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QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL
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See
www.southbankcentre.co.uk for all the details.
Events include:
Spring Season 2013
Friday 31 May 2013, 7.30pm
MERYL TANKARD’S THE ORACLE – UK PREMIERE
£20, £15 £10
Southbank Centre will stage the UK premiere of The Oracle by acclaimed
Australian choreographer Meryl Tankard, a long-time star of Pina Bausch’s
Tanztheater Wuppertal. Inspired by the groundbreaking first performance of
Nijinski’s choreography for Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which caused an
audience riot when first performed on 29 May 1913, The Oracle will mark this
centenary when it comes to London direct from a US tour. This sensual and
intense dance work, featuring soloist Paul White, explores the conflicting
forces of nature and man, masculinity and femininity, violence and nurture,
strength and vulnerability. Southbank Centre also presents the Philarmonia
Orchestra’s Rite of Spring conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in Royal Festival
Hall on Thursday 30 May. Tickets are available to members on Wednesday 6
February and go on general release on Thursday 7 February.
_________________________________________________
Wednesday 10th until Wednesday 31st July 2013
Press Night: Thursday 11th July 2013
Cirque Alfonse present:
TIMBER!
A circus show featuring a family from the remote forests of Québec, who
juggle axes and perform daring aerial acrobatics and stunts with lumberjack
saws, alongside clog-dancing, tight-rope walking, cooking, vegetable
chopping and story-telling. Timber! is set to traditional music, with
fiddles, banjos, a jaw harp and rowdy singing as the live accompaniment to
this daredevil, heart-warming show.
Cirque Alfonse is made up of three generations of one Québecois family –
66-year-old Grandfather and amateur clown Alain Carabinier, his two
children, Antoine, 32, and Julie, 29, who are a trained circus acrobat and a
trained dancer respectively, Julie’s partner Jonathan, 32, a trained circus
acrobat who has performed in Cirque Du Soleil’s Love, and their 2-year-old
son, Arthur. The family are supported by live musicians, two of whom are
friends of the family who grew up in villages nearby. Members of Cirque
Alfonse have worked with some of the world’s most renowned companies
including Cirque du Soleil, Cirkus Cirkör and les 7 doigts de la main.
The company hail from an area rich in roots music, call-and-response
singing, fiddle and banjo playing and traditional dance. The show is steeped
in the folklore, traditions and aesthetic of Québec’s lumberjack, logging
and farming heritage. Music is at the heart of the show – with traditional
songs mixed with new numbers composed by violinist David Simard and David
Boulanger, of hit Québecois folk band La Bottine Souriante. The action is
set in a lumber-camp, where there is merriment and mischief on an outhouse
and the company juggle and chop vegetables at high speed for the family stew
pot. Beards, muscles, checked lumberjack shirts and long-johns abound, and
staying true to their roots, the axes, saws and knives used in the show are
genuine and sharpened and the cast don’t wear steel toe-capped boots or any
protection other than gloves. Taking authenticity to new heights, when
Cirque Alfonse rehearse in their unheated Québecois barn, they saw wood as a
warm-up to their rehearsals.
The story of how the family circus troupe was formed is a charming one. When
grandfather Alain Carabinier was growing up in Switzerland in the 1950s, his
dream was to run away with the circus. Instead he became a champion skier,
then travelled round the world as something of a hippy, meeting and falling
in love with his future wife when he was horse riding in Ecuador. The couple
returned to her native Montréal and settled on a farm in the woods of rural
Québec where they had two children; Antoine and Julie. Alain coached the
local football team and the children grew up putting on little plays as
fundraisers, eventually going on to train professionally in circus and
dance.
As a 60th birthday present for their father, and as a thank you present for
the hours he spent ferrying them to and from circus and dance school, the
siblings created a circus show for Alain to star in, which was performed in
2006 under a big top in their local village. Alain finally got to run away
with the circus in his 60s. He had never been on stage before in his life.
As a surprise, all his friends and family travelled from Switzerland to
Québec to see the show, and it was such a success that Cirque Alfonse was
born. The family named the company after the village near their farm: Saint
Alphonse-Rodriguez. The siblings’ mother, Alain’s wife, Louise Lépine, has
also come out of retirement to look after the finances and be the tour
manager for the company, and babysitter for Arthur.
