Southbank Centre – Your culture fix
Louis Theroux in conversation and the playlist to Nile Rodgers’ Meltdown festival.
Stop in the name of art
Maybe you’ve completed every jigsaw puzzle you own, paired up all your socks and watched every film to ever win an Academy Award for Best Picture. Or maybe you haven’t had a moment’s peace since the start of lockdown and you want to really make the most of the next five minutes.
Luckily for you, we’ve enlisted the help of some especially entertaining art-makers to take you out of the daily grind. Read something new with Louis Theroux, hear a composer’s reveal from Hannah Peel or dance with your lodgers to Nile Rodgers. Our email is your oyster.
explore stories →Good questions
Southbank Centre Book Podcast: Louis Theroux in conversation
It was documentary maker Louis Theroux’s turn to open up when he appeared in conversation here in autumn 2019. In this podcast marking the publication of Gotta Get Theroux This, Theroux discusses his interviewing techniques, remaining calm under pressure and how he feels about people getting a tattoo of his face.
listen now →A laugh a minute
Comedy in lockdown
It’s a bit of a mystery why people laugh, but scientists have observed that it’s a crucial human experience. Apparently, babies laugh before they can speak, couples who share a chuckle stay together longer, and it’s really, really hard to watch someone laughing and not join in. We challenge you to try it with our latest comedy picks.
read now →Across the universe
Video: Hannah Peel on her composition Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia
Many of us can’t venture very far outside right now, but why not get inspired by composer Hannah Peel’s intergalactic journey of the imagination? In this video, the electronic artist and composer guides us through her dreamy composition about an elderly stargazer.
watch now →Get on down
Playlist: Nile Rodgers’ Meltdown
Freak out with this playlist featuring funk-fuelled tracks from last year’s Meltdown festival. Clear some space on the floor and do the hustle to the likes of CHIC, Eurythmics and Thundercat. A disco ball is optional, but highly recommended.
listen now →I spy
Five things to know about Zohra Opoku
If you were to take a walk around the Southbank Centre today, you might catch a glimpse of Zohra Opoku’s self-portrait Rhododendron (2015) on one of our billboards. Who is the artist half hidden beneath the leaves of a tree and what would she like us to know? Here’s our introduction to her work.
read now →see all storiesChoose your own adventure
Culture Picks
If you could pick anyone to be confined with in lockdown, who would it be? Okay, our Charles Dickens hologram is still in the works, but we do have our resident culture experts poised to entertain you, with their selection of the most diverting content available online. Look out for a kids’ beatboxing class and some unlikely theatrical gore.
read now →Play it by ear
Make music and move in lockdown with Kinetika Bloco
There’s no need to practise by yourself when you have this selection of musical activities for kids, teens and young adults, chosen by a group of young musicians and dancers. We like the sound of the app that invites your friends to join you for a jam.
read now →Make tracks
Plug in for toe-tapping music
Missing the sweet sound of your colleagues’ voices? Try one of our playlists to fill the silence or to accompany your lunchtime dance around the room. We’ve got mixtapes hand-picked by Joan As Police Woman, Marius Neset and Susheela Raman, to name a few.
listen now →Lend us an ear
Learn something new with our podcasts
Our podcast series features conversations with great writers, comedians, thinkers and musicians. Consider women on the page with Roxane Gay, spend an evening with Roger Daltrey or mull mental health and creativity with Matt Haig and Jordan Stephens.