When is it happening?
Tuesday 15 July 2025 at 7.30pm
What is the Pan-African Speakeasy night?
This Pan African Speakeasy is an invitation for Black audience members to attend a performance of LIBERATION. It is a welcoming space in which a Black-identifying audience* can experience, discuss and ‘speak-easy’ about theatre, collectively addressing and fully engaging with themes that may reflect their lived experience and that of historically marginalised communities.
Why is the Royal Exchange Theatre doing a Pan-African Speakeasy performance?
The Fifth Pan-African Congress, dramatised in LIBERATION, was one of Manchester’s most iconic events with a seismic, global impact on Africa’s future and freedom. At the Royal Exchange Theatre we recognise the significance of commissioning and staging such a powerfully emotive play in a building that has historical links with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
LIBERATION actively explores colonialism and themes relevant to the Black experience. It is for this reason that, together with the Writer Ntombizodwa Nyoni and Director Monique Touko, we are creating a space in which Black audience members can come together to collectively explore Black narratives, celebrate the power of collective action and recognise the importance of Black voices in shaping the discourse within our theatres.
The Pan-African Speakeasy is a supportive space in which Black audience members* can watch a play that directly addresses colonisation and the freedom of Africa and its People.
For further information about the Exchange’s history, please see our work with the University of Manchester’s Emerging Scholars here: Uncovering the History of the Building – Royal Exchange Theatre
Liberation Director Monique Touko said…
“For Black audiences today, there is a pressing need to be seen and heard. With the Pan-African Speakeasy, we aim to remove barriers of access into the Royal Exchange Building. The Speakeasy will be a space where Blackness can exist unapologetically. A forum for both discussion and celebration. By profiling Pan-Africanism in Liberation and drawing on our collective pride and spirit in the city, we seek to reimagine the future of the continent. For Us and By Us.”
Writer Ntombizodwa Nyoni added:
“We have a shared experience in how we move through the world. When it comes to stories, we know the feeling when you catch someone laughing, moaning or even sucking teeth at the same place as you. You both understand where that came from. It’s a cultural shorthand that says we see each other. We feel each other. We get each other. There are not many spaces we can unapologetically be. At the Speakeasy, we can.”
Who can come to the Pan-African Speakeasy performance?
While no one is excluded from attending this performance, we encourage non-Black audience members to appreciate the focused intent of the Pan-African Speakeasy and consider attending on another night during the run. However, anyone who chooses to book for this night is welcome.
* The Pan-African Speakeasy performance is for audiences from across the Black and African diaspora. We recognise that language around ethnic identity varies between communities. The definition of Black we are referring to is: Black African, Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, and African-American heritage, including those of mixed-Black heritage who identify as such.
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