Greenwich's Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) will take on an ethereal glow this autumn, thanks to two light installations gracing the Christopher Wren-designed complex.
From Friday 31 October 2025 to Sunday 25 January 2026, Peter Walker's Connection and Identity can be viewed in the ORNC's Painted Hall. These two large-scale light and sound installations invite us to "contemplate what it means to be human".
Connection riffs off Michelangelo's famous hands from the Creation of Adam (the Painted Hall, after all, is sometimes referred to a 'Britain's Sistine Chapel'). Meanwhile, Identity features eight illuminated columns suspended within the Painted Hall, evoking DNA structures. They're set to specially composed music by David Harper.
Meanwhile, from Wednesday 12 November to Sunday 16 November 2025, renowned projection company Luxmuralis bring their critically acclaimed show Time — a cacophony of worm holes, clock mechanisms and H.G. Wells references — to the ORNC. The spectacular will be projected onto various sections of the complex, including the Ripley Tunnel, and Queen Mary Undercroft and Chapel, before spilling outside across the Colonnades and into the Courtyard.
Time has already been aired at the likes of Lincoln Cathedral and Rochester Cathedral, but Greenwich could not be a more fitting location, given its centuries-old relationship with the development of timekeeping.
Both of the installations are paid-for experiences (adult tickets for Connection and Identity are £17.50; for Time they cost £15). Having spoken to the organisers, however, if you purchase a ticket for the five days in which Time is on, this also includes entry to Connection and Identity. So you're getting to see two shows for less than what you'd usually pay to see one. In other words, if these shows have piqued your interest, try to get tickets for Time between 12-16 November. Tickets for both experiences are on sale now.
In other Greenwich news, we recently reported on the Royal Observatory's plans for a £77m renovation.
Connection and Identity, Painted Hall, 31 October 2025-25 January 2026.
Time, Greenwich Royal Naval College, 12-16 November 2025.
