Barbican Centre

Joining us tonight for Keaton Henson: Six Lethargies?
Take a look at Keaton's paintings ahead of the gig

📣We'd like to know...

For July’s poem, Annie Hayter reflects on the relationship between sexual abuse and denial, in the wake of recent revelations.
Read our interview : https://bit.ly/2NwMilw

We’re live in our ‘Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing’ exhibition for a performance by Kieran Towers and Charlotte Carrivick, expanding on the tradition of fiddle/banjo duets.

We’re live in our ‘Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing’ exhibition for a performance by Kieran Towers and Charlotte Carrivick, expanding on the tradition of fiddle/banjo duets.

Spoken word artist Jolade Olusanya reflects on some of the issues that face the sprawling communities of London in our latest The Art of Change Short.
Meet the filmmaker, Richard Dixon Wheatley: https://bit.ly/2KOgzhY

Ever wondered what actually happens on a fashion shoot?
Join us next Wed 25 Jul as Warehouse's creative team explore the full fashion campaign journey.

#Fromthearchive: explore Peter Bloomfield's photographs of the Barbican in its final stages of construction https://bit.ly/2gD8qft

Alfred Hitchcock’s lofty thriller is in our cinemas until tomorrow Thu 19 July : https://bit.ly/2uLtQO4

#Podcast : to coincide with the release of Incredibles 2, we delve into our ScreenTalk archive and hear from the film’s composer, Michael Giacchino

A cinema offer you can't refuse - every Thursday this summer, the drinks are on us...
Book online and pay just £12 (+ 60p booking fee) for a New Release film & a beer, house wine or soft drink 🍻 https://bit.ly/2lN9pfM

A very happy 60th birthday to legendary director Wong Kar-wai 🎈🎈🎈

Join us on Tue 24 Jul for the first 'Real Quick' event (our new platform for rapid responses to the state of the world), a panel discussion with authors Teresa Thornhill & Daniel Trilling addressing issues of migration, and what can be done

On repeat in the office 🎶🎶

'A rhythm makes us feel at one – we dance around campfires or in clubs, our heart rates sync up. It has bonding power'

Everyone's favourite everyday superheroes are back - when a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot, the family and Frozone must find a way to work together again.
Incredibles 2 is now in our cinemas https://bit.ly/2vuJIHY

The legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman brings his incisive vision behind the scenes of one of the world's greatest institutions of learning, capturing NYC's library system.
We screen Ex Libris - The New York Public Library by Frederick Wiseman this Sun 15 Jul https://bit.ly/2L4acHk

#Podcast: we speak to The Final Girls about why they started programming horror films, breaking through the boys club of genre fandom, and staging their own Carrie-inspired prom.

Discover the inspiration behind Barry Humphries’ Weimar Cabaret (on until 29 Jul) and how Barry Humphries and Meow Meow came to work together on this tribute to the music of the Weimar Republic.
Tickets: https://bit.ly/2A5wXSZ

A weekend of sun, music, dance, food and community fun - just a few more days until Walthamstow Garden Party (14–15 July) : https://bit.ly/2IkETqm

We had a fantastic time at The Barbican centre this weekend.



We visited especially to see the Basquiat exhibition. A well worth 4 hour drive!



I was a little worried after reading a bad review from a parent with a baby and pushchair, we found staff members to be very friendly and helpful and we had no problems at all.



The Boom for real exhibition was amazing!!

Tunnel visions array was one of the best audio-visual exhibitions i've ever experienced. So much respect for Barbican Centre for putting on such amazing events for free and allowing us to experience these spectacles.

The Barbican is one of my favourite spaces in London. I adore the brutalist architecture and, if I could afford it, would buy an apartment in an instant (I can but dream)! I come here quite frequently for theatre trips and always try to eat at Osteria with their pre-theatre menu, they have a great Negroni menu! I will be back soon for Basquiat, cannot wait!

