12 Last Songs
Quarantine
Information
Time: 12pm to midnight
Tickets: Pay What You Can (Recommended Price £20)*
*all orders subject to a transaction fee of £2
Running Time: 12 hours
This is a durational performance where audiences can come and go at any point.
This event takes place in person in our Grand Hall
Nice to meet you, what do you do?
12 Last Songs is part live exhibition, part epic performance. It’s about work and how we spend time. Making a living. Finding your passion. Watching the clock.
From midday to midnight on Saturday 14 March, real workers from London will perform paid shifts on stage, in front of a live audience. There are no actors. A builder might build a wall, a hairdresser might cut someone’s hair, a chef might prepare a meal. We’ll find out what they do, and how they see themselves in the world.
30 workers. 12 hours. Made for and with the people of London. 12 Last Songs frames the rhythms of the city through the people who make it work. There will be just 12 versions of 12 Last Songs taking place around the world. London is number 10.
Looking for tickets?
Advance tickets for 12 Last Songs are now sold out. However, tickets will be available to purchase on the day in person at the BAC box office. Please scroll down the page for further information.
‘Endlessly surprising – and often moving. A reminder that all lives are extraordinary in their ordinariness.’ The Stage
‘In its gentle appeal to slow down, 12 Last Songs gives the audience an opportunity to consider beauty in places not normally associated with that word.’ Exeunt Magazine
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Visiting 12 Last Songs at Battersea Arts Centre
12 Last Songs is a 12-hour live performance taking place at Battersea Arts Centre, from 12 noon to 12 midnight.
There is no fixed seating and no reserved seats, but seats will be available.
This performance will be Relaxed. We invite you to make yourself comfortable and move around if you need to, and if you need to leave the performance at any point you will be allowed to return to the space when you feel ready.
Your ticket is valid for the entire 12 hours, and you can arrive at any time and stay for as long (or as little) as you like.
Advance Tickets
A limited number of tickets will be available to buy in advance.
All remaining tickets will be sold on the day at the BAC box office.
If you have an advance ticket and the space is full when you arrive, you may be asked to wait briefly before entering. We expect waiting times to be short, and for much of the day there should be no wait at all.
Tickets On The Day
You can buy tickets in person from the BAC box office at any point during the 12-hour performance, as long as there is space available.
On the day tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. If the room reaches capacity, ticket sales may be paused temporarily until space becomes available.
Once you’ve bought a ticket, you can stay until midnight or leave whenever you choose. If you leave, you can come back later using the same ticket.
Planning Your Visit
We expect the busiest times to be from approximately 1pm-3pm and 7pm–10pm, although this may change across the day.
Even during busy periods, you are still welcome to attend — you may just need to wait briefly before entering so we can manage the space safely.
Leaving and Re-Entering
Once inside, you can leave and re-enter as many times as you like.
Short breaks (such as using the bathroom) are fine — you won’t need to queue again.
If you leave for a longer period, you may need to re-join the queue to re-enter if the space is full. You will not need to pay again when re-entering.
To keep everyone safe and comfortable, there is a maximum capacity for the space, and short waits may happen at peak times.
PART OF A PUBLIC ADDRESS
A Public Address sees award-winning theatre collective Quarantine take over the former Town Hall – now Battersea Arts Centre – to ask: who gets heard in a place like this today?
Part of Wandsworth’s year as the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture.
Biographies
Quarantine is an award-winning ensemble of artists and producers making cross-disciplinary work that explores what it means to live right now. Founded in Manchester in 1998, they create and tour projects around the world that are both intimate and immediate in their relationships with people, and global in their reference and scope.
Quarantine is known internationally for intellectually rigorous, socially progressive and inventive art that questions who gets seen, whose stories are told and who stands in for whom. Questions about representation lie at the heart of their work.
Credits
A Public Address is a BAC and Quarantine co-production, supported by Arts Council England.
Part of Welcome to Wandsworth, London Borough of Culture. London Borough of Culture is a Mayor of London initiative.
12 Last Songs is co-commissioned by Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts; Cambridge Junction with the support of the Stobbs New Ideas Fund; and HOME. Co-produced by Transform. It is supported by Arts Council England and The Rank Foundation.
Concept and Direction Richard Gregory
Designer Simon Banham
Lighting Design Mike Brookes
Collaborating Artist/Assistant Director Sarah Hunter
Video Artist Lowri Evans
Questions Text Sarah Hunter, Leentje Van de Cruys, and Quarantine
Dramaturgy Renny O’Shea, Sarah Hunter, and Leentje Van de Cruys
Company Stage Manager Chi Emecheta
Production Manager Matt Webster
Producer for Quarantine Kevin Jamieson
Access
PRE EVENT INFORMATION
This event takes place in person in our Grand Hall. This space is on the ground floor, with step-free access via a lift.
If you have booked a ticket you will receive an email from us before your performance detailing important information about your visit.
PERSONAL ASSISTANT/COMPANION TICKETS
If you require the assistance of a friend or helper to attend, we can make a free ticket available for your companion. You can book access companion tickets online or contact the Box Office to book by emailing access@bac.org.uk.
To book a free access companion online:
- log in to your account here
- go to ‘Other preferences’ and tick ‘I require a personal assistant/companion’.
- Choose the performance, date and seats you would like and if you add at least 2 tickets to your basket, then one of these will automatically become free.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
This performance will be BSL Interpreted. Interpreted by Ryan McLean, Rachael Merry and Becky Barry.
This is a durational performance that does not have a conventional seating plan or reserved seating, however there will be seats available for those who need. It takes place over 12 hours, and audiences can come and go as they please during that time, using the same ticket.
This performance is unscripted, and therefore we don’t know what subjects might arise during the performance. It is important to note that we cannot guarantee what might be discussed.
This performance will be Relaxed. We invite you to make yourself comfortable and move around if you need to, and if you need to leave the performance at any point you will be allowed to return to the space when you feel ready.
We want our shows to be as accessible to as many people as possible.
We offer tickets to most shows on a Pay What You Can basis throughout the year.
Tickets for Grand Hall performances in 2026 start at £12.50, and we have recommended pricing to help you choose a price that works for you.
We know that ticket price is a huge barrier for some. If you can afford to pay the recommended price or more, choosing to do so supports those that can’t. It makes it possible for us to continue to offer Pay What You Can and welcome those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.
