At last, a great Southbank show

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Candy Anthony gowns are just one of the Southbank's attractions

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I grew up with the Southbank, and it's hard to quantify the pleasure I feel at seeing it finally grow up, too, into an integrated, thriving arts and entertainment quarter. Most of my earliest cultural experiences were in SE1. There were the visits in my early teens to hear a talk by animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen or to watch Roger Corman's Death Race 2000 - heart-palpitatingly, it was my first X-rated movie - at the National Film Theatre with my father.

I remember the sonorous power of Paul Scofield's Othello at the National Theatre in 1980, when I was 14, and the devastating emotional impact of Frances de la Tour's St Joan four years later. Childhood classical concerts at the Royal Festival Hall evoke dimmer memories, but my dad remembers seeing the greats of the jazz world there: Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald. The Hayward was probably the first gallery I went to.

Early on, I imbibed the notion that Waterloo was where you went for art and for fun. It's not surprising. My parents were architects in an era that embraced both concrete and big cultural projects. My mother was taken to the Festival of Britain in 1951, and later submitted a prize-winning design for a National Theatre, which she had completed for her degree thesis, to a public competition chaired by Peter Hall.

She and Dad were not only avid cultural consumers, but huge fans of Denys Lasdun's National Theatre, two-thirds of which opened in 1976 after years of delays. At the time, they were in a minority. It was fashionable to despise Lasdun's angular, functional building, and to decry the Southbank Centre as a confusedmess.

And though I loved the Southbank Centre from my youth, it didn't exactly love you back. Indeed, it was staggeringly uninviting. The National seemed to be the wrong way round, the RFH presented a blank, imposing face to the river and the Hayward seemed purposely hidden. The NFT was reached via a graffiti- and urine-stained car park filled with rampaging skateboarders. One arrived at the Southbank Centre depressed by its Orwellian gangways, and by scurrying past importunate rough sleepers in the subterranean tunnels off the roundabout that now houses the Imax. (John Foxx's gloomy, dystopian synthesiser anthem Underpass made a lot of sense to me.)

By the time I started writing about theatre in the late 1980s the Southbank Centre also felt like the focus for Margaret Thatcher's war of attrition against the uppity arts, just as nearby County Hall, with its banner counting the number of the unemployed, had become the focus of her battle with bolshy local government.

The culture shifted. Funding was questioned, made conditional, slashed. The meagre bookstalls under Waterloo Bridge seemed a pathetic parody of those on Paris's Rive Gauche. As countless plans for its future were put forward then foundered, the Southbank Centre began to seem embattled and confused, marooned between Westminster and the yuppie colonies at Shad Thames.

Ironically, I think it was those very loft apartments that changed the fortunes of the South Bank in the 1990s. London had woken up to its riverfront. The rampant materialism of the Thatcher years softened under Major and Blair into a greater appreciation by the monied public of leisure, art and a pleasant, cohesive urban environment. There was a growing appreciation of what the South Bank could be. The buildings began to make themselves more welcoming and their awful bars and restaurants were revamped. (When my wife Ann and I introduced our parents to each other in 1998, we did it in what was then Gary Rhodes's People's Palace in the Festival Hall, thinking that if they didn't get on, they could at least enjoy the view of the Thames).

More importantly, a string of arrivals connected up the South Bank's geographical dots: the Oxo Tower and its attendant galleries opened in 1996; Shakespeare's Globe, for which the heroic Sam Wanamaker had so long campaigned, in 1997; the Imax in 1999; the London Eye, Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern in 2000; the dramatic new Unicorn Theatre for Children, near the GLA headquarters, in 2005.

In 1999, I was given a tour of the Tate's half-remodelled Turbine Hall and, as well as being awed at the sheer scale of Giles Gilbert Scott's magnificent Bankside building, I felt that my favourite part of London was finally coming together. I love the fact that the Young and Old Vic Theatres have been regenerated, that upmarket restaurants like the Anchor and Hope and Magdalen rub shoulders with the bistros of Gabriel's Wharf and the curry houses by the London Dungeon.

I love the fact that the South Bank can include it all: Borders as well as buskers, temples to booze and food (Vinopolis and Borough Market) as well as the big beasts of the London arts world, and Southwark Cathedral to boot.

After writing this, I'm going to see Nicholas Wright's The Reporter at the National Theatre. I may go and have a pint in the spit-and-sawdust Hole in the Wall pub at Waterloo first. And afterwards I'll walk home to Kennington along the South Bank. I can't wait.

Now they really need to get started on The Barbican.