Timber! comes to Southbank Centre after its world premiere at the Montréal
Completely Circus Festival in 2011, and extensive touring in Québec,
Switzerland and France. A programme of participatory workshops will run
alongside the Southbank Centre shows.
Timber! is part of Southbank Centre’s Festival of Neighbourhood
with MasterCard this summer from 4th May to 8th September. The festival
will celebrate neighbourhood in all its meanings and explore what it is to
have and be a neighbour. Communities who live close by and partners from
across the UK and abroad will participate in creating the festival – from
nearby Elephant and Castle in South London to young people from Pelhourino
in Salvador, Brazil – with a diverse programme of events including poetry,
discussion, visual arts, performance and art installations across Southbank
Centre’s 21-acre site.
Suitable for ages 9 and over.
Cast and Crew:
Alain Carabinier, clown
Antoine Carabinier-Lépine, acrobat (Trained at Montréal National Circus
School, Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize, Les 7 doigts de la main/The Seven
Fingers, Cirkus Cirkör)
Julie Carabinier-Lépine, dancer and singer (Trained at Montréal School of
Contemporary Dance, Circus Knie)
Jonathan Casaubon, acrobat (Trained at Montréal National Circus School,
Cirque du Soleil, Les 7 doigts de la main/The Seven Fingers, Circus Knie)
Arthur Casaubon, acrobat
Matias Salmenaho, acrobat (Trained at Kiev National School of Circus, Cirkus
Cirkör, Cirque Aïtal)
Josianne Laporte, banjo-player, accordion-player, percussionist, jaw-harp
player, harmonica player (Cirque Eloize)
André Gagné, guitarist
David Simard violinist, composer
David Boulanger composer
Alain Francoeur, director (Trained at Montréal National Circus School,
Cirque Eloize)
Nicolas Descôteaux, Lighting and set designer (Robert Lepage, Cirque du
Soleil, Cirque Eloize)
Lionnel Dechamps, sound and technical director
Jean-Louis ‘Jello’ Robert, lighting operator
Performance Times and Dates:
7.30pm: 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31 July 2013.
4pm: 14, 21, 28 July 2013.
2pm: 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 31 July 2013.
Runs 1 hour 30 minutes approximately with no interval.
Seat Prices:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday: £30, £22.50, £15.
Friday and Saturday: £32, £24.50, £17.
Concessions 50% off (limited availability).
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Saturday 10th August until Sunday 1st September 2013
Press Night: Wednesday 14th August 2013
ZooNation present the world premiere of a Southbank Centre commission:
GROOVE ON DOWN THE ROAD
written and directed by Kate Prince
Kate Prince and her award-winning dance company ZooNation return to Southbank
Centre following their 2010 hit show Into The Hoods with the world premiere of
Groove on Down the Road (10 – 31 August 2013). The company behind Some Like It
Hip Hop give their unique twist to the classic story of The Wizard of Oz, which
comes to the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of Southbank Centre’s Festival of
Neighbourhood with MasterCard.
Set in a fantastical urban world, ZooNation’s Groove On Down The Road tells the
story of Dorothy and her adventures with Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion on
their journey to Oz. The audience join Dorothy, complete with ruby sneakers, and
friends in this hip-hop dance production as they follow the yellow brick road in
a quest to find happiness and family.
Written and directed by Kate Prince and commissioned by Southbank Centre, the
production will include music from the 1978 film The Wiz, re-mixed with current
hits by DJ Walde. The Wiz starred Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, with Quincy
Jones overseeing the film’s music adaptation including the tracks Ease On Down
The and You Can’t Win. The film celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.
The cast of Groove On Down The Road is made up of young dancers from across the
UK, all under the age of 19, showcasing the exceptional talent of ZooNation’s
next generation of dancers. The role of Dorothy will be shared by two 11-year
old dancers, Arizona Snow and Portia Oti.
Kate Prince said:
"Working with the ZooNation Academy of Dance is the highlight of my week. I
oversee their training every Saturday and they never fail to amaze me with how
much they know and are capable of at such a young age. They have been born into
an environment where access to hip hop dance and culture is at the simple touch
of a button and they are saturated with information. As a result they are a
whole new breed of dancers who have a raw, authentic and fearless skill and
passion for dance. They give our adult company a run for their money! We better
watch our backs."
