Full Cast Set For The World Premiere of LIBERATION at Royal Exchange Theatre

Liberation, a new play by poet and playwright Ntombizodwa Nyoni, directed by Monique Touko, will receive its World Premiere as part of Manchester International Festival 2025 (3 - 20 July 2025). Commissioned by the Royal Exchange Theatre and inspired by true events in Black British history, this powerful new play delves into the lives of the people who fought to liberate Africa, exploring why their story remains relevant in 2025. The production runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre from 27 June to 26 July 2025 with opening night on Wednesday 2 July 2025. 

How does a revolution begin and who are the people that keep it going?

It's 15 October 1945, Manchester. Africa's freedom and future is in the hands of her descendants at the fifth Pan African Congress at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall. 

With decades of championing change under their belts, emerging African & Caribbean activists and scholars offer new radical ideas of liberation. However, the organiser, Trinidadian activist George Padmore is unsure who to pass the baton to. Kwame Nkrumah is fuelled by an idealistic desire to become the first Black president of the Gold Coast. Young, resourceful Jamaican social worker Alma La Badie is grappling with the truth behind who must be sacrificed for the cause. And what of the revered Amy Ashwood-Garvey how does she ensure the voices of Black women are heard? 

A story of hope, friendship and the consequences of a long-denied awakening unravels in the conference halls and bars of Chorlton, but at what cost?

Leonie Elliott (Call The Midwife, BBC; Danny And The Human Zoo, BBC) stars as Jamaican activist Alma la Badie, alongside Eric Kofi Abrefa (Julie, National Theatre; Supacell, Netflix) as Kwame Nkrumah, the man who would go on to be the first President of Ghana. Activist Amy Ashwood-Garvey is played by Pamela Nomvete (To Kill A Mockingbird, West End; Andor, Lucasfilm/Disney+), and journalist and author George Padmore is played by Eamonn Walker (Chicago Fire, NBC; Between Riverside and Crazy, Steppenwolf Theatre Company). 

Completing the cast are Rudolphe Mdlongwa (Is God Is, Royal Court; Barbershop Chronicles, UK Tour) as Makumalo Hlubi, Tonderai Munyevu (As You Like It, Shakespeare's Globe; Black Men Walking, Royal Court) as Jomo Kenyatta, Tachia Newall (Brassic, Sky One; Light Falls, Royal Exchange Theatre) as Len Johnson, Joshua Roberts-Mensah (Drum, Omnibus Theatre) as Joe Appiah, Bex Smith (Coronation Street, ITV; The Social, Not Too Tame) as Betty Dorman and Nicola Stephenson (Our Country's Good, Lyric Hammersmith; War Horse, National Theatre/West End) as Dorothy Pizer.

This groundbreaking new play developed 80 years after the congress, introduces the people behind the movement. Liberation gets to the heart of how our future is built, how our leaders are made, and how dreams are realised.  With generational shifts and gender politics added to a swirling mix of power dynamics, Liberation asks timeless questions about revolution, freedom, and what it means to be an activist.

The production features set design by Paul Wills, costume design by Sunny Dolat, composition by Ezra Collective's Ife Ogunjobi, lighting design by Matt Haskins, sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, movement design by Kloé Dean and casting by Sophie Parrott CDG.

Manchester International Festival 2025 takes place from Thursday 3 July to Sunday 20 July 2025. The first edition under new Creative Director Low Kee Hong, MIF 25 features new work from Blackhaine, Eric Cantona, Mary Anne Hobbs & Anna Phoebe, Richard Russell's Everything is Recorded, Ruhaniyat (رُوحانیت) - An Orchestral Sufi Experience,  Edgar Davids, Juliet Ellis, FAFSWAG, Andy Field and Becky Darlington, John Grant, Shilpa Gupta, Germaine Kruip, Juan Mata, Ntombizodwa Nyoni, The Royal Ballet, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Rosabel Tan, Santiago Yahuarcani and more

Working with partners across the city and the world to build on the MIF legacy, the wide-ranging, multi-artform programme of groundbreaking world premieres will inspire fresh perspectives, challenge conventional thought and invite audiences to ‘dream differently' - envision new possibilities, brighter futures and utopian spaces. Presenting some of the most exciting creative minds of our generation, the programme champions indigenous artists and creators from the Global South, expanding the Festival's renowned international impact as well as fostering deep connections with local artists and communities in the North West of England.

Liberation is commissioned by the Royal Exchange Theatre and produced by Royal Exchange Theatre and Factory International in Manchester.