Manchester’s Young Identity Poets to Perform at Contact theatre

This Saturday a collection of young poets will take to the stage at Contact Theatre to perform ‘Battle of the Minds’. 

Young Identity, formed in 2006, is Manchester’s premiere youth spoken word collective. It seeks to give young people the opportunity to promote their work, helping them to develop creative self-expression.

Young Identity, comprising over 300 members, is facilitated by some of Manchester’s and the UK’s leading poets, including Shirley May, Desiree Reynolds author of ‘Seduce’, Louise Wallwein poet & playwright, Inua Ellams poet and playwright and actor Ali Gadema, the Creative Director of Young Identity. 
In order to help the young people progress, efforts are made to increase their exposure to those making poetry their profession. They have worked alongside writers such as Saul Williams, Benjamin Zephaniah, Zena Edwards, Tony Walsh, and Kate Tempest. The group has also worked in places such as: New York, Chicago, France, Washington, and Amsterdam.
Shirley May, Director of Young Identity, said: “We try and nurture young writers. I believe that the voice of young people, no matter who they are, is important. For this reason, we aim to facilitate their writing and their ability”. Young Identity has an open door policy, though many of its members are young people who are disaffected, hard to reach, and out of education.
Jardel Rodrigues, 18, has been a member of Young Identity for a year. He will take one of the lead roles in the October 17th showcase, which engages with the topic of education versus knowledge. Also performing is Joan Turner, 22, who was born in South Africa, and schooled in Zimbabwe until the age of 7. On moving to England, she attended a school in special measures. However, at the Albion High School, she attained nineteen GCSEs, seventeen of which were A* to C grades. Towards the end of these studies, Joan was a member of Young Identity.
Three members of Young Identity have gone on to study at the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Many of those not previously involved in education have since gone to university, or been inspired to do other things.
Jardel said: “That is what has happened to me. In the show, I explain that I have never been unintelligent, and I think that shows in my poetry. I was aimed at high grades. My interests simply weren’t education, revise, study; that’s not me as a person. I’m more creative than that”.
At school, frequently off timetable, Jardel was deemed rebellious. However, his interest in poetry and writing was noticed by his counsellor at college, who encouraged him to search online. “I hadn’t heard of Young Identity before then, but I found it, and I’m glad that I did”, said Jardel. “Seeing people who have jobs using poetry, doing what they love, has inspired me to retake my GCSEs and I got into Manchester City College this coming September . I want to go back to a different college, to take English Language & Literature, perhaps go to university, and find out more about this thing that I love”.
Shirley said: “I’ve learnt that Jardel’s experience in school has been the best for him because he has come out so articulate. Whether it has been by osmosis, or from exposure to other poets and MCs, some learning has taken place”.
Battle of the Minds is written from the point of view of sixteen young people in school and in education now. It addresses the experiences and feelings of the individual. Jardel said: “I am nervous about the fact that I will be on stage in front of a lot of people, but at the same time, I am very excited that a lot of people are also hearing my voice. I suppose that is what Young Identity is all about – it’s getting young people’s voices heard. And that’s a great thing. It’s priceless”.
The poetic journey of school life is Directed by Flo Wilson actor, writer and music director. Additional support is provided by Shirley May and Reece Williams and a special thanks to Ali Gadema from Young Identity. We are in Partnership with Commonword & Contact.          
Book tickets are now on sale for 17th October, 7.30pm, at Contact:

/battleoftheminds

£12 FULL // £7 CONC

Booking: 0161 274 600

#battleoftheminds