ZooNation Dance Company was founded by Kate Prince in 2002. They are the
creators of the award-winning West End shows Into The Hoods (the first ever hip
hop dance show to open in the West End) and Some Like It Hip Hop (about to open
it's third season for 9 weeks at the Peacock Theatre). In 2010 ZooNation became
a Resident Company at Sadler's Wells and Kate Prince became an Associate Artist.
ZooNation Dance Company has performed at major events including the 2008 Beijing
Olympic and Paralympic Handover Ceremonies, Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday
Celebrations in Hyde Park and the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards.
ZooNation also runs a youth company (ZYC) with dancers aged from 8 - 18 years
and an academy, ZooNation Academy of Dance (ZAD), where over 150 students aged
from 4 - 21 years train weekly. The dancers for the youth company are selected,
through an audition process, from the very best students at ZAD. They come from
many different areas of the UK including London, Stoke, Manchester, Norwich,
Oxford, and Brighton.
www.zoonation.co.uk is the company
website.
Tickets go on sale to Southbank Centre Members on 1st May and to the general
public on 3rd May 2013.
Cast:
Dorothy - Arizona Snow and Portia Oti
Toto – Michael McNeish
Scarecrow – Jaih Betote Diptio
Tin Man – Michael Ureta
Lion – Corey Culverwell
Wicked Witch of the West – Annie Edwards
Performance Times and Dates:
7.30pm: 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31 August
2013; 1 September 2013.
2pm: 10, 14, 17, 18, 21, 24, 28, 31 August 2013.
Seat Prices:
Previews 10th until 13th August 2013: £27, £17, £10
Sunday to Thursday: £30, £20, £10
Friday and Saturday: £32, £22, £10
Concessions 50% off (limited availability).
_____________________________________________________
Saturday 4th May until Sunday 8th September 2013
SUMMER 2013: FESTIVAL OF NEIGHBOURHOOD
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/neighbourhood
A summer-long celebration of neighbourhoods and communities
The site transformed into a neighbourhood with allotments and fruit trees, a
local pub, large-scale murals, flags created by Bob and Roberta Smith and a
complete Beanotown.
Programme highlights include: the UK premiere of lumberjacks-inspired circus
show Timber!; the world premiere of ZooNation’s Groove On Down The Road;
Yoko Ono’s Meltdown; and the Hayward Gallery’s Alternative Guide to the
Universe.
Themed weekends throughout the summer, from a celebration of street culture
to a village fair.
What makes a good neighbourhood and what does it mean to live side by side?
This summer, Southbank Centre’s Festival of Neighbourhood with MasterCard
will celebrate the idea of neighbourhood and explore the concept of what
makes a good neighbourhood and what it means to be a good neighbour. Local
communities and partners from across the UK and abroad will participate in
creating the festival – from Lambeth and Brixton in South London to artists
and young people from Pelhourino in Salvador, Brazil – with a wide-ranging
programme of themed weekends, performances, talks, outdoor art installations
and urban greenery across Southbank Centre’s 21-acre site. The outdoor
festival landscape opens on 1st June 2013.
Jude Kelly, Artistic Director, Southbank Centre, said: “Last summer
Southbank Centre ‘hosted the world’ in order to celebrate the ideals of the
Olympics and Paralympics. This year we focus on neighbourhoods; both our own
– telling the story of Southbank Centre as a neighbourhood, a place of
intimacy, friendship and community – and others farther afield. Festival of
Neighbourhood will be a space for artists and visitors to ask what it means
to live side by side and will explore if, why and how we want to support
community endeavours and a sense of belonging. This exploration will be made
possible through collaboration with hundreds of artists and organisations
and thousands of participants of all ages. I’d like to thank all the
partners who have this possible, in particular MasterCard for generously
supporting the festival.”
From 1 June 2013 visitors will feel that they have stepped into a
neighbourhood as Southbank Centre is transformed with neighbourly activity,
greenery and colour. Neighbourly pop-ups will include a fruit and veg stall
by The Cherry Berry Company, a traditional pie shop brought to Southbank
Centre by Hartland Pies and designed by RIBA students, and the
community-based cycling cafe Look Mum No Hands!, in addition to weekly
markets. The riverside Queen’s Walk in front of the Royal Festival Hall will
see the return of the popular urban beach – this year taking the shape of a
miniature town in the sand – and be home to allotments created from
reclaimed wood and windows in collaboration with award-winning London-based
landscape practice Wayward Plants. The allotment project, Queen’s Walk
Window Gardens, will provide opportunities for volunteers and communities to
be involved in building and tending to plants. More areas of the site will
be blooming with flowers and greenery and provide volunteering
opportunities: the Queen Elizabeth Hall roof plants, created in partnership
with the Eden Project and cared for by Providence Row, will be expanded to
include a shade garden; the Festival Terrace connecting Waterloo with the
river will be lined with more than 20 mature fruit trees in a collaboration
with the National Trust; there will a trail of 60 wheelbarrows planted as
mini gardens; and on the Riverside Terrace there will be a herb garden, with
its produce being used in the food served by the Royal Festival’s Hall’s
cafe run by Company of Cooks.