Love it! Every act we’ve seen was amazing and if anyone complains about concrete....well I come from a city that is concrete jungle and I can still see the beauty of Barbican.

Its a beautiful unique place and staff were helpful. Some cinema and other activities are sometimes NOT for your 'usual' audience, but that's the Centre's purpose - to cater for that unique audience and art industry.

If I ever win the lottery, I will get a flat here. I love the architecture and the vibe and I don’t want to miss a single event.



Barbican is the BEST space and event curator on the planet. Everything they stage is excellent, edgy and mind blowing.



That’s why I am a member

Great staff, all helpful and friendly, a great experience, the only thing I ask my self every time I go, why so few seats outside theatre n concert areas? especially last time i visited when the concert was aimed at the more mature audience,

This was my first visit to the Barbican. I was very impressed with the venue; the reason for my visit was to hear the BBCSO in the Hall. Friendly front of house staff who were very helpful and the concert Hall itself is a little gem of a place. Two minor quibbles though; the signage from the Barbican tube station is not good and it took me much longer to find my way round to the Silk Lane entrance; I think this could be improved. Once inside, everything is fine . . . except the coffee . . . in paper cups . . ? Those two moans aside, a cracking venue.

Loved the Barry Humphries/MeowMeow cabaret; hate the signage. Interaction with two members of staff: woman, smiley, chatty, helpful (up the stairs from Upper Circle B51/52); man, devoid of smiles - to anyone - bottom of aforementioned stairs! Theatre is of an excellent design, with comfortable seating.

I went for the Basquiat exhibition. That was just incredible! The centre itself is a very interesting place though not the most user-friendly one. It is hard to find your way around and the "no bag" policy inside the exhibition is not practical at all. I can see that this is a sore point for many visitors so please, Management Team, take note!

I love the Barbican as a venue. No matter where you sit you get a good view, and the sound is amazing. I gave it 4 stars, as no one was available to show us to our seats, which we eventually found, but occupied by other people! As the seats were half way down, and in front of other members of the audience, we to a couple of empty seat elsewhere, in not such a nice position.

What a nightmare to get to the Barbican! Hardly any signs to let people know where the theatre actually is! Arrived from the Moorgate Tube Station and followed a road sign to the venue which was the only clue to where it actually was! Some good old fashioned signage would be a good idea!

Once inside it is a lovely venue, comfortable seats and a great view of the stage! Acoustics were fabulous!

Coming from the North East of England I am not sure we will be returning!

Went to the New Years Eve Viennese Concert. It was superb. So why only 3 stars!

The performance was ruined by others in the audience using their mobile phones, some taking photos and some constantly checking them.

During the interval there was a ‘no mobile’ sign flashed up either side if the stage. I assume the establishment just expected that the concert audience would know not to use their phones during the performance, hence no announcement beforehand to make that clear.

I spoke to Barbican staff afterward and they said that the company performing probably didn’t want to break the general mood by making such a request.

Horrified at the selfishness and ignorance of others in the audience and the Barbican’s seeming inability to do anything about it.

Went to see Zimmer vs Williams and was confused on how to get in the building itself. Signs said about security checks, but nothing was in force until we went in to the actual internal venue. Wandering around for a while, there was very limited seating where you needed it. Only had coffee/tea as had eaten elsewhere, but that was over a fiver. Once inside the music venue, we were pleasantly surprised by the seating, view of the stage and excellent acoustics. Left a few minutes before the end to collect our coats from the free cloakroom and beat the queues for the loos. With limited mobility, I did not appreciate all the stairs to get to the facilities. Overall, the concert itself was good, and the staff I encountered were friendly, so I may return, but please consider the DDA aspect.

The barbican centre is a stunning venue. We have been there for a few events already, so we know the place quite well. The Basquiat exhibition was stunning, very well planned and executed, very impressive amount of art and information was gathered together. The only downside was the cloakroom organisation and execution, very messy, rushed, stressed and worrying- I felt uneasy leaving my belongings there. I felt it was really unproffessional and badly organised.

