What's on

Peterloo Page and Screen. Professor John Belcham and Dr Jacqueline Riding In Conversation

Performance Space

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

Performance Space

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 […]

£9 – £12

Queer August – remarkable stories that made Manchester and Global Pride possible

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 […]

Colson Whitehead

Performance Space

‘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 […]

£8

Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word

Performance Space

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 […]

Treasures of Manchester Central Library: two Nuremberg Chronicles (1493) and their early modern readers’.

Seminar Suite, Floor Two

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 […]

Libertalia

Lower Ground Floor Exhibition Space

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 […]

Spy Kids

Performance Space

Spy Kids, the last feature Robert Rodriguez ever shot on film, tells the tale of Carmen and Juni Cortez who must save their parents from danger upon discovering they are secretly ex-spies. The 2001 film, which features stars such as Antonio Banderas, Alan Cumming and Danny Trejo, grossed more than triple its budget at the […]

£5

Walk Without Fear

Lower Ground Floor Link

MAG (Mines Advisory Group), a Manchester-based landmine clearance charity, is celebrating 30 years of life-saving work across the globe. The Walk Without Fear exhibition tells the stories of people affected by landmines in Angola, and MAG's campaign for a world without landmines by 2025.

THE MINISTRY OF LOST AND FOUND

A LONG, LONG TIME AGO, THE GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONED THE MINISTRY OF LOST & FOUND — A SECRET DEPARTMENT TASKED WITH PROTECTING THE MOST CURIOUS AND PRECIOUS OBJECTS EVER LOST OR FOUND. Calling all secret agents, the Ministry has been thrown into chaos and Frankie Found needs your help to find Leo Lost. Frankie has called everyone she knows, and Leo still […]

Banned Books Week: Walled In

Seminar Suite, Floor Two

THIS IS A LIVE SCREENING FROM THE BRITISH LIBRARY Writers consider walls in literature and in our lives With David Hare and Ben Okri. Chaired by Samira Ahmed. David Hare is a playwright and film-maker. He has written over thirty plays which include Plenty, Racing Demon and Skylight. His many screenplays include The Hours, The […]