The Royal Festival Hall’s Level 2 foyer spaces are currently being refurbished, as we work to bring you a brand new cafe, bar, shop and Ticket Office. Find out more

Han Kang: Greek Lessons

PAST EVENT
Accessible
Sun 23 Apr 2023, 7.45pm
Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Literature & poetry
From £15
past event
past event
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Han wears a black turtleneck and is pictured in side-profile. She's got cropped black hair and a fringe and is pictured outdoors standing against a white wall. Blue sky is visible in the top right corner of the image.
Courtesy of PRH

Han Kang, author of The Vegetarian, launches a powerful new novel about the saving grace of language and human connection, in conversation with Octavia Bright.

Greek Lessons tells the story of two ordinary people brought together at a moment of private anguish – the fading light of a man losing his vision meeting the silence of a woman who has lost her language.

Yet these are the very things that draw them to one another. Slowly the two discover a profound sense of unity, their voices intersecting with startling beauty, as they move from darkness to light, from silence to expression.

Greek Lessons is a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection, a novel to awaken the senses, vividly conjuring the essence of what it means to be alive.

Han Kang was born in 1970 in South Korea. In 1993 she made her literary debut as a poet and was first published as novelist in 1994.

She won the Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian and was shortlisted for The White Book, alongside her translator, Deborah Smith.

Han has also won the Yi Sang Literary Prize, the Today's Young Artist Award and the Manhae Literary Prize.

Need to know

Age recommendation

For ages 16+

This event is Speech-to-Text transcribed (STT).

You can join our free Access Scheme through your online Southbank Centre account or via email.
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Dates & times

Sun 23 Apr 2023, 7.45pm
Approximate run time: 1 hour 30 mins.
Run times may vary by up to 20 minutes as they can be affected by last-minute programme changes, intervals and encores.

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.

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Venue

Purcell Room

Our number one priority is the health and wellbeing of our visitors and staff. 

Check here for our current guidance

Open 90 minutes before an event until the end of the event. Closed at all other times.

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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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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.

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Your e-ticket will be sent to you seven days before the event date from [email protected]. If you don't receive your e-ticket, and it's not in your junk or spam folder, please get in touch. 

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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.

Frequently asked questions

Get an overview of the seating layout of the Purcell Room by downloading our seating plan.

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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.

Download step-free access map

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