Going there with two little kids was very easy, we were allowed to take the buggy inside and were kindly directed around and shown to the lifts. We were also presented with a little leaflet designed specially for the kids and a simple pencil, that kept my 4year old entertained and interested in the exhibition.

We were not allowed to take any bags in with us and were told off for allowing the kids to snack while inside. Understandable, but I would really appreciate if this was made clear before we have booked to come in with kids. It might be a big problem for some families who travel to see the exhibition from far away. I believe this dissapointment could have been easily avoided by sufficient amount of information made available while booking the tickets for kids.

All in all, a great experience I would recommend to anyone. Just come in well prepared in advance.

I went to the Basquiat exhibition yesterday and enjoyed seeing his work and reading about him. However I did feel the layout was very restricting for such a creative person the environment it was showed in was very harsh and cold. I personally feel it should of been in a more open creative space.



It was like walking around a corporate event it felt very clinical for me and his work was screaming to be let out...! But an amazing person with an outstanding talent.

A great concert venue, but the layout of the centre is impossible Even finding the toilets is a major effort! More signs, escalators (v poor disabled access) and better + more seating while waiting. Current use of space is inefficient and full of people using the free wi-fi.

Greetings... you hosted a Trandescend festival/concert titled Remembering Bagdad ( in 2015 ?) ....was it recorded...just sound or as video with sound? I would love to see it...in Movie theatres around the world ? Like they do with operas ?

Just watched for the second time the documentary. "On the banks of the Tigris"...hungry for more !!

I can not find anything about that concert on the internet...

Horrible place in a terrible area, concrete jungle out of the 60's and never upgraded. Awful eating facilities very dirty looking food on open display with customers told to pick their own food. Only paper cups for my coffee even though we were eating in. Catering staff not very happy quite slovenly in attitude. Very poor toilet facilities totally inadequate for the customer number, I saw several single toilets catering for all needs, I found a gents toilet which like the ladies which had a queue out the door and down that level, the gents had 1 cubicle and 2 urinals only 2 hand basins. The only good thing about the experience was the entertainment.

We had a fantastic time at The Barbican centre this weekend.



We visited especially to see the Basquiat exhibition. A well worth 4 hour drive!



I was a little worried after reading a bad review from a parent with a baby and pushchair, we found staff members to be very friendly and helpful and we had no problems at all.



The Boom for real exhibition was amazing!!

Tunnel visions array was one of the best audio-visual exhibitions i've ever experienced. So much respect for Barbican Centre for putting on such amazing events for free and allowing us to experience these spectacles.

The Barbican is one of my favourite spaces in London. I adore the brutalist architecture and, if I could afford it, would buy an apartment in an instant (I can but dream)! I come here quite frequently for theatre trips and always try to eat at Osteria with their pre-theatre menu, they have a great Negroni menu! I will be back soon for Basquiat, cannot wait!

Love it! Every act we’ve seen was amazing and if anyone complains about concrete....well I come from a city that is concrete jungle and I can still see the beauty of Barbican.

Its a beautiful unique place and staff were helpful. Some cinema and other activities are sometimes NOT for your 'usual' audience, but that's the Centre's purpose - to cater for that unique audience and art industry.

If I ever win the lottery, I will get a flat here. I love the architecture and the vibe and I don’t want to miss a single event.



Barbican is the BEST space and event curator on the planet. Everything they stage is excellent, edgy and mind blowing.



That’s why I am a member

Great staff, all helpful and friendly, a great experience, the only thing I ask my self every time I go, why so few seats outside theatre n concert areas? especially last time i visited when the concert was aimed at the more mature audience,

This was my first visit to the Barbican. I was very impressed with the venue; the reason for my visit was to hear the BBCSO in the Hall. Friendly front of house staff who were very helpful and the concert Hall itself is a little gem of a place. Two minor quibbles though; the signage from the Barbican tube station is not good and it took me much longer to find my way round to the Silk Lane entrance; I think this could be improved. Once inside, everything is fine . . . except the coffee . . . in paper cups . . ? Those two moans aside, a cracking venue.

