Skip to main content
Close up of a person with brown eyes wearing a blue shirt against a white background
View all events for category: Literature & poetry

Ekow Eshun: The Strangers

British-Ghanaian writer, editor and curator Ekow Eshun shares his remarkable new book about five extraordinary Black men – and the worlds that made them.

More details for Purcell Room
This event has passed

Ira Aldridge: trailblazing Shakespearean actor, playwright and abolitionist, acclaimed across nineteenth century Europe.
Matthew Henson: the first man ever to reach the North Pole, after eighteen years of successive attempts.
Frantz Fanon: revolutionary psychologist and political philosopher, a forefather of modern post-colonial theory.
Malcolm X: firebrand leader in the American civil rights movement, an icon in the fight for racial justice.
Justin Fashanu: gifted sportsman and notorious showman, the first professional footballer in the world to come out publicly as gay.

Separated by centuries and continents, what do these strangers have in common?

The Strangers tells their stories one by one: as pioneers who made history in their fields, and as sensitive, often solitary individuals moving through a hostile world.

And it locates them within the vibrant, restless, richly detailed landscape of Black art, culture, history and politics over the past several centuries.

Need to know

Age guidance
For ages 16+

For your visit

This event is held at the 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.

Concrete interior of Purcell Room entrance at Southbank Centre View larger image

Plan your visit

The Purcell Room is an auditorium located within our Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Getting here

Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.

The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues.  More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.

We’re cash-free

Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.

Access

We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.

All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.

All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.

Food & drink

From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.

Places to eat and drink whilst you’re here