London’s cultural scene combines long years of familiar tradition with a new, creative spirit. There are over 150 theaters and 300 art galleries. Contemporary artists like Tracy Emin and Zadie Smith complement the cultural heritage of the likes of Turner and Shakespeare. The South Bank Centre, a cubic, gray concrete bunker on the southern bank of the Thames, is one of the city’s most important cultural centers: it houses the Hayward Gallery and three concert halls: the Royal Festival Hall, home of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room. The much-praised Royal National Theatre with its three auditoriums is right next door. North of the Thames, a great part of cultural life revolves around the Barbican Centre. This multi-faceted center for the performing arts offers a diversified event program year-round. It is home to the Royal Shakespeare Company and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Theater
The London theater scene is extraordinarily diverse; both the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company compete with the big commercial theaters in West End, and also with the repertoire theaters, the medium-sized Off-West-End theaters and the small, independent houses (fringe theatres). Tickets for the big West End musical productions cost up to £40. They can be bought in either advance at the theaters’ ticket windows, or, for half the price, at the ticket booth on Leicester Square on the day of the show.
The incomparable English Stage Company at the Royal Court continues to perform excellent new pieces. Experimental productions at a high level can also be found at off-West-End theaters, for example the Donmar Warehouse, Earlham Street, the Almeida and the Tricycle Theatre. There are dozens of small, local theaters showing the ingenious, the completely mad and everything in-between. Among them is the King’s Head, London’s oldest pub theater. From May to September, the Globe Theatre features open-air productions of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Regent Park also has open-air shows during the summer.
Dance
Touring dancing ensembles perform at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre on Rosebery Avenue. Since this establishment seeks to attract more than just the wealthy elite, ticket prices are more moderate than at the Royal Opera House (see above), the home of the Royal Ballet.
Film
The so-called Ealing Comedies were produced at the Ealing Studios in the western part of the city; these comedies are known for their black humor, English eccentricity and typical London settings, as is the case in, for example, in “Passport to Pimlico” (1949) and “The Ladykillers” (1955). Before the war, Alfred Hitchcock made himself a name at the Elstree Film Studios with his thrilling movies. Newer movies like Sliding Doors (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Notting Hill (1998) have proven enormously successful, as Hollywood actors in a London setting have been crowd magnet.
Movie theaters in other parts of town are less expensive than those in West End, where a ticket may well cost between £8 and £10. Odeon and Warner are two big movie theater chains. London’s leading independent movie theater is the Barbican Screen, showing independent productions, experimental movies and blockbusters. You can experience the magic of IMAX at Great Britain’s biggest screen, the new BFI London IMAX Cinema. Every year from November to December, the London Film Festival takes place for a month at various venues.
Cultural events
The exuberant and often very wild or even violent New Year’s Eve festivities have been a London tradition for a long time and take place for the most part on the overcrowded Trafalgar Square. Several weeks later, Lion Dancers in Chinatown greet the Chinese New Year. Every year in July, the Coin Street Festival, the Greenwich and Docklands Festival, the Soho Festival in West End, the one-day Irish Fleadh in Finsbury Park and the Mardi Gras Festival with Gay and Lesbian Parade are held. The two-day Notting Hill Carnival on the Bank Holiday weekend in August celebrates Afro-Caribbean culture.
Among the more serious events are the Parade Trooping of the Colour in June, the official Queen’s Birthday Celebration, and the impressive Lord Mayor’s Show in November, celebrating the City of London’s centuries of independence with colorful parades.