Loved the Barry Humphries/MeowMeow cabaret; hate the signage. Interaction with two members of staff: woman, smiley, chatty, helpful (up the stairs from Upper Circle B51/52); man, devoid of smiles - to anyone - bottom of aforementioned stairs! Theatre is of an excellent design, with comfortable seating.

I went for the Basquiat exhibition. That was just incredible! The centre itself is a very interesting place though not the most user-friendly one. It is hard to find your way around and the "no bag" policy inside the exhibition is not practical at all. I can see that this is a sore point for many visitors so please, Management Team, take note!

I love the Barbican as a venue. No matter where you sit you get a good view, and the sound is amazing. I gave it 4 stars, as no one was available to show us to our seats, which we eventually found, but occupied by other people! As the seats were half way down, and in front of other members of the audience, we to a couple of empty seat elsewhere, in not such a nice position.

What a nightmare to get to the Barbican! Hardly any signs to let people know where the theatre actually is! Arrived from the Moorgate Tube Station and followed a road sign to the venue which was the only clue to where it actually was! Some good old fashioned signage would be a good idea!

Once inside it is a lovely venue, comfortable seats and a great view of the stage! Acoustics were fabulous!

Coming from the North East of England I am not sure we will be returning!

Went to the New Years Eve Viennese Concert. It was superb. So why only 3 stars!

The performance was ruined by others in the audience using their mobile phones, some taking photos and some constantly checking them.

During the interval there was a ‘no mobile’ sign flashed up either side if the stage. I assume the establishment just expected that the concert audience would know not to use their phones during the performance, hence no announcement beforehand to make that clear.

I spoke to Barbican staff afterward and they said that the company performing probably didn’t want to break the general mood by making such a request.

Horrified at the selfishness and ignorance of others in the audience and the Barbican’s seeming inability to do anything about it.

Went to see Zimmer vs Williams and was confused on how to get in the building itself. Signs said about security checks, but nothing was in force until we went in to the actual internal venue. Wandering around for a while, there was very limited seating where you needed it. Only had coffee/tea as had eaten elsewhere, but that was over a fiver. Once inside the music venue, we were pleasantly surprised by the seating, view of the stage and excellent acoustics. Left a few minutes before the end to collect our coats from the free cloakroom and beat the queues for the loos. With limited mobility, I did not appreciate all the stairs to get to the facilities. Overall, the concert itself was good, and the staff I encountered were friendly, so I may return, but please consider the DDA aspect.

The barbican centre is a stunning venue. We have been there for a few events already, so we know the place quite well. The Basquiat exhibition was stunning, very well planned and executed, very impressive amount of art and information was gathered together. The only downside was the cloakroom organisation and execution, very messy, rushed, stressed and worrying- I felt uneasy leaving my belongings there. I felt it was really unproffessional and badly organised.

Going there with two little kids was very easy, we were allowed to take the buggy inside and were kindly directed around and shown to the lifts. We were also presented with a little leaflet designed specially for the kids and a simple pencil, that kept my 4year old entertained and interested in the exhibition.

We were not allowed to take any bags in with us and were told off for allowing the kids to snack while inside. Understandable, but I would really appreciate if this was made clear before we have booked to come in with kids. It might be a big problem for some families who travel to see the exhibition from far away. I believe this dissapointment could have been easily avoided by sufficient amount of information made available while booking the tickets for kids.

All in all, a great experience I would recommend to anyone. Just come in well prepared in advance.

I went to the Basquiat exhibition yesterday and enjoyed seeing his work and reading about him. However I did feel the layout was very restricting for such a creative person the environment it was showed in was very harsh and cold. I personally feel it should of been in a more open creative space.



It was like walking around a corporate event it felt very clinical for me and his work was screaming to be let out...! But an amazing person with an outstanding talent.

