James Comey: Westport

Thu 25 Jul, 7.45pm
Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Literature & poetry
From £30
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Author James Comey wearing a black long sleeved shirt
Courtesy of James Comey

Former head of the FBI, and New York Times bestselling author James Comey presents his gripping new legal thriller, Westport, in conversation with Denise Mina.

Lawyer Nora Carleton must clear her name when she is accused of the murder of her colleague at Saugatuck Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund.

Calling in old colleagues from the US Attorney’s office, Nora must find evidence to prove her innocence, or risk being put behind bars herself.

James Comey was born in New York City and attended the College of William and Mary, and Chicago Law School. He worked as an assistant district attorney in New York, prosecuting organised crime figures, and worked on terrorism cases as assistant DA in Virginia.

He served as the seventh Director of the FBI from 2013 until May 9 2017, when he was dismissed by President Donald Trump.

Join us for this rare opportunity to hear from a writer whose novels are ‘brimming with been-there-done-that authority’ (Michael Connelly), in conversation with crime writer Denise Mina.

Denise Mina is the author of the Garnethill trilogy, the Paddy Meehan series and the Alex Morrow series, as well as historical novels Rizzio and Three Fires. She has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award twice and was inducted into the Crime Writers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2014. Mina has also written plays and graphic novels, and presented television and radio programmes. She lives and works in Glasgow.

Need to know

Age recommendation

For ages 16+

Each ticket includes a copy of Westport by James Comey (RRP £20). The book must be collected on the night of the event, as we’re unable to distribute copies afterwards.

Dates & times

Thu 25 Jul, 7.45pm
Approximate run time: 1 hour 45 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 £30*
  • 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. 

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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. Please visit the Welcome Desk on Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, where a member of staff can provide you with the key. You can also use the phone next to the Changing Places toilet to speak to a member of staff. 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