Ellah P Wakatama x Space Afrika x Alistair MacKinnon
Futuristic dub techno from Space Afrika meets readings selected by legendary editor Ellah P Wakatama in an evening exploring the Black experience through a fantastic lens.
Musical duo Space Afrika presents a newly commissioned score in a performance that intersects with the live readings, weaving a sonic narrative that opens a dialogue between past, present and future.
Editor, writer and literary critic Wakatama’s chosen texts encompass both refractions of the past and dreams of possible futures, taking in the radically utopian, the strange and the mythical.
The event features work from authors who draw on African folklore, including Chigozie Obioma, Chinua Achebe and Afia Atakora, through to the experience of the diaspora in the works of writers including Ralph Ellison and WEB DuBois, and the Afrofuturism of contemporary speculative fiction.
The evening takes place against a backdrop of digital landscapes created by visual artist Alistair MacKinnon.
With live readings performed by actors Anni Domingo, Fisayo Akinade, Bridget Marumo and Tonderai Munyevu, this event is staged by Jack McNamara and Tian Brown-Sampson, and invites audiences on a journey In the Black Fantastic.
Need to know
For ages 16+
Dates & times
Price
- Standard entryFrom £15*
- Concessions25%**
* Excludes £3.50 booking fee.
Book as early as you can to ensure the best choice of tickets. Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
** 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.
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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.
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More information
Find out all you need to know about tickets, including concessions, group bookings, returns, credit vouchers 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 phone outside the Changing Places toilet will connect you with a member of staff, who can provide you with the key. 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.
Please bear with us while we update our access map to reflect the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall’s Level 2 foyer spaces. The step-free routes remain the same.