Waterloo gets treated as somewhere you pass through. Four million people a year come up those escalators, look at the departure boards, and leave.
Which is a shame, because between the station and the river there’s plenty of things to do in waterloo and more going on in a square mile than almost anywhere else in London – and most of it is a five-minute walk from the concourse.
Here’s what’s on between now and January.
Theatre
This is the strongest thing Waterloo has, and the autumn line-up is unusually good.
The Old Vic is doing Martin Guerre through October – a new version of the Boublil and Schönberg musical – and then A Christmas Carol from 12 November to 9 January. The Jack Thorne adaptation is a proper Waterloo institution at this point and it sells out.
The Young Vic has Thelma & Louise: A New Musical until 24 October, a world premiere with a book by Callie Khouri, who wrote the film. Then Eurotrash from 13 November to 9 January, with Ben Whishaw and Kathryn Hunter – probably the hottest ticket in the area this winter.
Also at the Young Vic: Shedinburgh runs 19 September to 10 October in the Maria Studio, bringing forty-odd Edinburgh Fringe shows to London including Sara Pascoe, Rosie Jones and Inua Ellams. Late-night, cheap, and a good way to see five things in one evening.
The National Theatre has Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss in Electra/Persona until 10 October, then Some Woman with Anne-Marie Duff from 7 October, Cloud 9 from 2 November, The Jungle Book from 13 November, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice with Francesca Mills from 2 December.
The Vaults, in the arches just along from us, has Club NVRLND from 14 November to 31 January – immersive club-theatre, a Peter Pan reimagining, and very much a night out rather than a sit-down show.
Film
BFI London Film Festival runs 7 to 18 October, and BFI Southbank is the hub. Twelve days, 250-plus films, and the closing gala on 18 October is at the Royal Festival Hall. The whole area is busy for the duration.
Straight after, BFI Southbank runs Almost Perfect: The Films of Billy Wilder from 19 October to 31 December. Thirty-plus films including Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment. There’s also a writing event on 25 November – Thou Shalt Not Bore: How to Write Like Billy Wilder – which comes with cocktails and is a more interesting Tuesday than most.
BFI IMAX, on the roundabout outside the station, has Dune: Part Three in 70mm IMAX from 18 to 20 December. Three days only, and if you care about that sort of thing you already know you want it.
Music and Festivals
Oktoberfest takes over Between the Bridges from 25 September to 17 October. Three weeks of beer hall, right on the river.
London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre runs 20 October to 1 November, guest curated by Dua Lipa, with Zadie Smith, Patti Smith, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Michael Douglas and Kae Tempest among the names. Several events are free.
EFG London Jazz Festival, 13 to 22 November, with a big chunk of it at the Southbank Centre – Jazz Voice, Goldie with orchestra, Ben Folds, the Kronos Quartet and Samara Joy.
Bob Dylan plays five nights at the Royal Festival Hall, 3 to 8 December. That is not a typo and tickets went quickly.
And 26 Leake Street, the music venue in our tunnel, has a run of gigs including Pure Garage London on 3 October, which will be loud.
Galleries and Free Things
Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery until 18 October is the major exhibition of the autumn.
Musquiqui Chihying: A Life of Navigation is on at the Hayward too, and that one’s free.
Quentin Blake: The Southbank Parade runs site-wide until 8 November. Free, outdoors, and genuinely lovely if you’ve got children.
Playing with Fire runs at the Southbank Centre from now until 3 January – a VR experience built around Yuja Wang performing. Worth knowing she isn’t there in person; it’s a pre-recorded avatar on a self-playing piano and you watch through a headset. Strange and rather good.
The Southbank Centre’s Christmas shows are confirmed: Cirque Alice from 12 December, Thick & Tight: Camp as Christmas from 10 December, and There’s a Bear on my Chair from 11 December for younger children. All run to 3 January.
The Bits People Miss
Leake Street tunnel itself. Three hundred metres of legal graffiti wall under the station, repainted constantly, and the only place in London where you can watch artists work without anyone getting arrested. It’s free, it’s open, and it’s where we are.
The National Theatre’s Sherling Backstage Walkway – free, Wednesdays and Saturdays, noon to 6pm. You walk above the workshops and watch sets being built.
The Undercroft skate park beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Skated continuously since 1973 and the oldest spot of its kind anywhere.
Lower Marsh market, two minutes behind the station, which is what Waterloo was before the office blocks.
And In the Middle of All That, There’s Us
Draughts Waterloo, Arch 16, Leake Street, SE1 7NN – inside the graffiti tunnel, five minutes from the station and about the same from the river.
Bar, full kitchen, food and drinks to your table, and over 1,000 board games. Our team will find you something in about thirty seconds.
What it’s genuinely good for, in this area specifically: the gap. Most of what’s listed above starts at 7.30pm, and most people arrive at Waterloo somewhere between five and seven with nothing to do. That’s the problem we solve. Eat properly, play something, walk to your show.
It works afterwards too – the theatres empty at half ten and we’re still open.
Book a table at draughtslondon.com – autumn and winter evenings fill up, particularly Thursday to Saturday.
Frequently Asked Questions Things to Do in Waterloo
What is there to do in Waterloo?
Waterloo and the neighbouring South Bank have one of the highest concentrations of things to do in London – the National Theatre, the Old Vic, the Young Vic, BFI Southbank, the Southbank Centre, the Hayward Gallery, the Leake Street graffiti tunnel, the Undercroft skate park and Lower Marsh market, all within about ten minutes’ walk of the station.
What’s on in Waterloo this autumn?
Highlights include BFI London Film Festival (7-18 October), the London Literature Festival curated by Dua Lipa (20 October – 1 November), Oktoberfest at Between the Bridges (25 September – 17 October), EFG London Jazz Festival (13-22 November) and Bob Dylan at the Royal Festival Hall (3-8 December).
What theatre is on near Waterloo this Christmas?
A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic (12 November – 9 January), Eurotrash with Ben Whishaw at the Young Vic (13 November – 9 January), The Jungle Book at the National Theatre (from 13 November), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the National (from 2 December) and Club NVRLND at The Vaults (14 November – 31 January).
What free things are there to do in Waterloo?
The Leake Street graffiti tunnel, the Undercroft skate park beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the National Theatre’s Sherling Backstage Walkway (Wednesdays and Saturdays), the Quentin Blake Southbank Parade until 8 November, Musquiqui Chihying at the Hayward Gallery, and the riverside walk itself.
What is Leake Street?
Leake Street is a 300-metre pedestrian tunnel running under Waterloo station, and one of London’s only legal graffiti walls. It was opened to street artists by Banksy in 2008 and the artwork changes constantly. The railway arches alongside house independent bars, restaurants and venues.
Where should I eat in Waterloo before a show?
Draughts Waterloo is at Arch 16, Leake Street, SE1 7NN, inside the graffiti tunnel and around ten minutes’ walk from the National Theatre, the Old Vic and the Southbank Centre. We serve food and drinks to your table alongside over 1,000 board games, so the hour or two before curtain becomes part of the evening rather than something to kill.
How do I get to Waterloo?
Waterloo station is served by the Jubilee, Northern, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines plus National Rail. Southwark, Embankment and Lambeth North are all within walking distance, and Embankment connects across the Golden Jubilee Bridges.
Is Waterloo good for a night out?
Yes, and it’s considerably more relaxed than the West End. The theatres, cinemas and concert halls are within walking distance of each other, the riverside is open late, and Waterloo station makes getting home straightforward from almost anywhere in the city.
