Out-Spoken: July
This month’s Out-Spoken blends the poetry of Tishani Doshi, Rebecca Goss and Momtaza Mehri with music from Emily Barker and Frank Hopkins.
Each monthly gig is hosted by TS Eliot and Polari Prize winner Joelle Taylor, with Sam 'Junior' Bromfield spinning the best in reggae, soul and R&B throughout the evening.
This event also serves as the unofficial launch party of Poetry International festival, which features global voices and responds to themes of the natural world and the climate crisis.
Tishani Doshi has published seven books of fiction and poetry, the most recent of which are a novel, Small Days and Nights, shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Award and a New York Times Bestsellers Editor’s Choice; and a collection of poems, A God at the Door, shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize 2021. For 15 years she worked as the lead dancer with the Chandralekha group in Madras, India.
Rebecca Goss is a poet, tutor and mentor living in Suffolk. Her second collection, Her Birth, was shortlisted for the 2013 Forward Prize for Best Collection and won the Poetry category in the East Anglian Book Awards 2013. Goss’ third collection, Girl, was shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards 2019. She is the winner of the Sylvia Plath Prize 2022. Her next collection, Latch, is published with Carcanet in 2023.
Momtaza Mehri is a poet and independent researcher working across criticism, translation, anti-disciplinary research practices, education and radio. She is a former Young People’s Laureate for London and Frontier-Antioch Fellow at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in POETRY, Granta and Vogue.
Emily Barker is a singer-songwriter best known as the writer and performer of the theme to the BBC crime drama Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh. Barker has released music as a solo artist and with bands including The Red Clay Halo, Vena Portae and Applewood Road. Her latest album is A Dark Murmuration of Words.
Frank Hopkins is a captivating electronic artist known for his blend of melodic dance music. With a passion for fusing real-world instruments with timeless dance floor arrangements, Hopkins crafts intricate compositions that are both delicate and tailor-made for unforgettable club nights.
Need to know
For ages 16+
This event is British Sign Language interpreted (BSL).
To book tickets for BSL interpretation, call us on 020 3879 9555 or email [email protected].
You can join our free Access Scheme through your online Southbank Centre account or via email.
Find out more about our Access Scheme
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Dates & times
Price
- Standard entry£12*
- 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.
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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.
Multi-buy discount
Book multiple events happening as part of Poetry International and receive a discount. The offer applies to all Poetry International events except Out – Spoken on Thursday 20 July.
Buy tickets for 2 events - get 10% off
Buy tickets for 3 events - get 20% off
Buy tickets for 4 events - get 30% off
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 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.