PERFORMANCES

BLIND LIGHT AT THE HAYWARD If you haven't already been to Antony Gormley's foggy installation, it's a must-see (or not-see). Tickets are £8 and half-price on Mondays - it's perfect for an afternoon off as it gets crowded on the weekend. Until 19 August. www.southbankcentre.co.uk; 0871 663 2501

VERNON GOD LITTLE AT THE YOUNG VIC Rufus Norris's adaptation of DBC Pierre's Booker Prize-winning novel about a high-school shooting has had rave reviews. Until 23 June. 66 The Cut, www.youngvic.org; 020 7922 2839

THE ROSE TATTOO AT THE OLIVIER, NATIONAL THEATRE Zoe Wanamaker stars in Tennessee Williams's life-affirming play set in New Orleans. Until 8 August. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk; 020 7452 3000

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR AT THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL Last time Shankar (the daughter of sitar player Ravi and half-sister of Norah Jones) played this venue it sold out in hours, so book now. 4 June. www.southbankcentre.co.uk; 0871 663 2500

THE MELTDOWN FESTIVAL AT THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE Jarvis Cocker directs this year's Meltdown festival - an annual hoop-la of music and performance. This year, catch the eternally youthful Motorhead, the weird and wonderful Forced Entertainment and the fun, if low-brow KPM Allstars. From 16 June. www.southbankcentre.co.uk; 0871 663 2500

RESTAURANTS

GIRAFFE
This family-friendly restaurant has come to the Festival Riverside on South Bank, with its colourful selection of food and super-healthy juices and smoothies. 020 7928 2004

RIVIERA
This large, buzzy Mediterranean restaurant at Gabriel's Wharf overlooks the river; its seasonal menu changes regularly and it's a great place to go for a party. 020 7401 7314.

STUDIO 6
With its cheap and cheerful menu and covered outside area at the heart of Gabriel's Wharf, Studio 6 is the perfect place to spend a boozy Saturday lunchtime. 020 7928 6243.

THE MEZZANINE AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE There's nothing worse than a rumbling
tummy halfway through a play. Book yourself into the excellent Mezzanine restaurant. 020 7452 3555.

OZU
See the fish at the London Aquarium at County Hall ... and then eat their cousins at Ozu, the Japanese restaurant in the aquarium. Ozu has a hip young Japanese clientele so you know it's good. 0871 426 3835.

SHOPS

MDC MUSIC AND MOVIES
This is what music and media shops should be like; a cool, modern design, intelligent stock and non-snobby staff. A treat at Festival Riverside. 020 7620 0198.

BLACK + BLUM
This Anglo-Swiss partnership of Dan Black and Martin Blum produce quirky and contemporary household pieces at Oxo Tower Wharf. Our favourites are James the Doorman, a doorstop, and Mr and Mrs Hangup the clothes hangers. www.black-blum.com; 020 7633 0022.

CANDY ANTHONY
This 1950s- and 1960s-inspired evening and bridal designer, also at Oxo Tower Wharf, creates divine dresses, corsets and veils; very ontrend and perfect for the upcoming wedding season. www.candyanthony.com; 020 7803 0898.

CROCKATT AND POWELL
This independent bookshop at Lower Marsh has a vast selection of books; searches can be undertaken for new, out-of-print and second-hand books. It aims to have ordered books available in 24 hours. www.crockattpowell.com; 020 7928 0234.

DAVID ASHTON
Bespoke jewellery to be found at Gabriel's Wharf, primarily specialising in 18ct gold and platinum, with diamonds, sapphire and ruby. The designers pride themselves on being able to make their customers any kind of jewellery; from cufflinks to nose studs. www.davidashton.co.uk; 020 7401 2405.

OFF BEAT

BFI SOUTHBANK
The former National Film Theatre has been transformed from a gloomy shed into a multi-media extravaganza with a funky cafe. www.bfi.org.uk; 020 7255 1444

SECOND-HAND BOOK MARKET UNDER WATERLOO BRIDGE Forget the Hay Festival; this is where serious bookworms hang out.

BIKE TOURS
The London Bicycle Tour company at Gabriel's Wharf hires out bicycles for you to sail around the South Bank or provide guides for tours. www.londonbicycle.com; 020 7928 6838.

LONDON TELEVISION CENTRE
Both Parkinson and Have I Got News For You are filmed here; both are worth seeing at least once. Tickets are available to members of the public. www.londonstudios.co.uk.

WEDNESDAY MARKET DAY
Every Wednesday at Lower Marsh from 10am to 4pm there is a general market.

CHILDREN'S SOUTHBANK

LONDON AQUARIUM
This year sees the 10th anniversary of the London Aquarium on Westminster Bridge Road, and it's as popular with the under-10s as ever. www.londonaquarium.co.uk ; 020 7967 8000.

LONDON EYE
Say what you like about the London Eye, children go nuts for it and the under-fives "fly" for free. www.londoneye.com, 0870 990 8883.

CAFE MANGA
This child-friendly café has three locations along the South Bank to choose from; original Manga animations play on the plasma screens. www.cafemanga.co.uk.

STAR WARS EXHIBITION This interactive exhibition at County Hall celebrates the 30th birthday of the original epic film. Fans will be able to admire original props, models, art, vehicles and costumes. www.londoncountyhall.com; 020 7967 8004

BFI IMAX
The 3D films at the Imax at Waterloo are pretty spectacular for grown-ups; if you're 10, they are mindblowing. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens on 3 August, with an exclusive 20-minute finale in 3D. www.bfi.org.uk; 0870 787 2525

Esther Walker and Nicole Jackson

 

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