The Dark
A brave young boy befriends the darkness in a captivating and accessible performance, written for children aged five to ten.
Featuring vibrant new choreography and live music, The Dark is a universal, empowering story about facing your fears.
To help guide us through The Dark, the show was developed in partnership with researchers, medical practitioners, and blind and visually impaired children at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Southampton General.
Through a series of workshops, interviews and conversations, they explored the power of sound in space and the fear of the unknown.
Working with blind artists, audio description experts and dancers helped transform these ideas into a three-dimensional soundscape, and challenged the performers to rethink how their bodies move through dark or unknown spaces.
Need to know
For ages 5 – 10
A Touch Tour is available to ticket holders at 10am on Saturday 12 February (for the 11am show) and at 1pm on Sunday 13 February (for the 2pm show).
Touch Tours give people the opportunity to touch the sets, props and costumes to familiarise themselves ahead of the performance, and may be particularly useful to blind and partially-sighted visitors. For further information and to book, please email [email protected]
To join our free Access Scheme, email [email protected]
Find out more about our Access Scheme
Dates & times
Sat 12 & Sun 13 Feb, 11am & 2pm
Price
- Standard entryAdult £12, Child £9
- Concessions25%**
* Excludes £3.50 booking fee.
** Limited availability. Read about concessions.
Tickets can only be sold through the Southbank Centre and our authorised agents, and can't be resold. You can return your tickets to the Southbank Centre for a credit voucher up to 48 hours before the event. Tickets resold on any third-party platforms will become invalid.
Get presale tickets
Members get the first chance to book our entire programme of events, including go-down-in-history gigs, concerts with world-class orchestras, and talks from cultural icons and political giants.
Venue
Purcell Room
Our number one priority is the health and wellbeing of our visitors and staff.
Open 90 minutes before an event until the end of the event. Closed at all other times.
Our address is: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. The nearest tube and train stations within 5-7 minutes walk are Waterloo (Northern, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Waterloo & City lines) and Embankment (District & Circle lines). There are also lots of bus routes with stops 2-5 minutes from our venues. For more information on getting here by road, rail or river.
Pre-booking online is recommended. Check our website on the day for returns. There’s no need to print your e-ticket – just show your phone to our Visitor Assistants on entry.
Some free events don't require a ticket. Found an event labelled FREE on our website with no way to book? Simply turn up on the day.
Find out all you need to know about tickets, including concessions, group bookings, returns and more, via the link below.
Get an overview of the seating layout of the Purcell Room by downloading our seating plan.
Toilets
An accessible toilet is located in the foyer.
A Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1 Royal Festival Hall next to the JCB Glass Lift, for the exclusive use of disabled people who need personal assistance to use the toilet.
The facility includes a height-adjustable bench, tracking hoist system, a centrally-placed toilet, a height-adjustable basin and a shower. The key for this room is available from the Welcome Hub on Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. The facility is open daily 10am – 11pm.
Cloakroom
The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room cloakroom is closed. You won’t be able to bring any bags over 40 x 25 x 25cm into the venues, so please leave large bags at home.
We're cash-free
Please note that we're unable to accept cash payments across our site.
Purcell Room is located in Queen Elizabeth Hall. For step-free access please use Royal Festival Hall JCB glass lift to Level 2 and enter via Riverside Terrace.
Talk to a member of staff at the auditorium entrance if you have a disability that means you can’t queue, or you need extra time to take your seat. They can arrange priority entry for you as soon as the doors open.