Carolyn O’Brien’s novel, The Song of Peterloo tells the powerful story of Manchester mill-worker, Nancy Kay. Desperate to provide for her ailing mother and sensitive son, Nancy is drawn into the agitation for reform. But as she risks everything to attend a great assembly on St Peter’s Field, Nancy is unaware the day will go down in […]
Linda Brogan, Excavating The Reno, who excavated the Reno cellar club in Moss Side MCR, and Manchester Histories have joined forces to present 1819 – 1981. This one day exhibition (running on Sat 15 June, Thurs 18 July and Tues 13 Aug) will tell the stories of the memoirs of police and communities from the 1981 […]
This year, The Heritage Lottery Fund South West funded a partnership project between Scary Little Girls and The Heroine Collective to gather the in-depth oral testimonies of almost 100 Greenham Women. The team have travelled up and down the country interviewing the women, taking original photographs and collecting material from a variety of archives. This […]
Join us for relaxed screenings of the Peterloo Film every month from June – August. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper. Written and directed by Mike Leigh, Peterloo is an epic portrayal of the events surrounding the 1819 […]
Historians Jacqueline Riding and John Belchem explore the events and characters behind Mike Leigh’s epic feature film ‘Peterloo’ and the process of transferring history from books and archives to the big screen. Jacqueline Riding was the production historian and head of research on Mike Leigh’s ‘Peterloo’ (2018) and author of the highly acclaimed tie-in narrative […]
Ellen’s Longest Night dramatises the amazing life, thoughts and achievements of “Red” Ellen Wilkinson: one of Manchester and Britain’s best loved, most iconic, personalities. From poverty stricken Ancoats to one of the world’s most influential women, we visit great events in Ellen & our city’s history. Particularly 7th November 1923 at The Free Trade Hall– built […]
Celebrate Pride with us at this special archive handling event with our wonderful LGBT Foundation volunteers. Free - please drop in
Queer August - remarkable stories that made Manchester and G Pride possible The huge, inclusive success of the global Gay Pride was made possible by extra-ordinary people standing-up and being counted in the ongoing struggle for fairness and truth that is the human rights movement. Those extra-ordinary people are rarely acknowledged then and especially now […]
‘You can change the law but you can’t change people and how they treat each other.’ American author Colson Whitehead won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Underground Railroad. We’re thrilled to welcome him with Manchester Literature Festival to discuss his stunning new novel The Nickel Boys. In Jim Crow era Florida, teenager Elwood Curtis is […]
Hosted by Melanie Rees with special guest poet copland smith. copland smith, a mathematician and ecologist, is a poet (three times being amongst the runners-up in The National Poetry Competition), fiction writer, songwriter, playwright, translator, essayist, naturalist and photographer. Born and adopted in Liverpool, brought up in Wallasey and North Wales, he now lives in […]
Dr Nina Adamova presents 'Treasures of Manchester Central Library: two Nuremberg Chronicles (1493) and their early modern readers’. The talk will explore the most famous early-printed world chronicle – the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel (1493). The presentation will focus on how the Nuremberg Chronicle was read and perceived in Europe in the age of […]
On the anniversary of Peterloo, we want to transport you to the world of ‘Libertalia’ a place where all are free and equal, a ‘way of being’ the people of Peterloo wanted so much for Manchester. ‘Libertalia’ was a city founded by Madagascan pirates in the 17th century. Here the pirates acted as “vigilant guardians of […]
From dedicated performance spaces to stairwells, screens, nooks and domes, Central Library might directly inspire your next event or intervention. Contact us to arrange a tour.
