“How does a revolution begin and who keeps it going?”
Inspired by true events in Black British history, LIBERATION is a powerful new play from writer Ntombizodwa Nyoni and director Monique Touko tracing the private lives of activists who fought to liberate Africa. Having its world premiere in Manchester, this is a story of hope, friendship and the consequences of a long-denied awakening which unravels in the conference halls and bars of Chorlton, but at what cost? LIBERATION includes compositions by Ife Ogunjobi from the Brit Award-winning Ezra Collective and was commissioned by the Royal Exchange Theatre.
‘It’s 15 October 1945, Manchester. Africa’s freedom and future is in the hands of her descendants at the Fifth Pan-African Congress at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall. With decades of championing change under their belts, emerging African & Caribbean activists and scholars offer new radical ideas of liberation. However, the organiser, Trinidadian activist George Padmore is unsure who to pass the baton to. Kwame Nkrumah is fuelled by an idealistic desire to become the first Black president of the Gold Coast. Young, resourceful Jamaican social worker Alma La Badie is grappling with the truth behind who must be sacrificed for the cause. And what of the revered Amy Ashwood-Garvey how does she ensure the voices of Black women are heard?’
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