A great concert venue, but the layout of the centre is impossible Even finding the toilets is a major effort! More signs, escalators (v poor disabled access) and better + more seating while waiting. Current use of space is inefficient and full of people using the free wi-fi.

Greetings... you hosted a Trandescend festival/concert titled Remembering Bagdad ( in 2015 ?) ....was it recorded...just sound or as video with sound? I would love to see it...in Movie theatres around the world ? Like they do with operas ?

Just watched for the second time the documentary. "On the banks of the Tigris"...hungry for more !!

I can not find anything about that concert on the internet...

Horrible place in a terrible area, concrete jungle out of the 60's and never upgraded. Awful eating facilities very dirty looking food on open display with customers told to pick their own food. Only paper cups for my coffee even though we were eating in. Catering staff not very happy quite slovenly in attitude. Very poor toilet facilities totally inadequate for the customer number, I saw several single toilets catering for all needs, I found a gents toilet which like the ladies which had a queue out the door and down that level, the gents had 1 cubicle and 2 urinals only 2 hand basins. The only good thing about the experience was the entertainment.

We had a fantastic time at The Barbican centre this weekend.



We visited especially to see the Basquiat exhibition. A well worth 4 hour drive!



I was a little worried after reading a bad review from a parent with a baby and pushchair, we found staff members to be very friendly and helpful and we had no problems at all.



The Boom for real exhibition was amazing!!

Tunnel visions array was one of the best audio-visual exhibitions i've ever experienced. So much respect for Barbican Centre for putting on such amazing events for free and allowing us to experience these spectacles.

The Barbican is one of my favourite spaces in London. I adore the brutalist architecture and, if I could afford it, would buy an apartment in an instant (I can but dream)! I come here quite frequently for theatre trips and always try to eat at Osteria with their pre-theatre menu, they have a great Negroni menu! I will be back soon for Basquiat, cannot wait!

Love it! Every act we’ve seen was amazing and if anyone complains about concrete....well I come from a city that is concrete jungle and I can still see the beauty of Barbican.

Its a beautiful unique place and staff were helpful. Some cinema and other activities are sometimes NOT for your 'usual' audience, but that's the Centre's purpose - to cater for that unique audience and art industry.

If I ever win the lottery, I will get a flat here. I love the architecture and the vibe and I don’t want to miss a single event.



Barbican is the BEST space and event curator on the planet. Everything they stage is excellent, edgy and mind blowing.



That’s why I am a member

Great staff, all helpful and friendly, a great experience, the only thing I ask my self every time I go, why so few seats outside theatre n concert areas? especially last time i visited when the concert was aimed at the more mature audience,

This was my first visit to the Barbican. I was very impressed with the venue; the reason for my visit was to hear the BBCSO in the Hall. Friendly front of house staff who were very helpful and the concert Hall itself is a little gem of a place. Two minor quibbles though; the signage from the Barbican tube station is not good and it took me much longer to find my way round to the Silk Lane entrance; I think this could be improved. Once inside, everything is fine . . . except the coffee . . . in paper cups . . ? Those two moans aside, a cracking venue.

Loved the Barry Humphries/MeowMeow cabaret; hate the signage. Interaction with two members of staff: woman, smiley, chatty, helpful (up the stairs from Upper Circle B51/52); man, devoid of smiles - to anyone - bottom of aforementioned stairs! Theatre is of an excellent design, with comfortable seating.

I went for the Basquiat exhibition. That was just incredible! The centre itself is a very interesting place though not the most user-friendly one. It is hard to find your way around and the "no bag" policy inside the exhibition is not practical at all. I can see that this is a sore point for many visitors so please, Management Team, take note!

I love the Barbican as a venue. No matter where you sit you get a good view, and the sound is amazing. I gave it 4 stars, as no one was available to show us to our seats, which we eventually found, but occupied by other people! As the seats were half way down, and in front of other members of the audience, we to a couple of empty seat elsewhere, in not such a nice position.

