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The Royal Festival Hall is closed to the public on Tuesday 16 June. It will reopen for Harry Styles & Jules Buckley Orchestra ticket holders only at 5pm.

A blurry image of a group of dancers all wearing black

Performance & Dance

Autumn/Winter 2026/27

Spotlighting cutting-edge new work from around the world

Discover pioneering theatre, dance and circus from international and UK-based artists in our curated performance and dance programme.

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Sunday 20 September

Duckie: Why Do Benders Love Divas?
A high-contrast pink stencil illustration of a singer on a black background, performing with arms spread wide.

Duckie: Why Do Benders Love Divas?

Performance & dance
The Clore Ballroom
Tickets Free
THIS IS MY LIFE: Duckie Salutes Shirley Bassey
Silhouette of a singer with arms raised, composed of shimmering gold sequins against a solid black background.

THIS IS MY LIFE: Duckie Salutes Shirley Bassey

Performance & dance
The Clore Ballroom

Friday 9 October

Forced Entertainment: Cold Sweat
An actor with long dark hair sits in a red inflatable chair on a stage scattered with oversized playing cards, tinsel, and white cups.

Forced Entertainment: Cold Sweat

Performance & dance
Purcell Room

Saturday 10 October

Forced Entertainment: Cold Sweat
An actor with long dark hair sits in a red inflatable chair on a stage scattered with oversized playing cards, tinsel, and white cups.

Forced Entertainment: Cold Sweat

Performance & dance
Purcell Room

Wednesday 14 October

Who Are We?
Performer wearing all black performing a flip through the air on a floury stage

Who Are We?

Performance & dance
Queen Elizabeth Hall

Thursday 15 October

Who Are We?
Performer wearing all black performing a flip through the air on a floury stage

Who Are We?

Performance & dance
Queen Elizabeth Hall

Friday 16 October

Who Are We?
Performer wearing all black performing a flip through the air on a floury stage

Who Are We?

Performance & dance
Queen Elizabeth Hall

Thursday 5 November

Kim Noble: How to Write
a man in a black blazer looking directly at the camera while a chaotic cluster of books and a roll of masking tape are bound tightly to his head and stuffed into his mouth using beige tape.

Kim Noble: How to Write

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room

Friday 6 November

Fag Packet: DYKE Systems Ltd
A vibrant studio portrait captures a comedic duo dressed in exaggerated 1980s business attire, with one person talking into a pink brick cell phone

Fag Packet: DYKE Systems Ltd

Performance & dance
Purcell Room

Thursday 26 November

Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Taylor Mac in a headdress surrounded by balloons

Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music

Classical music
Multi-buy

Thursday 10 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Friday 11 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Saturday 12 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Sunday 13 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Tuesday 15 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Wednesday 16 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Thursday 17 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Friday 18 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Saturday 19 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Sunday 20 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Tuesday 22 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Monday 28 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Tuesday 29 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Wednesday 30 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Thursday 31 December

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Saturday 2 January

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Sunday 3 January

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas
A collage of one performer in white makeup, green hair, and a floral dress and another performer in all black with one leg in the air

Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas

Performance & dance
A Relaxed Performance - A show adapted to be more comfortable and accessible for everyone. Captioned - The performance displays the actors’ words and sounds as text on screens.
Purcell Room

Wednesday 13 January

MimeLondon: FOOD
Two performers dressed in black entangled together, with a performer watching on with a microwave balanced on his head.

MimeLondon: FOOD

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Purcell Room

Thursday 14 January

MimeLondon: FOOD
Two performers dressed in black entangled together, with a performer watching on with a microwave balanced on his head.

MimeLondon: FOOD

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Purcell Room

Friday 15 January

MimeLondon: FOOD
Two performers dressed in black entangled together, with a performer watching on with a microwave balanced on his head.

MimeLondon: FOOD

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Purcell Room

Saturday 16 January

MimeLondon: FOOD
Two performers dressed in black entangled together, with a performer watching on with a microwave balanced on his head.

MimeLondon: FOOD

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Purcell Room

Sunday 17 January

MimeLondon: FOOD
Two performers dressed in black entangled together, with a performer watching on with a microwave balanced on his head.

MimeLondon: FOOD

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Purcell Room

Wednesday 3 March

Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium
A group of dancers in a triangle formation, wearing all black

Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Queen Elizabeth Hall

Thursday 4 March

Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium
A group of dancers in a triangle formation, wearing all black

Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Queen Elizabeth Hall

Friday 5 March

Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium
A group of dancers in a triangle formation, wearing all black

Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium

Performance & dance
Speech-free - This performance includes little to no spoken text.
Queen Elizabeth Hall

While you're with us

Jeppe Hein: Appearing Rooms
People enjoying the Jeppe Hein Fountain at the Southbank Centre

Jeppe Hein: Appearing Rooms

A summer favourite returns to our site with water fountains to splash around and cool down in.

Shopping
Wooden displays in the Southbank centre shop, featuring books, plushies, and colourful merchandise

Shopping

A vibrant range of inspiring books, homeware, prints, accessories and more.

Klaus Weber: Thinking Fountains
Two statues; a green human body with water spouting from its neck and another of human legs with water pouring down from above displayed outdoors

Thinking
Fountains

Water cascades and spouts over Klaus Weber’s bronze figures.

Modified Social Benches
Two children eating ice cream on a red cirrcular bench

Modified Social Benches

Benches that challenge the space and distance we place between one another.

William Pye's Zemran
A photograph showing Riverside Terrace at Southbank Centre, with the metal sculpture Zemran in the foreground, next to Queen Elizabeth Hall

William Pye's Zemran

Pye’s beautiful stainless steel sculpture sits overlooking the Thames.

Natura Nostra Forest
Bright sunlight bursts through green leaves with a lens flare, set against a blue sky and a textured concrete building.

Natura Nostra Forest

Our growing pocket forest creating a natural oasis.