: MAHLER, STRAUSS & HUMPERDINCK
Wednesday 18 January, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £15-21. For ages 7+.
Hear the gleeful celebrations of Lambeth Orchestra turning 50 as it performs an ambitious programme with friends old and new.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | PHILHARMONIA CHAMBER PLAYERS: THREE TRIOS
Thursday 19 January, 6pm, Royal Festival Hall. Free and ticketed. For ages 7+
Three principal players from the Philharmonia Orchestra join forces in this free early evening concert, curated by flautist Samuel Coles, including the world premiere of David Heath’s new trio, commissioned by Coles to complement the other pieces in this captivating programme.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | SANTTU & NEMANJA RADULOVIC
Thursday 19 January, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £13-65. For ages 7+.
Watch sparks fly as Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the Philharmonia Orchestra link up with virtuoso violinist Nemanja Radulović, known for his adventurous, thrilling and technically masterful playing.
GIGS | FABIO & GROOVERIDER & THE OUTLOOK ORCHESTRA
Friday 20 - Saturday 21 January, 8pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £35-55. For ages 14+.
One of the most talked about shows in the scene, Fabio & Grooverider return with The Outlook Orchestra to throw down the history of jungle and drum and bass in a celebratory live performance featuring some of the scene’s most iconic and well-loved tracks.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | DANIEL PIORO & JAMES MCVINNIE: ROSARY SONATAS (SETS 1-3)
Sunday 22 January, 8am, 12pm and 4pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Ticketed at £15. For ages 7+.
A day-long performance of Biber’s ritual journey in music, his Rosary Sonatas, begins in the panoramic foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
LITERATURE & POETRY | OUT-SPOKEN MASTERCLASS: JANUARY
Sunday 22 January, 1pm, Sunley Pavilion, Level 3, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £20. For ages 18+.
Seize another chance to hone your craft in Out-Spoken’s monthly poetry workshop for writers of all abilities, facilitated by leading UK/US poets sharing some of their methods and approaches to crafting beautiful and original poetry.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | TAN DUN’S BUDDHA PASSION
Sunday 22 January, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £14-65. For ages 7+.
In a UK premiere, award-winning composer (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) Tan Dun conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra performing Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion - a tale of wonder, of truth and of gentle but irresistible transformation.
CLASSICAL | THREE BRITONS
Wednesday 25 January, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £14-65. For ages 7+.
In a concert featuring pianist Steven Osborne, the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s celebration of British composers culminates with Elgar’s glorious First Symphony.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | UNCLASSIFIED LIVE: BELL ORCHESTRE
Wednesday 25 January, 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £12-22. For ages 7+.
Embarking on an ambitious feat of musicianship, Bell Orchestre - the Montreal-based six-piece - perform their album House Music with the BBC Concert Orchestra for a special live edition of the deep-diving BBC radio programme Unclassified. The event also includes interviews with the ensemble, and is presented by broadcaster Elizabeth Alker.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | SOUNDS FOR THE END OF A CENTURY
Thursday 26 January, 7pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £10-82. For ages 7+.
Steven Isserlis joins the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to perform Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No.1, in an event celebrating the French composer and master of colour, conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev. This is also the first stop on the Orchestra’s ambitious 2023 ‘grand tour’ from London to Mongolia.
CLASSICAL | ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS & JOSHUA BELL
Thursday 26 January, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £22.50-£80. For ages 7+.
With Music Director Joshua Bell, the renowned UK orchestra Academy of St Martin in the Fields showcases Paganini’s show-stopping Violin Concerto No.1 and Schumann's Second Symphony.
LITERATURE & POETRY | OUT-SPOKEN: JANUARY
Thursday 26 January, 7:45pm, Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £12. For ages 16+.
London’s premiere poetry and music night celebrates the best in UK poetry, with sets of spoken word performed between gigs from a line-up of world-class musicians. The 2022 T.S Eliot award-winner Joelle Taylor hosts this monthly event, with Sam 'Junior' Bromfield spinning the best in reggae, soul and R&B throughout the evening.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | ISATA KANNEH-MASON & MAXWELL QUARTET
Friday 27 January, 7pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £15-45. For ages 7+.
