Family things to do this Easter holidays at the Southbank Centre
The Easter holidays are upon us. Yes, already! We know, but don’t panic, we’ve plenty to keep the little ones entertained.
Because whilst we can’t halt the relentless passage of time, we can at least offer up ways to make the most of the days as they rush past. In the coming weeks we’ve a host of activities and events for little ones, including performances, stories, music, singing, dancing and more. All of them taking place here in the heart of London, and a number of them completely free to enjoy.
What a performance
If you’re looking for some engrossing entertainment and a bit of a screen-break for your little ones then you’re in luck. We welcome two great performance pieces to the Southbank Centre over the Easter weekend, starting with Dragons & Mythical Beasts, a roarsome adventure which definitely you won’t want to myth. Myth. Like miss. Get it? Oh you did. Anyway, this award-winning West End show invites brave heroes to enter into a magical fantastical world and discover a huge troll, an adorable unicorn and a not-all-that-sweet tooth fairy. Just don’t wake the dragon. You can see Dragons & Mythical Beasts in our Queen Elizabeth Hall, 3 – 7 April.
If you’re after something a little less bombastic, but undoubtedly gymnastic, then head to our Purcell Room for Plastic Drastic Fantastic. This dance theatre show from Akademi, performed on 6 and 7 April, explores our relationship with plastic, from its many fantastic uses, to the drastic effect it can have on our environment. This non-verbal performance draws on South Asian dance tradition to tell the story purely through movement and gestures.
Book now for Dragons & Mythical Beasts
Book now for Plastic Drastic Fantastic
Stories brought to life
If you’ve got budding bookworms on your hands, we’ve two inspirational events just for them on 4 April. In the morning the award-winning poet and writer Raymond Antrobus and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max are with us in our Queen Elizabeth Hall to share their new picture book. Terrible Horses is an evocative story about sibling dynamics, about managing anger and learning to understand other people’s perspectives, and whilst Antrobus reads Wilson-Max brings the tale to life with live illustration.
By comparison Jane Eyre might not be the obvious choice of book to offer up for the kids, but when it’s in the hands of master storyteller Patrice Lawrence it’s, well, a different story. Lawrence brings Charlotte Brontë’s beloved classic to life in our Purcell Room with a deftly abridged telling for younger readers, that also offers a new perspective for the grown-ups who’ve read and loved the original.
Book now for Raymond Antrobus and Ken Wilson-Max
Book now for Patrice Lawrence: Jane Eyre
Making a song and dance
We love to get into a good old groove at the Southbank Centre and we’ve a trio of free events to help us, and you, do just that over Easter. On 24 March join us in our Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer for A Celebration of Song as our Southbank Centre Youth Voices choir give a free performance with the help of some special guests.
If cutting a rug is more your style, then come along to a special family edition of our monthly Simmer Down on Good Friday. This daytime dance event presented with Tomorrow’s Warriors and DJs from Just Vibez invites everyone up onto the floor to move to some reggae rhythms. And on Sunday 7 April we’re out on the terrace for a springtime Ceilidh Jam with Folk Dance Remixed where you can move, groove and party through maypole dancing, ceilidh favourites and even street dance, all tied together with live beatboxing and a fiddle band.
More about A Celebration of Song
More about Simmer Down (Good Friday Family Special)
More about The Ceilidh Jam with Folk Dance Remixed
Magical music making
On 23 March we’re celebrating the 70th birthday of our Royal Festival Hall organ (Yes, organs do have birthdays). We’ve a trio of special concerts over that weekend to help mark the occasion, but first, in the morning, is the opportunity for you to get a special close up look at this huge instrument. At Duncan Chapman's Let's Build an Organ you’ll get to see what’s inside, and find out just how it works from the press of a key to the top of its hundreds of pipes.
Not quite taking place in the Easter holidays, but near enough for us to draw it to your attention without being too tenuous, we’ve another opportunity for curious young minds to experience musical instruments close-up. The musicians of the Multi-Story Orchestra join us for A Musical Journey, in our Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer on 13 April, in which you can find out about the instruments that intrigue you, before the orchestra’s musicians come together for a special performance.
Book now for Let’s Build an Organ
Book now for The Multi-Story Orchestra: A Musical Journey
Art and activities
Our latest Hayward Gallery exhibition is proving a hit with audiences of all ages. When Forms Come Alive presents work from 21 international artists that spans 60 years of contemporary sculpture. Their remarkable works drop from the ceiling and cascade down walls to capture the fluidity of movement in a physical form. On 26 March we’ve a special Relaxed Hours session where you can take in the sculptures in a more relaxed gallery environment.
If your little ones prefer to be out in the open then make sure you head up the yellow stairs to our Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden on 3 April when we celebrate the start of spring with, fittingly, In the Spring Garden. We’ll have artist-led activities, and performances, all taking place for free among the flowers and greenery. Pray for sunshine!
Book now for When Forms Come Alive
Book now for Relaxed Hours: When Forms Come Alive
More about In the Spring Garden
Grab a bite to eat
If you’ve visited recently you might have spied that we’re currently doing some work on our Royal Festival Hall’s Riverside Terrace Cafe, but there are still plenty of other places in and around our buildings to grab some much needed refreshment. Our fabulous food market is open from Friday every weekend, and at Easter that includes a bank holiday bonus of Easter Monday too! Here you’ll find a great variety of street food to satisfy every taste, from Pad Thai to Polish sausages, Crepes to Caribbean curries.
Our Concrete Cafe in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer is open daily, offering coffee and cake, and light bites including seasonal soups and sandwiches with plenty of vegan options. And we’ve a host of restaurants here at the Southbank Centre too, including family friendly favourites, Giraffe, Honest Burgers and Pret a Manger.
Check the food market opening times
Cafes, restaurants and bars at the Southbank Centre