While TED talks are a chance to hear from some of the world’s most influential figures and learn about a wealth of different topics, there’s something special about ditching the screen and booking a ticket to hear those who inspire you speak in person. Each month, the Culture Whisper team rounds up the most exciting talks happening in London to book now.
If you love listening to journalists Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes rounding up the week’s pop-culture and current affairs highlights on their podcast The High Low, now’s your chance to get closer to the experience. The duo are touring an event, The High Low Experience, an immersive event encapsulating the curiosity, comedy and bibliophilia that goes into creating what has become the UK's leading female podcast. The live show is coming to the Barbican Centre for one night only and tickets are likely to sell out fast.
PRICE: £20 - £30
Hear exclusive insights into the Tate Modern’s current Frank Bowling exhibition from its curator Elena Crippa. The evening includes an overview of the Guyana-born British artist’s retrospective, followed by a private view of the exhibition. Learn about how Bowling’s approach to painting has developed over the past six decades as well as how Crippa and her team went about planning the exhibition.
PRICE: £10
It’s been a lengthy nine years since we’ve had a Toy Story film to warm our hearts. Many who grew up with the first three installments are now adults who have long forgotten about their own gaggle of toys, let alone Andy’s. But this summer, Pixar gave us Toy Story 4, and we fell in love with Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep and the rest of the gang all over again. Now, you can hear all about how it was made from Robert Russ, the film’s animation supervisor, who’s delivering a talk at BFI Southbank this month.
PRICE: £8 / £6 for under 16s
July 2019 marks 50 years since man first landed on the moon. To celebrate, the British Library is holding an evening of talks in which writers and space specialists discuss our relationship with the moon. Hear from guest speakers including Alice Bunn (UK Space Agency), TV science presenter Dallas Campbell, Moon Festival director Livia Filotico, and biographer and historian of science Richard Holmes, in what hopes to be an entertaining and illuminating evening devised and hosted by Unlimited Theatre together with Jon Spooner.
PRICE: £12/£8 for under 18s
Head to the British Library for an evening of readings and reflections on one of Britain’s great Romantic poets: John Keats. Completed in September 1819, Keats's odes are still considered among the finest poems in the English language, and are taught on school and university syllabuses across the country and beyond. This event is a chance to hear readings and reflections on Keats’s work.
PRICE: £12 / £8 for under 18s
Discover some of the most exiting talents the literary world has to offer at the Southbank Centre, where the Autumn Literature Season is one of the most jam-packed to date. Expect to hear from big personalities, ranging from psychotherapist Philippa Perry to documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux. Follow the link below for our highlights.
PRICE: Depends on event
While the world might still think of clerical clothing and acute sex appeal when Andrew Scott is mentioned (or indeed Sherlock’s wickedly crafty Moriarty if they missed the Fleabag hype), the actor has moved on and is currently playing Garry Essendine in Noël Coward’s provocative comedy, Present Laughter. While tickets to see the show sold like hot cakes, you can still catch a Q&A with Scott following the performance of the show on 25 July (whether or not you saw it), in which he’ll be discussing his experience of playing the complex and much-coveted role of Garry.
The V&A is hosting a series of live podcast recordings in partnership with delectable Middle Eastern restaurant Honey & Co, as part of the current FOOD: Bigger than the Plate exhibition. Join Honey & Co founders Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer for the second part of the live recording (you don't need to have attended the first) and be taken on a journey through the food cycle, from trading to eating. Artists from the exhibition – including Fernando Laposse of Totomoxtle and the Fallen Fruit collective – are also part of the conversation, and ticket holders will be treated to canapés during intermission.
PRICE: £12 - 15
Margaret Atwood’s popular dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which was first published in 1985, found a whole new audience when it was adapted for TV in 2017. This year – more than 30 years since the book was published – Atwood is publishing a sequel: The Testaments. To celebrate the book’s release, Atwood is doing a six-day tour around the UK to talk about the book. The tour begins at the National Theatre in London on 10 September – the day of the book’s release. The talk is being broadcast in over 1,000 cinemas around the world.
PRICE: £15 – £25
Book tickets
Join the acclaimed artist Edward ‘Ed’ Ruscha as he reflects on his life and career - which spans six decades. Ruscha is widely regarded as among the world’s most important artists and is best-known for his photographs of Los Angeles and paintings featuring everyday words and phrases. In this talk, Ruscha ponders the relationship between mass media and the banality of modern urban life, and how he explores this in his work. The event coincides with Ed Ruscha's Artist Rooms display, currently showing at Tate Modern.
PRICE: £10/£7 concessions
Rebel Bingo founder Freddie Sorensen has turned his attention to lecture theatres. In a talk at the Courtyard Theatre, non-depressed Freddie tries to give his former depressed self some tips on how to get out of the darkness, getting a still somewhat taboo subject out into the open. If Sorensen’s take on bingo is anything to go by (aka making it part games night part club night) the lecture should prove to be a fun night out, too.
PRICE: £7
To celebrate his 80th birthday in a somewhat unconventional way, multi-award winning actor Sir Ian McKellen is touring around the country performing 80 one-night solo shows in 80 different theatres. The performances themselves promise an eclectic mix of material – from revived snippets of some of Sir Ian’s best-loved roles, to anecdotes from his 60-year career and recitals of gay poetry. Sir Ian begins his tour with 16 performances in London; follow the link below to find out where he’s performing.
PRICE: £15 – £45 (All profits will be given to charities sponsored by each individual theatre)
Join comedian Deborah Frances-White as she hosts the live show of her popular podcast, The Guilty Feminist, at Kings Place. As always, Frances-White will be joined by several special guests.
Join curator Mark Godfrey (in September) or assistant curator Emma Lewis (in December) for an in-depth introduction to the Tate Modern’s Olafur Eliasson: In real life exhibition. This is a chance to learn about Eliasson’s large-scale installations and the way he addresses climate change, sustainability and migration as well as nature, geometry and perception in his work. The talk is followed by an opportunity to explore the exhibition independently after hours.
PRICE: £25.50
Hear Dani Trew speak about her role as assistant curator in the furniture, textiles and fashion department at the V&A. Trew’s recent projects include working on the current Mary Quant exhibition, as well as the recent Fashioned from Nature and Ocean Liners exhibitions. Trew is a graduate of the History of Design MA at the Royal College of Art and the V&A, where her research focused on fashion and politics. Prior to this, she studied at the University of Oxford and Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design.
PRICE: FREE
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