Cabaret for Freedom: Malika Booker, Mali Hayes, Shirley May, Clive Hunte & Young Identity

This event is now on sale to MLF Get Closer Members. Tickets go on general sale 10am Thursday 13 August. Memberships start at £25 per year - for full details click HERE.

This year's Cabaret for Freedom pays homage to the strong women who helped shape our communities. Women like Olive Morris, whose fierce commitment to Black women's rights and housing justice reshaped what activism could look like in Britain, Louise Da-Cocodia, whose lifetime of service to health, education and race equality left a legacy still felt across Manchester today, and Kath Locke, whose grassroots organising built bridges between communities. Like lighthouses, their enduring light serves as both a warning of dangers still to be navigated and a promise that safety can be found.

Enjoy rousing new poetry from Malika Booker, Shirley May and Young Identity poets Janoma Omena, Setira Reid and Faheezal Taiwo, with music from bassist Clive Hunte and singer-songwriter Mali Hayes.

Malika Booker is a British poet of Guyanese and Grenadian heritage. Her collection Pepper Seed was shortlisted for the OCM Bocas prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre 2014 prize. She is the co-founder of the writer’s collective Malika's Poetry Kitchen, was awarded the Cholmondeley Award (2019) for outstanding contribution to poetry, and elected a Royal Society of Literature Fellow (2022).

Shirley May and Clive Hunte, former Speakeasy collaborators, created the acclaimed album Rainfall together; featuring Shirley's poetry set to Clive's music. Clive is a Manchester bassist and producer who has worked with Lily Allen and Mr Scruff. Shirley’s collection She Wrote Her Own Eulogy is published by Wrecking Ball Press.

Mali Hayes is a Manchester-based singer-songwriter working in neo-soul and R&B. Backed by Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum on BBC Radio, with support slots for Bilal and Sons of Kemet and collaborations with Foreign Beggars and Maverick Sabre under her belt, she brings honest, soulful storytelling to Cabaret for Freedom.

Janoma Omena is a Nigerian spoken word artist whose work explores queerness, young adulthood, women’s reproductive health and migrations. Expect gentle sapphic yearning, philosophical rage and tender contemplation.

Setira Reid is a mixed heritage, Manchester-born artist and poet who is extremely passionate about human rights, politics and feminism. She is a proud symbol of representation for strong female voices throughout all mediums of her art, but particularly, her first love, poetry.

Faheezal Taiwo is a Nigerian spoken word poet, writer and creative artist based in Manchester. Her work explores themes of identity, social justice and love. Her work ‘Itan Re’ is featured in The Roads We Walked: The Fifth Pan-African Congress – a poetry exhibition showcased at IWM North.

Young Identity is a Manchester-based arts charity with a mission to nurture, develop and champion the voices and creativity of diverse young people through literature, writing and performance.

Wheelchair Users and those with other access needs requiring a free Essential Carer ticket should contact the Quaytickets Box Office on 0161 876 2015 to purchase tickets.