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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.

Concrete interior of Purcell Room entrance at Southbank Centre

Purcell Room

Welcome to our most intimate auditorium

A 295-seat auditorium for music and performance, screenings, poetry readings and a variety of talks and debates, the Purcell Room offers you a real closeness to the arts.

Situated within our brutalist building complex, opened in 1967, the Purcell Room has become the perfect platform for new and emerging talent, but as also played host to some of the biggest names of the 20th century and beyond, including David Bowie, Daniel Barenboim, Marianne Faithfull and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.

Southbank Centre Studio

Find out how the Purcell Room is helping a new generation of artists and performers develop their talent.

More about Southbank Centre Studio

On now & coming up

More info for Mieko Kawakami: Sisters in Yellow
Mieko Kawakami wearing a black dress standing against a pale blue background.
Literature & poetry

Mieko Kawakami: Sisters in Yellow

The author of Breasts and Eggs presents her bold noir thriller, in conversation with Georgina Godwin
Purcell Room
More info for The Rest Is Money: Live
Hosts of The Rest is Money sitting together in front of a wall of clocks.
Literature & poetry

The Rest Is Money: Live

Witness the debut live show of Robert Peston and Steph McGovern’s popular podcast
Purcell Room
More info for Football Cliches: Live
Three men sitting on a green sofa on an empty stage.
Literature & poetry

Football Cliches: Live

Everyone’s favourite alternative football podcast brings its unique energy to the stage
Purcell Room
More info for Sherlock & Co.
Drawing of a messy room with two people sleeping on the couch and a man playing the violin next to them.
Literature & poetry

Sherlock & Co.

Enjoy an exclusive original story performed by the full cast of the popular audio drama
Purcell Room
More info for The Book Club
Hosts of The Book Club leaning against a book shelf.
Literature & poetry

The Book Club

The new literary podcast goes live for the first time, with Dominic Sandbrook and Tabby Syrett
Purcell Room
More info for The Three Ayatollahs: An Unbreakable Dynasty?
William Dalrymple and Anita Anand in front of an ornate background.
Literature & poetry

The Three Ayatollahs: An Unbreakable Dynasty?

The hosts of Empire and one of Britain's foremost experts on Iran look at a nation at a crossroads
Purcell Room
More info for We Have Ways of Making You Talk
Two men in blue shirts sit in front of an antique-style world map showing transatlantic communication lines, with one man having his arms crossed.
Literature & poetry

We Have Ways of Making You Talk

Don’t miss the world’s biggest World War Two podcast as it hits the London stage for the first time
Purcell Room
More info for Olivia Belli
A person in a white suit and loose black shirt stood against a metal wall
Gigs

Olivia Belli

The pianist known for her poetic compositions makes her Southbank Centre debut
Purcell Room
More info for Kevin Peter He: Vestige
A dancer arches backward on stage beneath a large digital projection of a leaping figure and a robotic arm sculpture.
Performance & dance

Kevin Peter He: Vestige

Two performers search for contact across stage and screen in a magnetic live dance-theatre work
Purcell Room
More info for Julianknxx & THABO: Bantutronic – Finding 15 Live
Two people in ceremonial white clothing stand on a path in a dense, green forest.
Performance & dance

Julianknxx & THABO: Bantutronic – Finding 15 Live

Narration, movement and live-scored music tracing Bantu and African diaspora histories and futures
Purcell Room
More info for Reimagining Shared Spaces: The Future of Housing
A photograph of a 70s block of flats with balconies.
Literature & poetry

Reimagining Shared Spaces: The Future of Housing

Come together with architects, community organisers and artists to reimagine the house as a home and true site of belonging
Purcell Room
Multi-buy
More info for The Future of Images in a Post-Truth Era
A piece of abstract artwork depicting the bust of a young boy in a collage style.
Literature & poetry

The Future of Images in a Post-Truth Era

An eye-opening talk on the politics, power and perspectives behind our visually saturated world
Purcell Room
Multi-buy
More info for Liane Moriarty: Big Little Truths
Liane Moriarty wearing a black jacket and white shirt against a black background
Literature & poetry

Liane Moriarty: Big Little Truths

Dig into some big little truths with the bestselling author as she discusses her new novel
Purcell Room
More info for Brutal(ism) Love and Hate
Black and white image of the Southbank Centre showcasing its brutalist architecture.
Literature & poetry

Brutal(ism) Love and Hate

Visionary design or concrete nightmare? A panel of experts tackle brutalism’s rise, fall and future
Purcell Room
More info for Vikki Heywood & Francis Spufford: Hidden London
Literature & poetry

Vikki Heywood & Francis Spufford: Hidden London

Unearth the hidden lives and forgotten acts of resilience and rebellion in 20th-century Britain
Purcell Room

View more events in What’s on

For your visit

Purcell Room Southbank Centre

The Purcell Room is located in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.

A seat in the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall with a dedication affixed  to it

Play a part in every performance

Name a seat in our Purcell Room and help support the next generation of artists and musicians.

Find out how to name your seat

While you’re with us

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