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

Helen Oyeyemi: Trying

PAST EVENT
Multi-buy
Sun 22 Oct 2023, 7.45pm
Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Literature & poetry
From £15
past event
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Helen is photographed at a 3 quarter angle to the camera. She wears a white skater dress and is photographed against a black background.
courtesy of Faber

Hear the annual New Statesman/Goldsmiths Prize lecture, a chance for writers to offer personal manifestos on the art of fiction – this time, from Helen Oyeyemi.

For her talk, the international bestselling, prize-winning novelist draws on a body of work characterised by a quality she most values in the work of her favourite writers, ‘a tendency to invite you on wild voyages of meaning that make the heart, brain and funny bone happy.’

After the lecture, Oyeyemi takes part in a Q&A with author Erica Wagner.

Helen Oyeyemi is part of this year’s judging panel for the Goldsmiths Prize, an award celebrating fiction that breaks the mould.

This event is presented in partnership with the Goldsmiths Prize and The New Statesman.

Need to know

Age recommendation

For ages 16+

This event is also available to watch online.
Find out more

Dates & times

Sun 22 Oct 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.

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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Multi-buy discount

London Literature Festival 2023

As part of our London Literature Festival multi-buy offer, book for two or more London Literature Festival events in the same transaction to receive a 20% discount.

Discounts apply to selected events. Look out for the multi-buy label to see which events are included.

See all events in our London Literature Festival multi-buy offer

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.

See the opening times for all our venues

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.

 Visit our Getting here page

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.

If you don't receive your e-ticket

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.

Download 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.

Download step-free access map

More about Access & facilities