New outdoor art installations include Grow Your Own Ideas, a series of flags
adorning the roof of the Royal Festival Hall by artist Bob and Roberta
Smith, with questions that will encourage people to think about the meaning
of neighbourhood; large-scale murals on the facade of the Queen Elizabeth
Hall by acclaimed mural artists, including ROA, Bread Collective, Grems and
Phlegm; the creation of large topiary-like figures – one depicting two
people sweeping, a tribute to the volunteers who helped clean up London
after the riots in August 2011 – on Jubilee Gardens and overlooking Waterloo
Bridge by Pirate Technics, the artists who created Susan the Fox in 2011;
the return of Jeppe Heine’s Appearing Rooms fountain; poetry installations
across the site; and a Bell Tower created by architecture collective The
Decorators.
Communities local to Southbank Centre will be celebrated as part of Festival
of Neighbourhood, with an exhibition dedicated to Lambeth, created in
collaboration with The Building Exploratory, in the Spirit Level of Royal
Festival Hall (25 May – 8 September) and special weekends celebrating
Lambeth & Brixton (13 – 14 July) and Deptford (27 – 28 July), as well as
Vauxhall in collaboration with Vauxhall-based Duckie (10 – 11 August).
Looking further afield and building on Southbank Centre’s ongoing
relationship with artistic communities in Brazil, the festival will also
include a weekend dedicated to the historic neighbourhood and UNESCO World
Heritage site of Pelourinho in the city of Salvador, Bahia, which will bring
a carnival atmosphere to the South Bank with Afro-Brazilian dancing and an
all female drumming group (17 – 18 August). Prior to welcoming Pelô artists
to London, Southbank Centre will in June be collaborating with the local
artists to stage Southbank Centre in Pelourinho, a one day festival taking
place on 15 June.
Celebrating the 75th birthday of The Beano, Festival Village in the
undercroft of the Queen Elizabeth Hall will be transformed into Beanotown -
an imaginary neighbourhood – in a collaboration of The Beano publisher DC
Thomson and HemingwayDesign. The fictional home town of Dennis the Menace
will feature a museum showcasing, for the very first time, The Beano’s
archive and previously untold stories dating back to wartime Britain. There
will be opportunities to get creative with comic drawing sessions expertly
lead by The Beano’s illustrators and to visit the ‘Prank You Very Much’
stage where you can learn the history of The Beano pranks before unleashing
them on your unsuspecting mates or parents. The Beano Social Club will host
fun and games including ‘Table Dennis’, our very own version of Table
Tennis, and themed food including ‘The Beano Breville Bar’ where you can
make your own toasted sandwiches.
Other Festival of Neighbourhood programme highlights include:
· Chorus (4 – 6 May) – a mass-sing of Jerusalem (4 May at 1pm) will ring in
the festival with more than 120 events exploring how signing brings
communities together.
· Udderbelly (until 14 July) – the purple cow is back for its fifth summer
with a programme of comedy, circus and family shows, and this year featuring
The Neighbourhood Arms on its pasture.
· London Wonderground (6 May – 29 September) returns for a second summer of
circus, cabaret and sideshows, including LIMBO (10 May – 23 September), a
new show of scintillating circus and wondrous illusion from the creators of
last year's smash hit Cantina.
· London Literature Festival (20 May – 5 June) – with more than 100 events,
it is the largest to date, and this year London will take centre stage
through a special series of events, including London walks (and runs),
writer Craig Taylor returning with One Million Tiny Plays About London, and
award-winning author China Miéville unearthing some of London’s lesser known
literary visionaries. The start of Festival of Neighbourhood will be marked
with a keynote conversation with Richard Sennett, examining the art of
cooperation and living side by side.
