Blue Plaques Talk Back
Blue Plaques Talk Back Live returns to the Chelsea Arts Festival following the riveting launch event at the Festival in 2025. This unique, immersive, live show celebrates four iconic – or intriguingly overlooked – blue plaques, chosen specifically for their connection to the surrounding neighbourhood. The result is a performance of history and culture, brought vividly to life.
At each event, stories behind the plaques are transformed into short, dramatic performances by professional actors. These theatrical moments are then followed by in-depth, informal conversations with distinguished guests – figures whose lives or careers have been shaped, inspired, or touched by the individual commemorated on the plaque.
Last year Sir Stephen Fry joined Hannah MacInnes in conversation about Oscar Wilde, Dennis Morris on Bob Marley, Lyse Doucet on Martha Gellhorn, and Kathryn Hughes on George Eliot.
Blue plaques and guest speakers to be announced.
Duration: approx. 1 hour 15 mins (no interval)
Ticket Information
£28.50, £22.50
A single £4.50 transaction fee applies to all online bookings (per order, not per individual ticket). Orders made in person at the box office are exempt from transaction fees. See booking information for details, payment methods and delivery options.
Check out the view from your chosen seat on our interactive seating plan.
Future events in this series
Chelsea Arts Festival 2026
Following last year’s thrilling launch, the Chelsea Arts Festival, London’s exciting annual arts and culture celebration, returns this September for four days of inspirational events, uniting a diverse mix of artists, performers, and creative visionaries from all disciplines across Chelsea’s iconic venues.
An Evening with Bernardine Evaristo & Friends
Presented by the Women’s Prize
Thursday 17 September 2026, 7.15pm
An evening exploring the richness of women’s writing, curated by one of the UK’s most celebrated writers and literary figures, Bernardine Evaristo, as the recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Outstanding Contribution Award. Bringing t...
Blue Plaques Talk Back
Friday 18 September 2026, 1pm
Blue Plaques Talk Back Live returns to the Chelsea Arts Festival following the riveting launch event at the Festival in 2025. This unique, immersive, live show celebrates four iconic – or intriguingly overlooked – blue plaques, chosen specificall...
A Poem for Every Night of the Year, 10 Year Anniversary
Allie Esiri & special guests
Friday 18 September 2026, 7pm
Acclaimed actors and performers fill the stage with poetry to celebrate ten years of Allie Esiri’s best-selling anthology A Poem for Every Night of the Year, which, along with her other popular poetry collections, has lit an explosion of interest i...
Rambert: This is Rambert
Saturday 19 September 2026, 11.30am
Iconic and ever-innovating, dance company Rambert brings work from its centenary programme, This Is Rambert, to Cadogan Hall, in honour of its centenary year. As one of the world’s most diverse companies of dancers, Rambert transforms everyday spac...
Diaries of Note: Live on Stage
with Shaun Usher & special guests
Sunday 20 September 2026, 3.30pm
In this special event, Shaun Usher – bestselling author of Letters of Note and founder of the live series, and cultural phenomenon, Letters Live – brings Diaries of Note to the stage. A cast of acclaimed performers will read from a remarkable col...
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