The Winter Festival at The Southbank Centre takes place from 16th November 2012 - 7th January 2013 this year. This festival will have a huge range of events taking place over the winter months and has everything from music and art, to clowns and cabaret.
The festival will play host to a range of theatrical events such as the UK premiere of Little Match Girl. This beautiful tragic Christmas tale is about a young girl who remembers her family fondly as she dies and is taken peacefully to heaven. This version of the classic tale, however, sees the story drastically reworked and features the queen of cabaret, Meow Meow.
Some other show highlights will include Cloud Man, which is a puppet and music show for four to seven year olds, a baby opera called Karoll Karol and a comedic one-man show, Imagine Toi, performed by clown and a magnificent mime artist, Julien Cotterau.
The Economist Books of the Year will also be returning for 2012, taking a look at the most acclaimed publications of the past year with a series of talks from a host of authors. In addition to this, there will be a number of classical concerts taking place, notably the candlelit performance of Handel’s Messiah by the Mozart Festival Orchestra.
It is true to say that The Winter Festival at Southbank would certainly not be complete without snow, so the Royal Festival Hall will be magically transformed into a winter palace. Giant snow balls and indoor snow have been created specially for the Slava’s Snowshow. This stunning event is performed by a company of clowns and is most certainly full of theatre spectacle and magic.
In December, the festival will host a Maker’s Market allowing visitors to browse the stalls and buy high quality products from some of the best contemporary designers. Workshops will also be available in the market for both adults and children who are interested in creating their own Christmas gifts.
Lucky attendees will get a privileged riverside view of the fireworks display at midnight. The Winter Festival at Southbank truly has something for all ages, making it the perfect place to get some Christmas cheer with fantastic events taking place at varying times over Christmas and throughout winter.