Supremely gifted and communicative pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason joins the Maxwell Quartet for proclamations of love, defiance and joy from across the centuries from Felix Mendelssohn to Ernö Dohnányi.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | SPIRITS OF DELIGHT
Saturday 28 January, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £14-65. For ages 7+.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Edward Gardner complete their Elgar symphony cycle with a true British classic: his Second. They welcome the extraordinary, multi-award-winning pianist Víkingur Ólafsson to bring his touch to Schumann's Piano Concerto.
CLASSICAL | MULTI-BUY | FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE | FUNHARMONICS FAMILY CONCERT: THE COLOUR MONSTER
Sunday 29 January, 12pm, Royal Festival Hall. Ticketed at £16-24. For ages 5+.
Inspired by the gorgeous book by Anna Llenas, help untangle the Colour Monster’s messy emotions through the wonder of orchestral music with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at a joyful, interactive first concert experience for ages five and over.
FREE OUTDOOR INSTALLATIONS
ART & EXHIBITIONS | FREE PROGRAMME| VISUAL ARTS | WINTER LIGHT
Until Sunday 8 January 2023, the Southbank Centre and Riverside Walk. Free. For all ages.
Winter Light’s colourful light installations by contemporary artists bring a warm glow to the
South Bank. Featuring 11 low-energy LED light works from 10 internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, drawing upon a variety of practices such as hand-drawn animation, glass-blowing and sculpture. Utilising light and colour the artists playfully explore topics at the forefront of society such as identity, the environment and technology.
EXHIBITIONS AROUND THE UK
VISUAL ARTS | FREE PROGRAMME | BRITISH ART SHOW 9
Until Sunday 8 January, Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm. The Box Plymouth. Free and unticketed.
British Art Show 9 is curated by Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar and highlights work that has been made since 2015. The exhibition features 37 of the UK’s most exciting contemporary artists and is structured around these main themes – Healing, Care and Reparative History, Tactics for Togetherness and Imagining New Futures – and has evolved with every city, with a different combination of artworks and artists that respond to each location. In Plymouth, the exhibition is centred on the migration of bodies, peoples, plants, objects, ideas and forms; taking inspiration from and referencing the role it has played in Britain’s colonial past, as well as the encounters between British and other cultures that have and continue to enrich our society.
VISUAL ARTS | KARL BLOSSFELDT: ART FORMS IN NATURE
Friday 20 January – Friday 17 February, Monday - Friday 9:30am-5pm, Saturday 10am-1pm. Roe Valley Arts, Limavady. Tickets TBC.
This Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition consists of 40 photogravures of nature by Karl Blossfeldt - celebrated by the Surrealists and early modernists for his pioneering close-up images of plants and flora. Works are taken from an original German portfolio, ‘Wundergarten der Natur’ 1932, edited by Blossfeldt and published in the year of his death.
VISUAL ARTS | FREE PROGRAMME | HOLLOW EARTH: ART, CAVES & THE SUBTERRANEAN IMAGINARY
Until Sunday 22 January, Tuesday - Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-5pm. Nottingham Contemporary. Free and ticketed.
Together with Hayward Gallery Touring, Nottingham Contemporary presents Hollow Earth: Art, Caves and The Subterranean Imaginary, a major thematic exhibition which brings together a wide range of responses to the image and idea of the cave, exploring questions of prehistory, geological time and the future. Spanning works by 50 artists and collectives, it includes painting, photography, sculpture, sound, installation and video, as well as archives and architectural models, stretching from 1960 to today, alongside works from the 18th and 19th centuries.
VISUAL ARTS | FREE PROGRAMME | GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: MEMORIES OF DRAWINGS
Saturday 21 January – Saturday 22 April, Tuesday - Wednesday 10am-6pm, Thursday 1pm-8pm, Friday - Saturday 10am-4pm. Dick Institute, Kilmarnock. Free and ticketed.
An exhibition of 21 exquisite photogravure prints of major drawings by Georgia O’Keeffe, one of the most important artists in 20th-century American art. Known for her iconic painted works of organic forms, surreal abstractions, rural landscapes and urban cityscapes, drawing was central to O’Keeffe’s practice, using it as a language to evoke important moments and emotions.
VISUAL ARTS | FREE PROGRAMME | MATTISSE: DRAWING WITH SCISSORS
Saturday 21 January – Sunday 25 March, Tuesday - Saturday, 10am-4.30pm. Guildford House Gallery. Free and unticketed.
Featuring 35 lithographic prints of the famous cut-outs by Mattisee, produced in the last four years of his life when the artist was confined to his bed, and includes many of his iconic images, such as The Snail and the Blue Nudes.
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