From the Crowd
On Friday 16 August 2019, communities, artists and musicians from across Greater Manchester and far beyond gathered on the site of St Peter’s Field for a day of music, song and choirs to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, with From the Crowd at the centre; as a hopeful and moving reflection of where this story began.
The event was co-produced by Manchester Histories, Walk the Plank and Brighter Sound and supported by Manchester City Council and the National Lottery through Arts Council England. From the Crowd was directed by Evie Manning (Common Wealth) and musically directed by Robin Richards (Dutch Uncles).
'It was very beautiful to see a kind of commemoration that was not just something that you stood and watched but where people were encouraged to join in, to
speak parts of it. There was a great spoken word guy - Jardel Rodregues, he was excellent, really good. And there was a girl, Olivia [McFadden] who read one of the names and at the mayor’s speeches. She did a story of a woman, who her and her child were killed, and she was brilliant - absolutely brilliant. It was a privilege to be part of it and to read one of the names. I read the name of Joseph Whitworth from Hyde who was 19 and was shot by infantry at New Cross on
August the 18th'
112 Choir singers took part in From the Crowd and Rebel Karaoke
80 Artists, musicians, designers, digital creatives and performers created new work
91 Volunteers laurels took part in the performance
Over 2 million Audience members took part in the live and online performance and globally through newspapers, TV, Radio and social media
More information on From the Crowd
Peterloo 2019 website
