London

Jude Kelly

In what way is the new Southbank Centre different from the old one?
Architecturally the inside of the Royal Festival Hall has been re-revealed. In1951, when it was built, it had a huge commitment to being an open democratic place through which the community thronged and where indoor and outdoor spaces merged. That feeling has been found again. The connection with the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and The Hayward is also much stronger. The walk ways join up, and it’s more of a united site.

One of the most important things we’re trying to do is create a place that candevise, create and hatch new projects. We’ve been working on a piece with Scott Walker and Southbank Centre’s choreographer in residence Rafael Bonachela. It’s new for us to create work from scratch. We also have a commitment to looking at more performances driven by technology, such as Klaus Obermaier’s interpretation of ‘The Rite of Spring’, which combines 3D technology with dance.
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Does this mean classical music will be taking a back seat?
Not at all. We are committed to a renaissance in classical music. We have four orchestras in residence and are building a great deal of our work around those relationships. We’re presenting new commissions by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Julian Anderson, Ades – and Daniel Barenboim comes in residence for a month next year.

What about exhibitions?
Visual arts won’t only happen inside The Hayward but across the 21-acre site and beyond. Antony Gormley’s ‘Event Horizon’ positions life-sized figures on surrounding buildings, Jeppe Hein’s fountain returns this summer with a new fountainby Klaus Weber, and Tracey Emin’s
flag is currently flying on the flagpole [part of a programme in which successive artists will design flags for the Jubilee Gardens flagpole].

Last summer, launching the 2007 programme, you said you were 'putting your head over the parapet to be shot or laurelled’. What are the biggest risks you’ll be taking?
When you put this amount of resources into a refurbishment, the big risk is ‘Will it work?’ We tested the acoustics in the Royal Festival Hall this April and I’m confident of their bloom, warmth and vigour… And the building does look beautiful. We’re also taking the Centre into an area of public access and participation. The Overture will see over 18,000 people taking part in music and performance. All of that is a risk, but it’s an exciting one.

And you are hosting Southbank Centre’s first literature festival.
We felt that London needs one. There have always been excellent literary events here and of course the wonderful Poetry Library. I’d like to extend this work further.

What will the atmosphere be like at Southbank Centre this summer?
It will be thronging with people. The whole place is now generating excitement. There are lots of outdoor restaurants, we’ll have two fountains, and outdoor activity every weekend. It’s the most chilled place in London. I met someone recently from north London who hadn’t been to the area in over two years. If they come, they’ll be shocked. It’s totally transformed.

Does this mean people will learn to love the architecture?
I think this revival will make people realise how innovative those architects were in the ’50s and ’60s to create something that favoured the public without being municipal. From the new Southbank Centre Square and its LED lights, you can see the playfulness of The Hayward and Queen Elizabeth Hall. They need cleaning and the walkways need greening – which is probably our next task – but I think that once people start associating the place with exciting times, it will also bring out a love of the architecture. You are also directing the summer’s big show, ‘Carmen Jones’… ‘Carmen Jones’ is basically Bizet’s ‘Carmen’, set in the American South – though I’m updating it a step further and putting it in Latin America. There aren’t enough quality productions for our black British actors and singers to show off their talent, and I want to bring in audiences who don’t normally see the Royal Festival Hall as their home. I’m also thrilled that the LPO and Philharmonia are alternating the live orchestration on ‘Carmen Jones’, with Simon Lee conducting.

What does Southbank Centre mean to London?
For many people who came to the Festival of Britain in 1951, or whose parents or grandparents came, it’s a touchstone for the idea that as a nation we support art and creativity. I think for Londoners it is also the place where south of the river joins north of the river. It radiates right over to the north bank and back again. It’s a gathering point for all of the city’s artistic and cultural tribes; it’s a big bustling port through which passes all manner of cultural travellers and traffic.