Southbank Outside Arts
Grab a seat on the Astroturf lawn outside the National Theatre and prepare to be enthralled by the annual summer festival. There are more than 150 free performances of global music, dance, circus acts -- and everything in-between.
From 10 p.m. -1 a.m on Friday and Saturday nights, come for the Late Lounge in the Terrace Café, where London’s top DJs will spin and mix any vinyl, CDs or mp3s that you bring.
There is music and theatre every themed week, whether it’s Cuban salsa kings or Ghanaian guitarists. The final week is a throwback mix of film noir, swing bands and Latin music.
Opening weekend, July 6th, celebrated the London debut of the Tour de France, with a bicycle ballet, musicians jamming on bikes and a rousing match of unicycle hockey.
For theatre, the second week raised awareness about water poverty, with water-themed vaudeville-circus acts and a riveting theatre piece with explosions and stunts aboard a pirate ship. It’s like Jack Sparrow with a social conscience.
The third week hosts a drama troupe from Poland who will perform a gripping adaptation of “Heart of Darkness,” the book that inspired the film “Apocalypse Now.” The fourth week includes giant puppet dragons and dinosaurs, and a workshop that will teach you the basics of circus performing.
The best bets for dance are in weeks seven and eight. The Rag Roof Theatre will perform a toe-tapping trip through dance crazes of the 1920s-1950s, and a breakdance crew will perform a bank heist where vaults are opened with the power of popping and locking. It’s also your chance to learn any dance -- from Ballroom to Belly Dancing, from Bollywood to Breakdancing.
After the performance, take a relaxing promenade along the South Bank of the Thames from the BFI past the newly renovated Southbank Centre to the London Eye and London Aquarium.
Watch This Space
Theatre Square, outside of National Theatre
July 6 - September 1, Free
Underground to Waterloo *OR* Underground to Temple and walk over Waterloo Bridge
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/wts
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