Our City Speaks – United We Stream

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Visit now

Our City Speaks - United We Stream

31 May 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Our City Speaks - United We Stream
Poet Tony Walsh. Photograph by Visionhaus.
Book now

Manchester City of Literature and spoken word collective Young Identity have teamed up with Contact to bring a special livestreamed performance featuring poets and spoken word artists to a screen near you. Our City Speaks will be the latest offer from United We Stream, which, with its specially constructed studio located at The Met, Bury, has provided a virtual platform to the city’s best performers, musicians and DJs since lockdown was imposed and which has already hosted Mancunian cultural icons the likes of New Order and Maxine Peake, as well as digital editions of some of Manchester’s legendary club nights.

Our City Speaks will be hosted by Manchester City of Literature’s (and Contact board member) Reece Williams, fresh from his gig as MC at One Mic Stand Online, and will feature a mix of sets specially pre-recorded for the night as well as solo artists appearing live at United We Stream’s studio.

Manchester City of Literature and spoken word collective Young Identity have teamed up with Contact to bring a special livestreamed performance featuring poets and spoken word artists to a screen near you

The first half of the evening will hear from poet Tony Walsh, whose crowd-pleaser This Is The Place became a symbol of Manchester’s strength and unity after the Arena terrorist attack three years ago; the second half will be headlined by actor, musician and creative producer Keisha Thompson, whose solo show Man On The Moon was awarded Best Studio Production at the Manchester Theatre Awards in 2018. Other artists confirmed so far include Nadia Begum, Damani Dennisur, Saf Elsenossi, Roma Havers, Isaiah Hull, Argh Kid, Mandla Rae, Jardel Rodrigues, Dave Scott, Dave Viney and Louise Wallwein,

The performances will be live from 7pm on United We Stream’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. United We Stream is free to watch. Donations are welcomed towards their fundraiser, which provides aid to Manchester-based entertainment venues, bars and restaurants and artists struggling from closures and revenue loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where to go near Our City Speaks – United We Stream

Morning Glory - Coffee Cup
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Morning Glory

Morning Glory positions itself as a grab-and-go spot, with just 12 seats inside serving coffee, bagels and sweet treats.

The Warehouse In Holbeck
Leeds
Event venue
The Warehouse In Holbeck

Run by acclaimed theatre company Slung Low, The Warehouse in Holbeck is home to boundary-pushing performance and community projects.

Leeds
Event venue
The Attic

Tucked away above the bustle of Merrion Street, The Attic is one of Leeds’ most distinctive small venues – intimate, unpretentious, and steeped in DIY spirit.

The Chevin is a great place for visitors to do lots of different activities and is open all year round with 5 free car parks. To help you find out whatís best for you we have divided this section up into some of these different activities.Please be aware that The Chevin is a working estate so you may see vehicles including timber-extraction lorries using some of the tracks.Self-guided WalksThe Chevin is a big place and there is a good network of paths to make your own circular walk, but if you want to follow a themed trail there is a Geology Trail, Heritage Time Trail and a route for Tree Spotters.Bikes & HorsesThere is an extensive bridleway network on the eastern parts of The Chevin that caters for a range of abilities.Orienteering and GeocachingTwo orienteering courses and a number of geocache sites are waiting to be discovered.Climbing & BoulderingThere are many fantastic crags for climbing and boulders for bouldering.Mobility Scooters & Wheelchairs
Leeds
Restaurant
Oporto

For many years, Oporto has been a beacon of alternative energy on Leeds’ Call Lane – serving up great food and drink alongside resident DJs and live music.

Manchester
Gallery
Black Redstart Gallery

Black Redstart Gallery is located in the Northern Quarter and runs a busy programme of exhibitions from emerging and established artists.

RJC Dance Xmas Show
Leeds
RJC Dance

RJC Dance, based in Chapeltown, Leeds, champions youth and education, leading inclusive Black dance in the North through national partnerships.

Manchester
Gallery
texture mcr

Possibly one of the city’s most mysterious art galleries, texture is a small and perfectly-formed independent space in Ardwick.

What's on: Literature

LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by poets Carola Luther and Ian Humphreys in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

Free entry
Lorna Goodison
LiteratureManchester
Poets & Players at Burgess Foundation

Poets & Players is a must-go for lovers of words and music, presenting poets established and emerging, with the autumn season kicking off with headline poet Lorna Goodison.

Free entry
LiteratureManchester
Nikita Gill at Feel Good Club

Enter the Underworld with internationally bestselling poet Nikita Gill as she discusses her “propulsive, electrifying and enraging” new book Hekate.

From £18.99
Dan Coxon.
LiteratureLiverpool
Writing The Magic launch at Dead Ink Bookshop

Writing the Magic (Essays on Crafting Fantasy Fiction) is the fourth in Liverpool-based publisher Dead Ink Books’ award-winning series of guides, and this launch event hears from editor Dan Coxon.

From £5.00

Culture Guides

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.

Literature Events in the North

The autumn leaves might be falling already, but the harvest is plentiful as the live literature scene gets back into the swing of things after a summer break...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.