Activist movements aren’t all speeches, protests and slogans. Revolutions are made by people – and those people are idealistic and messy and flawed. This is the truth at the core of Ntombizodwa Nyoni’s ambitious new play marking the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, a crucial moment in the postwar fight against colonial rule.
It’s a story that’s both global and firmly rooted in the city, making it an ideal fit for Manchester international festival. Set in and around the Congress, Liberation follows the people behind the movement, including veteran activists George Padmore (Eamonn Walker) and Amy Ashwood Garvey (Pamela Nomvete) and future African politicians Kwame Nkrumah (Eric Kofi Abrefa), Jomo Kenyatta (Tonderai Munyevu) and Joe Appiah (Joshua Roberts-Mensah). We see their public speeches, their private discussions and their pub-room debates.
