In Conversation Series Continues at Riverside Studios
Final trio of special events features Hayley Mills, Hanif Kureishi and Leigh Lawson
Hanif Kureishi and Hayley Mills. Picture: Riverside Studios
October 19, 2026
Riverside Studios has announced the final trio of special events marking the culmination of its 50th anniversary celebrations – a season that has welcomed back some of the most influential artists, performers and creatives to have shaped the venue since it first opened its doors in 1976. The closing programme brings three distinguished alumni back to Hammersmith for a series of intimate In Conversation events spanning film, literature and theatre.
The celebrations begin on 8 November, when BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winner Hayley Mills returns to Riverside for a special fundraising event. Mills played a pivotal role in Riverside’s early history, helping to launch Peter Gill’s tenure as the venue’s first artistic director in 1976. By that point she was already a household name, known worldwide for her iconic Disney films including Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, Summer Magic and That Darn Cat! as well as acclaimed performances in Whistle Down the Wind, The Family Way and Twisted Nerve. Her career has since spanned stage, screen and television, from Good Morning, Miss Bliss and Wild at Heart to her recent role in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2024 thriller Trap. Mills will reflect on her remarkable journey in an evening that promises warmth, insight and nostalgia.
On 10 January 2027, Riverside welcomes back Hanif Kureishi, who began his literary life as manager of the venue’s bookshop in the late 1970s. Kureishi has since become one of Britain’s most celebrated writers, known for his plays (Sammy and Rosie Get Laid), novels (The Buddha of Suburbia, Intimacy), screenplays (My Beautiful Laundrette, Le Week-End) and memoirs. His recent book Shattered documents the life-changing accident in Italy that left him tetraplegic, while his new memoir Are You With Me Now? – published this November – offers a fiercely funny and unflinching account of survival, creativity and companionship. Copies will be available to purchase at the event.
The anniversary season concludes on 21 February 2027 with Leigh Lawson: Now & Then, an evening of poetry and storytelling from the actor, writer and director who starred in Riverside’s first in-house production, The Cherry Orchard, in 1978. Lawson will read from his collection Now & Then, sharing the personal stories behind poems that explore memory, resilience and the lives we build. His career spans more than twenty feature films – including Tess, Brother Sun, Sister Moon and Being Julia – and leading roles in television classics such as Travelling Man, Kinsey and The Duchess of Duke Street. Copies of Now & Then will be available for signing.
These events follow a year of sold-out conversations with Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Lenny Henry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Nina Wadia, Robert Lindsay, Simon Callow, Lindsay Duncan and the production teams behind TFI Friday and Top of the Pops. Their success has been so strong that Riverside Studios has confirmed the In Conversation series will continue into its 51st year.
Season curator Daniel Thurman said the anniversary has been “full of warmth and laughter. Just how a celebration should be.” Rhys Williamson, Head of Programming, added that the season has honoured Riverside’s legacy while reaffirming its commitment to championing new voices and new ideas.
Tickets for all three events are now on general sale through the Riverside Studios web site.
Riverside Studios is at 101 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith W6 9BN.
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