· The Alternative Guide to the Universe at the Hayward Gallery (11 June – 1
September) presents maverick creations by outsider artists. This major
summer show brings together contributions from self-taught artists and
architects, fringe physicists, street artists, dreamers and visionary
engineers. Eccentric and inspiring, their work ingeniously departs from
accepted ways of thinking in order to re-imagine the rules of culture and
science.
· Worldwide cultural icon Yoko Ono brings a lifetime of achievement in
music, visual art and peace activism to Southbank Centre. Yoko Ono’s
Meltdown (14 – 23 June) will be led by the artist’s dedication to music
across all genres, environmentalism, feminism and peace, and feature iconic
names from the world of music and arts, including Siouxsie, Peaches, Reggie
Watts, Patti Smith and Iggy and the Stooges.
· Differently-themed weekends throughout the summer, including Inbetweeners
(10 – 13 July), focusing on the sub-cultures and tribes who live on the
outskirts of society curated by drag artist Dickie Beau and featuring Le
Gateaux Chocolat; and Urban – A Festival of Street Culture (3 – 4 August),
exploring the world of skateboarding, BMX, parkour, street dance, graffiti
and basketball.
· A number of shows across the summer, including the UK premiere of Timber!
by Cirque Alfonse – three generations of a family circus troupe from Québec
(8 – 31 July); the world premiere of Groove On Down The Road by Kate Prince
and her award-winning dance company ZooNation (10 – 31 August) and
L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres perform Tom Waits (2 – 7 July), a colourful
tribute spectacle to the world of Waits using 100 objects and invented
instruments.
· One Bowl Feast (7 – 8 September) – marking the grand finale of Southbank
Centre’s Festival of Neighbourhood, Clare Patey will curate a weekend of
sharing food, dancing and making merry. In 2011 Clare Patey curated ‘Feast
on the Bridge’, which transformed Southwark Bridge into a giant banqueting
space.
MERYL TANKARD’S THE ORACLE: UK PREMIERE
Friday 31 May, 7.30pm, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, £20, £15 £10,
concessions 50% off (limited availability)
Southbank Centre stages the UK premiere of The Oracle by acclaimed Australian
choreographer Meryl Tankard, a long-time star of Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater
Wuppertal. Inspired by the groundbreaking first performance of Nijinski’s
choreography and set to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which caused an
audience riot when first performed on 29 May 1913, The Oracle will mark the
centenary when it comes to London direct from a US tour. This sensual and
intense dance work, featuring soloist Paul White, explores the conflicting
forces of nature and man, masculinity and femininity, violence and nurture,
strength and vulnerability. There is a post show discussion after the
performance. Southbank Centre also presents the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Rite of
Spring conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 30 May.
ALEXEI SAYLE
Thursday 4 – Friday 5 July, 7.30pm, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall,
£22.50, £17.50, concessions 50% off (limited availability)
Alexei Sayle, the self-styled ‘inventor of alternative comedy’, has burst back
onto the comedy circuit with his first full-length solo stand-up show in over 16
years. After his hit come-back performances at Soho Theatre, Sayle brings his
infamous and irreverent blend of political vitriol to Southbank Centre.
STANDARDS BY PIERRE RIGAL
PART OF URBAN ARTS WEEKEND
Sunday 4 August, 7pm, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, £20, £15, £10
Following his performances of Game Over in May 2012, Pierre Rigal returns to
Southbank Centre with a stunning piece that uses hip-hop to examine the concept
of national identity. Performing on a stage bathed in the red, white and blue of
the French flag, like urban warriors, eight dancers, krump, lock, pop and break,
exploring the many meanings of this powerful symbol of identity and how a person
can remain individual in a society that asks us to conform. Driven by the
intense energy of his brilliant young hip-hop dancers, Pierre Rigal has created
a compelling dance theatre experience.
RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER BY TIGER LILLIES
Thursday 5 – Sunday 8 September, 7.30pm on 5 – 7 September, 6.30pm on 8
September, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, £30, £25, £20, concessions
50% off (limited availability)
The Tiger Lillies’ genre-defying brand of other-worldly vocals and unnerving
performance style has carved them a unique niche in the cabaret and musical
theatre scene. After a hit run of Hamlet at Southbank Centre in 2012, the cult
creators of the award-winning Shockheaded Peter now stage another adaptation of
a macabre classic. This visceral repackaging of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
takes Coleridge’s tale of the sinister and supernatural and adds its own dash of
music-hall panache and sometimes shocking perspective. The band’s flamboyant
live performance is enhanced by large-scale virtual sets designed by visual
artist Mark Holthusen that create an immersive and highly atmospheric
environment. Across 25 songs and interludes, the legend of the Ancient Mariner
unfolds as uncompromising musical and visual melodrama. The performances at
Southbank Centre follow the UK premiere at Brighton Festival on 23 May 2013 and
the release of their The Rime of the Ancient Mariner album to accompany the
show.
