Spoken Word Lemn Sissay as part of the Commonword Black Writers’ Conference

award-winning poet and University of Manchester Chancellor, Lemn Sissay returns to headline a celebration of diversity in writing following the 8th annual Black and Asian Writers Conference

08/10/2016 - 08/10/2016

For the final day of the 2016 October Festival Week, we have two sets of brand-new stars to introduce:   New Voices at Contact, 2 pm – 3 pm   BGAF has given two new writers and two new directors a week of Masterclasses, featuring guest workshops from John McGrath, Artistic Director, Manchester International Festival; Karena Johnson, Artistic Director, Hoxton Hall; and Matthew Xia, Associate Artistic Director, Royal Exchange Theatre. We’ll be sharing the results at Contact, to celebrate new talent: writers Fereshteh Mozaffari and Mez Ndukwe, and directors Amy Lawrence and Shana Riley. They’ll be supported by a couple of acting pros, Trevor-Dwyer-Lynch and Ashden Oke. Come along to see what the hot tickets for next year’s theatre will look like.   And, later at Contact, supporting Lemn Sissay as part of the Commonword Black Writers’ Conference:   Talking About Family: Monologues on family and adoption, 7 pm (with Lemn Sissay), Contact   Following a nation-wide search, Commonword and BGAF found four writers to tackle some of the hardest things to talk about: family, adoption, love and loss in the first and closest relationships of all. Join Lucy Sheen, Christina Fonthes, Claire Hynes, and Seni Seniviratne as they explore the family from 30s Yorkshire to today’s London.   That’s BGAF October 2016 Festival Week.