For ten years The Gladstone ‘The Glad’ was a live music venue in Bankside, a hub in the local community showcasing original song writing. After being forced to close and move out, it’s returning with ‘Super Glad’ nights at the Union Theatre in the Union Yard Arches. Come along to these Sunday sessions for live music and drinks.
For ten years The Gladstone ‘The Glad’ was a live music venue in Bankside, a hub in the local community showcasing original song writing. After being forced to close and move out, it’s returning with ‘Super Glad’ nights at the Union Theatre in the Union Yard Arches. Come along to these Sunday sessions for live music and drinks.
Observe a classroom of 20 robot pupils taking different lessons, each displaying traits affecting their behaviour; shyness, nerdiness, boredom, and distracted by the activity of the public in the room. In another room have your portrait drawn by watchful robots; the roles reverse and they now have their gaze on you.
Tate Modern will pay tribute to famous comic actor Charlie Chaplin with a special triple bill in the gallery’s Starr Cinema. Three much loved shorts; The Rink, Easy Street and The Immigrant will be screened in celebration of Chaplin’s south London roots, with live musical score by silent film accompanist Neil Brand. The session will be introduced by Pamela Hutchinson, silent movie critic and editor of Silent London
A series of evocative, humorous and intriguing 15 minute plays will be brought to you in the intimate and unusual setting of a caravan. These shorts can fit into your lunch break, after work, or on your day out in Bankside. Nine audience members at a time will be able to experience one of eight short theatre pieces. Pre-book online to avoid disappointment.
Injecting your journey with energy and humour, this quirky theatrical experience celebrates the history and character of Blackfriars Road and Southwark. The streets will come alive through a series of unexpected sights, featuring actors, artists and musicians.Look out for robots roaming the area to celebrate the father of computing Charles Babbage, iconic Hollywood star Charlie Chaplin, and Bert Hardy snapping away on the street - all of whom grew up in Southwark.
Step into Kirkaldy Testing Museum for an immersive experience where you will come face to face with a living giant of the industrial age and delve into the secret bowels below. For the 150th anniversary of Kirkaldy Testing Museum, this shattering new piece of theatre explores the unique Universal Testing Machine created by Kirkaldy, asking what happens when we as humans have our truths and strength tested?
Join us as we bring Borough Market Sports Day back to life almost 80 years on! Take part in races and games drawing on the tradition - and silliness - of the historic competition loved and supported by Charlie Chaplin. Test your speed and balance by racing with a loaf of bread on your head, see how many cabbages you can hold at once, and hopefully not to many eggs are smashed in the traditional egg and spoon race. Compèred by glamorous assistants and a Charlie Chaplin lookalike.
What’s your secret? Everyone has personal thoughts and facts about themselves that aren’t always shared. Well now is your time to reveal your deepest secrets or quirks anonymously.Taiwanese-American artist Candy Chang is giving people a chance to confess these thoughts without having to feel vulnerable to the outside world. Stop by Prices Street, enter a booth and write down whatever thoughts you want to share on a wooden plaque. Unsigned, drop your confession into a box amongst other anonymous entries.
Opera Holland Park will be bringing their magical production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to MERGE, with special performances in secret locations.
Perk up your lunchtime with a visit to Borough Market and enjoy some acoustic vibes from talented musicians in Borough’s Market Hall. Musicians include Tim Newman, Lucy May Walker, Alex Monk and Markus Michelucci.
The elegant rooftop bar, Rumpus Room, at Mondrian London has just been launched with a new look and feel. As the warm weather and longer evenings roll in, it plays host to Skyline Sessions – a live music series on Wednesday nights during MERGE. The Sea Containers bar will also be offering a special MERGE cocktail.
A fast-paced operatic journey through the night with songs from Mozart’s most loved operas Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Cosi fan tutte and The Marriage of Figaro. Accompanied by piano and presented with new English lyrics in Bankside’s first Tudor theatre. Tickets £15. Book here
Libretto and Stage Director - Pamela Schermann. Musical Director - Andrew Charity.
Thursday DJ nights of Latin, Jazz and Soul, all on vinyl.
A special electronic DJ night in the living room of citizenM Bankside this MERGE. There’s word of some Harviestoun special stock floating around as well.
Sail through the capital with live acoustic music from some of the capital’s top buskers on MBNA Thames Clippers, London’s leading river boat service. Whether getting into the party spirit heading into town or enjoying the on-board entertainment with a drink from the bar, MBNA Thames Clippers will bring the MERGE festival spirit onto the boats. Musicians will join the 7.45pm RB1 sailing departing Bankside pier to arrive at North Greenwich pier at 8.25pm. Tickets in the Central London zone cost £6.30 for an adult single journey when using contactless or Oyster to pay as you go.
Union Street Café invites you to The Olive Grove – an underground immersive bar experience celebrating the humble olive. Drink and dine under a canopy of olive trees and vines, whilst sampling olive oil inspired dishes and delicious MARTINI cocktails. Enjoy live music every Friday night from 8pm during MERGE. 4 small plates and a cocktail for £25 per person, and 25% discount* from the a la carte menu in the main restaurant during the festival. Quote MERGE Bankside when booking.
Join Bedales for weekly Sunday Sessions during MERGE, including live music from Markus Michelucci, Barry Locke and Will Shackleton.
A brutally intense, darkly comic one-man show that unveils the bizarre, compulsive and
eccentric nature of humanity. This high-energy piece of theatre is performed entirely nude, it is both uncomfortable to watch and mesmeric. From a mendacious Spiritualist Lecturer to a despondent American Porn Star on the brink of her retirement, over ten characters take the audience on a journey from emotional despair to helpless laughter,
creating a sharp political comment on contemporary society. Tickets from £10 - £17.50. BOOK HERE
Specially commissioned for MERGE Bankside 2017, a collective of visual, sound and light artists has collaboratively created the world’s first artist-designed bumper car arena; a spectacle that elevates mere bumper cars to performance art. In a disused fire station, Drive Dead Slow: Dodgems of Your Mind promises to take you on an unexpected psychological journey.