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The monkey advises checking performance times on your tickets and
that performances are happening as scheduled, before travelling.
Varies by event, see www.rfh.org.uk
for details.
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Venue Box Office:
www.rfh.org.uk.
Their own site
provide the service for this venue.
A brilliant box office system lets you select the actual seat you
require AND see the view from it before you confirm! If only all
systems were like that, thinks the monkey...before realising it
would become redundant..Booking fees per ticket for online bookings:
A £1.75 per booking, not per seat, fee is charged. Other Online Choices (with
S.T.A.R. genuine ticket
agencies):
Independent S.T.A.R. ticket agencies
may also offer an alternative choice of seats.
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Box Office Information: |
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Tickets offered differ between outlets. Outlets also may offer
different seats via their phone and online systems. Offers may be
available click here. |
Venue Box Office:
Telephone: 0844
847 9911
Operated by the venue itself.Booking fees per ticket for telephone bookings:
By Telephone: A fee of £2.75 per booking is added to the total cost of
tickets for telephone bookings. The Royal National Theatre next door
charge less - the Royal Festival Hall must have their own
postal zone to account for the difference.
For personal callers or by post: South Bank Centre Ticket Office,
London, SE1 8XX
No booking fee for personal callers.
By post, an "Upper Limit" cheque should be mailed to the box office.
They do not want credit card details sent to them.
Special Access Needs Customers:
Wheelchair users and other registered disabled
theatregoers can book their seats on 0844 847 9911 and enquire about
concessionary prices that may be available to them.
The wheelchair users line connects
directly to the venue box office in London.
See Notes.
www.rfh.org.uk
is the
official theatre website. |
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Venue Seat Opinions: |
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Please remember that cheaper seats often do not offer the same view /
location quality as top price ones, and that ticket prices are designed to
reflect this difference. NOTE: This advice is based on "First Impressions" and readers are asked to
contribute their own opinions in order to build up a comprehensive picture -
contact us. Extra detail will be added over the next few months
after events have taken place and views assessed.
www.ehouse.co.uk/virtualtours/ has a "virtual tour" of the
auditorium.
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| CHOIR
Layout:
These seats face the rest of the auditorium, behind the
orchestra.
Divided into centre and two side blocks, all seats offer excellent sound
and a good view of the conductor, but the backs of the heads of his
orchestra.
Rows are stepped.
Seats here are sold only if choir or stage performers do not need the
space.
Legroom:
Good in all seats for all but the tallest.
Row A usually has most space, as it is on stage level with nothing in
front of it.
Choosing Seats in General:
Sit here for a cheap and good value concert experience - front and
centre first.
General Hazard Notes:
The rest of the audience is facing you.
You may see only the backs of the performers.
Changes for the current production:
None.
Reader Comments:
None.
STALLS
Layout:
Divided into a central and two side blocks by aisles.
The front section has a gentle rake
(seats on steps to help see over rows in front)
between each row.
Legroom:
Good in all seats for all but the tallest. Most in central row B (for
non wheelchair users) and side row A when there is nothing in front of
it.
Choosing Seats in General:
All seats offer a good view of the stage and good sound.
Choose seats in the centre block, numbered 14 to 26, before the side
blocks when all seats in a row are the same price this maximises value
for money.
Wheelchair users get prime room at the front of the stalls.
General Hazard Notes:
None.
Changes for the current production:
None.
Reader Comments:
None.
REAR STALLS
Layout:
Divided into a central and two side blocks by aisles.
Steep rake, with steps between each row.
Legroom:
Good in all seats, best in rows A and AA.
Choosing Seats in General:
Rows BB to DD offer the best value.
Rear rows LL to QQ are some distance from the stage and are better value for
orchestral concerts than ballet or other visual events. For the latter, pay
the extra for the best view.
General Hazard Notes:
None.
Changes for the current production:
None.
Reader Comments:
None.
Notes
Total 880 seats approx.
Air-conditioned auditorium.