What a nightmare to get to the Barbican! Hardly any signs to let people know where the theatre actually is! Arrived from the Moorgate Tube Station and followed a road sign to the venue which was the only clue to where it actually was! Some good old fashioned signage would be a good idea!

Once inside it is a lovely venue, comfortable seats and a great view of the stage! Acoustics were fabulous!

Coming from the North East of England I am not sure we will be returning!

Went to the New Years Eve Viennese Concert. It was superb. So why only 3 stars!

The performance was ruined by others in the audience using their mobile phones, some taking photos and some constantly checking them.

During the interval there was a ‘no mobile’ sign flashed up either side if the stage. I assume the establishment just expected that the concert audience would know not to use their phones during the performance, hence no announcement beforehand to make that clear.

I spoke to Barbican staff afterward and they said that the company performing probably didn’t want to break the general mood by making such a request.

Horrified at the selfishness and ignorance of others in the audience and the Barbican’s seeming inability to do anything about it.

Went to see Zimmer vs Williams and was confused on how to get in the building itself. Signs said about security checks, but nothing was in force until we went in to the actual internal venue. Wandering around for a while, there was very limited seating where you needed it. Only had coffee/tea as had eaten elsewhere, but that was over a fiver. Once inside the music venue, we were pleasantly surprised by the seating, view of the stage and excellent acoustics. Left a few minutes before the end to collect our coats from the free cloakroom and beat the queues for the loos. With limited mobility, I did not appreciate all the stairs to get to the facilities. Overall, the concert itself was good, and the staff I encountered were friendly, so I may return, but please consider the DDA aspect.

The barbican centre is a stunning venue. We have been there for a few events already, so we know the place quite well. The Basquiat exhibition was stunning, very well planned and executed, very impressive amount of art and information was gathered together. The only downside was the cloakroom organisation and execution, very messy, rushed, stressed and worrying- I felt uneasy leaving my belongings there. I felt it was really unproffessional and badly organised.

Going there with two little kids was very easy, we were allowed to take the buggy inside and were kindly directed around and shown to the lifts. We were also presented with a little leaflet designed specially for the kids and a simple pencil, that kept my 4year old entertained and interested in the exhibition.

We were not allowed to take any bags in with us and were told off for allowing the kids to snack while inside. Understandable, but I would really appreciate if this was made clear before we have booked to come in with kids. It might be a big problem for some families who travel to see the exhibition from far away. I believe this dissapointment could have been easily avoided by sufficient amount of information made available while booking the tickets for kids.

All in all, a great experience I would recommend to anyone. Just come in well prepared in advance.

I went to the Basquiat exhibition yesterday and enjoyed seeing his work and reading about him. However I did feel the layout was very restricting for such a creative person the environment it was showed in was very harsh and cold. I personally feel it should of been in a more open creative space.



It was like walking around a corporate event it felt very clinical for me and his work was screaming to be let out...! But an amazing person with an outstanding talent.

A great concert venue, but the layout of the centre is impossible Even finding the toilets is a major effort! More signs, escalators (v poor disabled access) and better + more seating while waiting. Current use of space is inefficient and full of people using the free wi-fi.

Greetings... you hosted a Trandescend festival/concert titled Remembering Bagdad ( in 2015 ?) ....was it recorded...just sound or as video with sound? I would love to see it...in Movie theatres around the world ? Like they do with operas ?

Just watched for the second time the documentary. "On the banks of the Tigris"...hungry for more !!

I can not find anything about that concert on the internet...

Horrible place in a terrible area, concrete jungle out of the 60's and never upgraded. Awful eating facilities very dirty looking food on open display with customers told to pick their own food. Only paper cups for my coffee even though we were eating in. Catering staff not very happy quite slovenly in attitude. Very poor toilet facilities totally inadequate for the customer number, I saw several single toilets catering for all needs, I found a gents toilet which like the ladies which had a queue out the door and down that level, the gents had 1 cubicle and 2 urinals only 2 hand basins. The only good thing about the experience was the entertainment.