Celebrating and centring Blackness as a symbol of transformation, healing, and renewal, Long Play Liberationdwells in solidarity with Black Lives Matter as a way to focus and project hope. Juxtaposing installation, lecture demonstration, moving image, dance, and ritual Long Play Liberation is an anarchic performance repositioning late nineteenth and early twentieth century local seats of government: the Grade II listed Old Stratford and Newham Town Hall. Transcending these civic buildings, audiences encounter expressions of joy and sustained enactments of present and possible conditions of liberation for Black people. A hospitable place for Black people and People of Colour to find a way to be in synchrony with the environment and the complexity of mixed and conflicting emotions, Long Play Liberation refracts hyperadaptable, material, and ephemeral Blackness.
Long Play Liberation interrogates, critiques and celebrates the past. In the spirit of gratitude, it grounds us in the present. Inspired and empowered by the Black Lives Matter movement, it generates new ideas about the future, advocating the renaissance and reclamation of Blackness. Travelling through time and multimedia, artistic and social forms – street party celebration, heritage tour, demonstration, ritual, and prophesy – the Long Play Liberation performance series makes space for audiences to move through the times and wonders of Blackness, its origins, trajectory and future impacts on the world. During each performance, gentle offerings of inclusive and accessible activism help manifest compelling visions of what this future could be. Performed over four weekends in different venues, no two performances are the same. Whether watching performances live or streaming online, you can help bring the Long Play Liberation series to life now! The soundtrack for each performance will feature a selection of music created with your help from the Long Play Liberation playlist on Spotify. Listen to empowering and uplifting sounds of Black artists, poets, musicians and the indelible mark they’ve had on culture over the generations and continents, and add your favourite tracks of liberation to the growing collection.
Long Play Liberation commissioned by Newham London for Newham Black History Month 2020
Sound Engineer: Jack Hale Lighting Engineer: Kieran Mallon Front of House Assistants: Husina Begum and Afiya Rahman Photos: Hayleigh Longmand and Andrew Barker
Special thanks to
Monica Thomas Dominique Roome the team at Newham London