Guide dogs welcome, hearing loop, all documents available in large print.
Wheelchair access via stage door to decent seats in auditorium. Bring your
violin and steal the show. Users
get free car parking in centre car park. Unisex disabled toilet and two cubicles
with handrails in the ladies too. Fuller details call the venue on 0844 875 0073
(select option 2) or Artsline 020 7388 2227,
see www.artslineonline.com,
email artsline@dircon.co.uk, or call
the venue direct. A "venue access guide" from the team who created book "Theatremonkey: A Guide to London's West End ," is available to download in PDF format
by clicking here.
Café, Bars and toilets shared with the Purcell Room
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Nearest Underground Station:
Waterloo - Bakerloo Line (brown), Jubilee Line (silver gray), Northern Line
(black). Also a main line station.A PHOTOGRAPH ILLUSTRATED VERSION of this walking route is available by clicking
here.
This station has multiple exits, not clearly marked, so be careful! The best
route is as follows:
Follow the exit signs marked "South Bank" and / or "Shell
Exit" and / or "York Road Exit" from the platform to the surface.
All lead to the same place! Leave the station and you will be on York Road.
Turn to your left, and walk past the Lloyds / TSB Bank. Ahead to your left is
a huge silver steel rectangle. No, the monkey does not know what it is either.
To the left of it, and behind, is a pedestrian passageway called "Sutton
Walk"; which goes under a bridge. Take it, at the end is a fountain ahead of you.
You are now on "Concert Road
Approach". Turn to your left. The Royal Festival Hall is ahead of you. Walk
towards it. Go to the right hand side of it.
You are now in an area of grey concrete.
The Festival Hall is to your left,
a mass of balconies with open space below them to your right. On one of the
balconies, words spell out the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room.
Look to the left below them. Amongst the pillars are a pair of grey doors.
Cross the area to them and go in. Up the stairs is the foyer of the venue.
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If you have the misfortune to leave the station by the "Waterloo
Road" exit, fear not. You can either walk through Waterloo Station to the
York road exit, or take this alternative route - CONSIDER YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY
if you do so.
On leaving the glass doors, turn left. Walk to the corner, and turn left into
"Mepham Street". Walk all the way to the end of it, avoiding the
temptation to go under any bridges.
At the end of the street is York Road. Cross it. Ahead of you, to the left,
is "Sutton Walk", the pedestrian road under the bridge. Take it.
At the end is a fountain ahead of you. You are now on "Concert Road
Approach". Turn to your left. The Royal Festival Hall is ahead of you. Walk
towards it. Go to the right hand side of it.
You are now in an area of grey concrete. The Festival Hall is to your left,
a mass of balconies with open space below them to your right. On one of the
balconies, words spell out the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room.
Look to the left below them. Amongst the pillars are a pair of grey doors.
Cross the area to them and go in. Up the stairs is the foyer of the venue.
_____________
Another visitor suggest this route: Take the tube to the Embankment station
and walk across the Hungerford footbridge to the south bank, then
walk past the Festival Hall complex. Take the next staircase leading up.
The foyer entrance is at the top, to your right.
Noted are the "Gorgeous views both up and down river on a good day or
evening.". The monkey endorses this comment, especially at twilight!
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Buses:
1, 4, 68, X68, 168, 171, 176, 188, 501, 502, 513 to Waterloo Bridge.Get off on the Bridge and look for the triangular neon sculpture on the roof
of the Hayward Gallery, and the glass front of the Festival Hall. Take the
stairs on this side of the bridge down to the first level, not the ground. A
safe crossing of this bridge can be made by taking the stairs down to first
level and walking under it on a walkway linking the staircases either side of
the bridge.
On the correct side staircase, leave it, turn to your left and left again for
the combined entrance of the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room just along
the walkway.
Taxi:
A rank for Black taxis is at Waterloo Station - a fair distance from the
venue. Best chance of hailing one in the street is on Waterloo Bridge. |
Car Park:
Belvedere Road or The Hayward, both just next to the Festival Hall. Follow signs to the left as
you leave the car park. Take the stairs to the left up to the first level, turn
left at the top, you will be facing the side of the Festival Hall. Follow the
walkway around the side of the building. The Hayward Gallery is ahead of you. If
you see a railway bridge with pathways leading under it, wrong way.Remember to get your ticket validated at the venue box office for a
discounted parking rate in these car parks.
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