Meet the Manchester Artists

NASIMA BEE

Nasima Bee is a performance poet, producer and creative practitioner. She’s a trustee for Manchester’s Young Identity, and a patron for Contact theatre. Nasima uses art as a means of activism and her work is an exploration of the everyday through a personal lens that connects to its audience through inquisition and conversation. Nasima focuses on the human, centring stories that are unheard, misrepresented or ignored. Her commissioned works have ranged between performance, theatre, essays, workshop facilitation, film and audio with poetry at the forefront. These include notable performances with the Manchester Literature Festival, British Council’s BritLitBerlin conference and BBC’s Contains Strong Language. Nasima was one of five Greater Manchester recipients of the Jerwood Creative Fellowship with Manchester International Festival 2019 in which she observed ANU Productions The Anvil and was also commissioned to write and record poetry for an installation piece as part of this. In 2021 she worked on an audio commission with New Creatives North entitled Salt. Nasima has also released her first solo poetry film titled fatihah, a poetic exploration of loss and losing as part of HOME’s Push Festival 2022. In 2023, she researched and developed work in progress investigating what it means to be a British Muslim woman in the current political climate with the support of Factory International. In 2024 she wrote her debut play Gains as part of HER Productions Vignettes and was part of the inaugural Poets of Colour Incubator Collective Network funded by Words of Colour Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Nasima Bee on stage reading into a microphone. There are two musicians on stage and the words 'Tara x Theatre' are projected on the brick wall. — *Photo:* *@bettinaadelaphotography*

HAFSAH ANEELA BASHIR

Hafsah Aneela Bashir is an award-winning poet, playwright and performer. Founder and co-director of Outside The Frame Arts, she is passionate about championing voices outside the mainstream, challenging the gatekeepers of knowledge and increasing representation within the arts. Hafsah is a winner of the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship 2019, an Associate Artist with The Poetry Exchange and Supported Artist at The Royal Exchange Theatre. Hafsah was previously a Factory International Fellow in 2017.

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HIDDEN TRACK

Hidden Track are a multi-award-winning gaming theatre company creating playable political work which fights for change, challenges narratives, and rewrites the rules of theatre. Since 2013, they have been creating critically acclaimed work for a wide variety of venues ranging from traditional theatre spaces to alleyways, village greens, and even an old industrial fridge. Their flagship show Standard: Elite exploring themes of class and social mobility won Best New Writing Award at the Great Manchester Fringe, Best Newcomer at Brighton Fringe, was nominated for the Venues North Edinburgh Fringe Award. Their newest show The Cost of Everything, commissioned by The Lowry, Salford, received five-star reviews from West End Best Friend and Number Nine Reviews and is currently available for touring in 2026. Currently in development is Benefits Quest, a hybrid of video gaming and interactive theatre will launch alongside a fully playable video game available through Steam. This project is being supported by New Diorama Theatre, London, and is currently looking for additional partners to support its development and touring across 2026/27.

More information on Hidden Track's work – including trailers, full show videos, and fully playable online games – can be found here.

People dressed in safety gear and helmets are actively participating in a theatrical game involving colourful props and foam blocks. A large screen in the background displays the objective "Fight Your Nation's Fight" for the final round, with team scores for Bowtieland and Ronald.

ANDREW KUWORNU

Andrew Kuwornu is a Manchester-based artist originally from Ghana, working mainly in acrylic and watercolour. Since starting his self-taught practice in 2022 as a form of personal therapy, he has expanded into mixed media, incorporating collage and textiles. Living with glaucoma has shaped his focus on the tactile quality of his work, inviting a deeper sensory connection. His art explores themes close to his heart, including men’s mental health, gender roles, and the cultural influences of his Ghanaian upbringing.

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Andrew Kuwornu wearing a beige jacket, looking at a brightly coloured painting — *Photo: @thehorsfall*

MALANDRA JACKS

Malandra Jacks is a Manchester-based performance company founded by artists Chloe Malandra and Joshua Jack. Their work blends theatre, documentary, and projection to tell powerful stories rooted in working-class identity, place, and lived experience. Their debut show Census is an award-winning, genre-crossing production celebrating the community of Moston, Northwest England. Using autobiographical storytelling, real interviews, and projection mapping, it offers a bold, emotionally resonant portrait of resilience, humour, and pride in underrepresented places. Winners of the 2024 Manchester Culture Award for Best Performance, Malandra Jacks create socially engaged, co-created, and visually striking work designed to connect across cultures. Their practice is adaptable for international touring, festivals, residencies, and collaboration.

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Malandra Jacks wearing black stood in front of a black wall with white text on

JENNIFER JACKSON

Jennifer Jackson is an award-winning Anglo-Bolivian artist who creates exhilarating and empowering experiences for audiences and participants which invite them to dream into new kinship. Works include her acclaimed solo ENDURANCE (shortlisted for the Stückemarkt, Theatertreffen, 2022), WRESTLELADSWRESTLE, AS WE RUN WE BECOME, and THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE GRRRLS (in development). She was one of the inaugural artists to lead the Artist Takeover (Factory International), working with 100 local people, reimagining theatre as civic space. Her practice is multidisciplinary, existing at the meeting point of performance and the excitement of a sports spectacle. She is particularly interested in performance as a transformative space that deals in the fatigue and resurrection of bodies and cosmologies; exploring gender, power and her diasporic heritage through form and process. Her latest work, WRESTLELADSWRESTLE, draws on her past as a teenage judo champion, featuring 30 women and non-binary performers playfighting; it premiered to critical acclaim across major UK venues (including 5 stars in The Stage).

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CHAD TAYLOR

Chad Taylor began his dance journey at the age of 11, training in the foundations of hip hop. By 14, he had expanded his repertoire to include ballet, tap, and jazz. His professional career took off early, making his first television appearances at just 15 on Top of the Pops and CD:UK. At 19, Chad graduated from The Hammond School with a National Diploma in Dance, awarded through a full scholarship. He went on to perform professionally with high-profile artists including Cheryl Cole, Paloma Faith, Sade, Take That, Meat Loaf, Joe McElderry, Little Mix, and LMFAO. Mentored by Darren Pritchard, Chad ventured into choreography and creation with his first production, Persistence, which debuted in 2013. The work was featured in the ‘Let’s Dance International Festival’ as part of Signatures in 2014 and later showcased in Autograph at the Curve Theatre in Leicester. In 2018, Chad was selected for the prestigious Back to the Lab programme at Sadler’s Wells, led by Jonzi D. Chad’s work has been presented in notable venues such as The Lowry, HOME Manchester, and The Riley Theatre. His innovative approach pushes creative boundaries, particularly within outdoor and non-traditional spaces. His choreography has featured in festivals including Black Gold Arts, London Ensemble Festival, Brighton Festival, Stockton International Riverside Festival, and the Black British Dance Platform

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MARCO WOOLF

Marco Woolf’s music can prove complex to categorise, known for his introspective lyrics, dreamlike storytelling, and carefully crafted instrumentation—each element given equal emotional weight. His critically acclaimed EP Francine, i was hailed as “light, complex, rich and immediate” by Pan African Music Magazine, with its limited 12” vinyl selling out in just 24 hours. The project gained widespread support from BBC 6Music, Jazz FM, and international radio. Renowned for his captivating live performances, Marco blends music and narrative in real-time, creating immersive, emotionally resonant experiences. Now, he's embarking on his most ambitious project yet: Songbook of Fury, an interactive, multimedia performance that fuses storytelling, dance, and improvisation. Always evolving, Marco’s work continues to defy genre and expectation—offering a singular voice in contemporary music.

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